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The Serval (Leptailurus serval, sometimes Felis serval) is a medium-sized African wild cat: length 85 cm, plus 40 cm tail. It has long legs and a slender head; the ears are broad and long. The pattern of the fur is variable: while most Servals bear leopard-like spots, some have no markings except for a spot above the eye and the rings around the tail. In addition entirely black servals are known to exist (see black panther).

This cat is quite common in Africa. Its main habitat is the savanna. Servals need watercourses within their territory, so they do not live in semi-deserts or dry steppes. They are able to climb and swim, but they seldom do so.

The serval preys on rodents, hares, hyraxes, small antelopeThis article deals with the African herbivorous mammal. For other uses, see Antelope (disambiguation The antelope are a group of herbivorous African animals of the family Bovidae, distinguished by a pair of hollow horns on their heads. There are many diffs and birdFor other meanings of bird see bird (disambiguation). Many see text Birds are bipedal, warm-blooded, egg-laying vertebrates characterized primarily by feathers, forelimbs modified as wings, and hollow bones. There are almost 9000 known species of birds ins.

The litter consists of two or three young. They are raised in sheltered locations like abandoned aardvarkThis article is about the mammal. See also Aardvark (word). The Aardvark Orycteropus afer [a:dva:k] is a medium-sized mammal native to Africa. The name comes from the Dutch for "earth pig", because early settlers from Europe thought it resembled a pig (al burrows. If such an ideal location is not available, a place behind a shrub may be sufficient.

Servals are sometimes preyed upon by leopards. More dangerous for this cat are humans. Servals were extensively hunted for their fur. They are still common in WestWest Africa is an area with a great span of geography, bioregions, and cultures. The continent of Africa is principally oriented on a north-south axis, with a bulge to the west, and it is this bulge which may be considered West Africa. The southern and ea and East AfricaEast Africa is a region generally considered to include the countries of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania, and Uganda. Madagascar, is also included. Some parts of East Africa have been renowned for their concentrations of wild animals, but they are extinctIn biology and ecology, extinction is the disappearance of a species or group of species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of that species. In species which reproduce sexually, extinction of a species in the South AfricaSouth Africa is a republic at the southern tip of Africa. It is bordered to the north by Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the north-east by Mozambique and Swaziland. Lesotho is contained entirely inside the borders of South Africa. South Africa is one on Cape Province and very rare north of the Sahara.

Subspecies:

• Leptailurus serval serval, Cape Province (extinct)
• Leptailurus serval beirae, Mozambique
• Leptailurus serval brachyura, West Africa, Sahel, Ethiopia
• Leptailurus serval constantina, Algeria ( endangered)
• Leptailurus serval hamiltoni, eastern Transvaal
• Leptailurus serval hindeio, Tanzania
• Leptailurus serval ingridi, Namibia, southern Botswana, Zimbabwe
• Leptailurus serval kempi, Uganda
• Leptailurus serval kivuensis, Congo
• Leptailurus serval liposticta, northern Angola
• Leptailurus serval lonnbergi, southern Angola
• Leptailurus serval mababiensis, northern Botswana
• Leptailurus serval robertsi, western Transvaal
• Leptailurus serval togoensis, Togo, Benin

Serval is also the name of a commune of the Aisne département in France.