Fish Eagle's Serval Coin (Missing)

Roam anywhere in the world, collecting the flags of the countries that I visit.

This is a real coin. If you find anything else please let us know. See the gallery for a photo.

We live close to the Kruger National Park, which we visit frequently, and love dearly. We have dedicated this series of personal geocoins to some of the special animals found in the Park.

SERVAL  (Leptailarus serval)

Appearance
This slender built cat stands 500 mm at the shoulders. The back, flanks and tail are covered with a golden brown coat, with black stripes down the spine and black spots on the flanks and tail. The serval has very long legs for its body size.

The serval has a small but long head and large rounded ears marked with alternating black and white stripes on the rear. It uses these prominent stripe markings on its ears to communicate with others of its species. Servals are found in the moister and densely forested areas of its range.

Diet
It's diet constitutes rodents, especially vlei rats. Birds, frogs, insects, small reptiles and even fish are taken to compliment the diet.

Breeding
Kittens, in litters of three to four, are born in thick grass cover or underbrush. The gestation period is 68-72 days. Births often occur at the end of summer. They are born in a lair. To protect them, she will move her offspring frequently to new hiding places. This makes observation of the serval's offspring very difficult.

Like the Cheetah, the mother raises her kittens alone and must leave them often to hunt. When the cubs are large enough to hunt, the mother will drive the males away from the family first. Females will stay with the mother until they become sexually mature. Then they will be driven away so they can establish their own territories.

Behaviour
Solitary in habits, except when mating or when a female is accompanied by her young. Serval scent mark their large home ranges of 15 - 30 square km. Scent marking is conducted with urine and faeces. Males range over larger areas than females. Elusive and shy, servals are for the most part nocturnal, hunting by sight and sound more than scent.

In areas of Africa where this cat has not been disturbed, they will also be active at dawn and dusk. It has an excellent sense of hearing and can locate prey that is moving underground. Once it hears its prey, the serval will quietly approach and then leaping, will pounce on it. Often, they will play with their meal before consuming it.

This cat has a number of vocalizations which include snarling, growling, spitting, purring and a high pitched cry used to call other servals. When defending themselves, they will arch their backs and growl loudly.

Habitat
Its preferred habitat is moist, tall grasslands, often associated with wetlands.

Where they are found
The serval is found in parts of the Northern Province, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal Drakensberg and in Lesotho. It is classified as rare in the South African Red Data Book.

Predators
The natural enemies of the serval are Hyenas, African Wild Dogs and Leopards.

Jan07 - South Africa

Jan07 - Swaziland

Jan07 - South Africa

Apr07 - Germany

Jun07 - Czech Republic

Aug07 - Poland

Aug07 - Czech Republic

Aug07 - Hungary