Serval

• Range: Most of Africa, except very arid regions.
  
• Habitat: Savannas, reed-beds, open woodlands and forests, normally near water.
  
• Description: This cat has a head and body length of 2 to 3 feet and is 1.5 to 2 feet tall at the shoulders. They weigh about 20 to 40 pounds but the males are larger than the females. The cats are long legged with a slender, sloping form, long neck, small head and very large oval ears without ear tufts. Tawny or yellowish, their coat has variable dark markings and is lighter beneath. The tail has several rings and a black tip. The coloration is unusual, because servals have both stripes and spots.
  
• Diet: The Serval is carnivorous, eating small hoofed mammals, birds, rodents, insects and reptiles. It has great leaping ability, which enables it to flush out a bird on the ground and then catch it in the air before the bird can fly away.
  
• Behavior: It is a nocturnal and diurnal hunter, less nocturnal than many other small cats. They are generally solitary and mainly terrestrial, but are good climbers and will climb when threatened. Vocalizations include a shrill cry, growls and purrs.
  
• Breeding: Mating is non-seasonal with gestation lasting about 75 days. The mother builds a form or den in tall, thick grass for babies. A litter size is about one to four, the average being two to three. Newborns are blind.