Unlike many other cat species, these small felines love to climb, leap, and play in water. They are crepuscular to avoid the heat of the day, although they do hunt at night when needed. Servals often share their savanna habitat with caracals and may compete with them for prey. Leopards, wild dogs, and hyenas are serval predators. If needed, a serval can climb a tree to escape.
The serval has a varied diet, eating birds, reptiles, frogs, crabs, and large insects. Standing on its hind legs, a serval can jump more than 9 feet (2.7 meters) straight up to grab a bird right out of the air!
But small rodents are its most frequent prey item, and a serval doesn’t hesitate to reach a long leg down into a rodent’s burrow to snatch a meal out of the tunnel! Ultrasonic hearing ability allows the serval to hear the high-pitched communication of rodents.
Servals do not have a specific breeding season, and even though each male’s home range may overlap those of several females, they live separately most of the year. Males may sometimes rest together during the day in small groups, but otherwise they are solitary.
