Explore Serval cats in their habitat; are wild cats that can be found in Kidepo Valley National Park in Uganda. They are known for their hunting skills and are often seen near water sources and grasslands. Here are some things to know about serval cats, Mirama Hills Safaris we organize for you a trip to Kidepo Valley National Park is a great destination for night game drives, when you can see wild cats hunting and feeding. You are required to take a ranger guide with you on a night game drive.
Servals are remarkable when it comes to the power of their legs. They have the longest legs relative to their body size among any wild cat. This gives them a unique advantage allowing them to jump straight up to about 10 feet into the air and leap over 13 feet in a singular jump.
They’ll occasionally wade into water to gobble up frogs and other amphibians. A serval can catch up to 30 frogs in three hours while hunting in water. Also, unlike most other wild cats, they almost never scavenge, or eat other animals’ leftovers. Scientists think this is because they’re already such successful hunters.
The servals can reach speeds up to 45 miles per hour, but can run longer than a cheetah. They typically hunt where they can hide and stay near water. They are solitary and range territories of 4 to 12 miles.
Servals are not known to be aggressive towards people and wild animals, but they are wild animals with specific needs and behaviors that make them unsuitable as household pets. They have strong hunting instincts, are highly territorial, and engage in behaviors like scent marking.
Servals eat a great variety of prey, including rodents, frogs, insects, reptiles and birds. They catch much of their prey by leaping high into the air and pouncing. They have also been seen using their long forelimbs to reach into burrows or to hook fish out of the water.
Servals are highly intelligent cats that are often described as quite affectionate toward their owners. However, anecdotal claims suggest that they are very cautious around strangers and are not friendly with other pets.
As solitary animals, servals only come together to breed and males will mate with many females. Mating occurs most often in the spring and after a gestation period of 10 to 11 weeks, servals give birth to 2 to 3 kittens.
Servals are usually solitary but also in pairs, Usually nocturnal, but also active in early morning and late afternoon. Prey is located by sight or hearing large ears to locate burrowing rodents underground and dig them up and caught with a slap of one forepaw, or a high arching pounce.
The servals may reach sexual maturity from 12 to 25 months of age. Life expectancy of servals is about 10 years in the wild and up to 20 years in captivity
