Servals from the zoo of Naples-Baku and Cleo + video

These cute serval cubs named Baku and Cleo were born at the Naples Zoo two months ago, and this week they were first introduced to the public.



Photo: Naples Zoo

According to the staff of the park, the brother and sister became the real favorites of all the staff and are likely to win the hearts of many visitors to the zoo.



The serval, or shrub cat (Latin Leptailurus serval) is a predatory mammal from the cat family, inhabiting almost all territories of the African continent, except for the equatorial zone and the extreme south of the continent, as well as the Sahara. Serval is most commonly found in West and East Africa. There are 14 subspecies of serval in total.



It is a slim, medium-sized cat with long legs and large ears. The length of the body is from 90 to 135 cm, and the tail is 30-45 cm. Serval is considered a close relative of caracal and lynx, although in color it is closer to the cheetah. The color of servals living in various areas differs in the size of the spots and the shade of the main background.



Animals living in steppe areas have large spots on a light background. Servals living in forested areas are darker and have smaller spots. By the way, the transition in color is quite smooth, especially in places where the areas are adjacent to each other. For example, in Guinea, Togo and Ethiopia there are animals with small spots on a light background, and in Uganda and Angola - with large spots on a dark background.



But in the mountainous regions of Kenya you can find black servals (melanists). In these places, they make up half of the population, but white servals with silvery gray spots can be seen only in zoos.



Servals lead a solitary twilight lifestyle. They hunt small antelopes, damans, rodents, hares, as well as some birds, such as guinea pigs, flamingos, etc. They settle near water bodies, inhabiting open spaces with grassy thickets and shrubs. Try to avoid arid deserts and rainforests.

Video: Naples Zoo

Recently, the number of servals has greatly decreased due to the active hunting of the local population. The serval, which lives in northern Africa, is listed by the IUCN in the Red List with the status of a “threatened species”.

Source: zoopicture.ru