THE SAVANNA CAT

SCIENTIFIC NAME

• Leptailurus serval
• Called both "The Savanna Cat" and "The African Serval"

CLASSIFICATION

• Class: Mammalia
• Order: Carnivora
• Family: Felidae
• Genus: Leptailurus
• Species: serval

WHERE ARE THEY FOUND

• Lives in Sub-Saharan Africa
• As name suggests, lives and hunts in the savannas
• Mainly lives in marshlands

REQUIREMENTS FOR SURVIVAL

• High grass close to a water source
• Rodents and other small animals
• Known for eating mice

ECOSYSTEM

PLACE IN THE ECOSYSTEM

• They are nocturnal hunters and eat a lot of mice and rodents
• Also insects, fish, rabbits, etc.
• Hunted by leopards, hyenas, and humans

THREATS TO SURVIVAL

• Hunters
• Other larger animals

FUN FACTS

• They have the longest legs and largest ears out of any species of cat (in proportion to body size)
• They use saliva to communicate, as well as urine
• They can hear their prey moving underground
• Have a successful hunting rate of 50%, which is higher than lions
• Has the nickname "the Savanna Stalker" because it is so good at hunting prey in the tall grass
• Each pattern on the cat's fur is unique

FUN FACTA CONT.

• They can also be domesticated. They are one of the largest breeds of domesticated cats
• Jump up to 10 feet

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SOURCES

• "Serval." African Wildlife Foundation. Web. 11 Dec. 2015.
• "Mammals | Serval." Serval. Web. 11 Dec. 2015.
• "Serval Facts, Photos, Sounds, News and Videos." Big Cat Rescue. 15 Mar. 2015. Web. 11 Dec. 2015.