Meet Our Animals

Serval

Serval (Felis serval)
Range: African grasslands
Status: Listed on the Endangered Species Red List

Servals are mid-sized, spotted African cats. They use their excellent hearing for hunting small mammals and birds. They are very quick and depend on speed and accuracy to pin their prey. In their homelands, they are threatened by poachers who sell their coats to tourists as leopard or cheetah pelts. However, in the areas where these cats are now rare, farmers are having problems with being overrun by small rodents that these cats would normally keep in check.

Lena Serval

Lena is an elegant, very well socialized wild cat. Lena was placed with us in 2002 by her former owners when, at 18 months old, she decided she didn’t want a career in educational programs. They tried to keep her as an indoor animal, but she resisted and acted out by spraying and becoming aggressive.

Lena is very active and playful. She likes affection and chasing balls and toys, though she rarely brings them back. She especially enjoys seafood treats, since she was raised on the Great Lakes and was indulged in a good bit of shrimp while she was growing up.

She now lives with Masufa serval, who enjoys basking in the sun with her.

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