Serval

The serval is a slender, medium-sized wildcat native to the grasslands, savannas and wetland edges of sub-Saharan Africa, easily recognized by its long legs, large rounded ears and a golden coat patterned with bold black spots and stripes. It has the longest legs relative to body size of any cat, an adaptation that lets it see over tall grass and pounce with remarkable accuracy, leaping high into the air to pin down rodents and birds with its front paws, a hunting technique it uses with one of the highest success rates recorded among cats. Servals are largely solitary and most active around dawn, dusk and at night, relying heavily on acute hearing to locate prey moving through vegetation. They favor habitats near water, including reed beds and marshes, and remain fairly widespread across much of their range even as wetland drainage and conversion of grassland to farmland have reduced populations in some regions.