Ears, Legs, and Cheetahs
Servals are a ‘small cat’ species.
The first thing that is usually noticed about servals is what appears to be giant satellite dishes on the top of their heads. Indeed, servals have the largest ears, proportionally, of any cat. And even without taking proportion in to account they are enormous. Their ears stand up above their heads as alert seekers of even the slightest noise in the tall grass.
The second thing often noticed is their long legs. They have the longest legs, proportionally, of any cat – even surpassing the cheetah’s. The cheetah has very long legs it uses for its phenomenal speed. The serval uses its long legs for traversing and leaping over the tall grass in which it lives. The serval’s long legs make it one of the tallest of the small cats.
Many people see servals as resembling the cheetah. Indeed they do. Their coat is largely orange with black spots. They have the black ‘tear stains’ below their eyes like the cheetah. Their underside is white. Two differences are the presence of stripes and tail length. Cheetahs have no stripes. Servals have some spot patterns on their back that merge into stripes. They also have stripes on their chest that become bands on their legs. Like the cheetah they have black bands on their tails. Unlike the cheetah’s very long tail used to help maneuvering at high speeds, servals have short tails. Maneuverability and balance are not as important in the life of the serval.