African medium-sized cats
Caracal vs Serval
Both are long-legged African cats famous for spectacular jumps, but they hunt different prey in different habitats and use their bodies in different ways.
At a glance
- The caracal and the serval fall into a similar body-mass band.
- Both species use savanna and montane forest.
- Their ranges both include Africa.
- Both are currently listed as Least Concern on the Red List.
Two builds, two purposes
The serval has the longest legs relative to body size of any cat and enormous ears set high on the head. It is a rodent specialist that locates prey acoustically in tall grass and pins it with a high vertical pounce.
The caracal is heavier and more muscular, with powerful hindquarters and long black ear tufts. It takes larger prey — hares, hyrax, gamebirds and small antelope — and is renowned for striking birds out of the air.
Wet grassland against dry scrub
Servals need moisture. They occupy reedbeds, marsh edges and well-watered savanna, and they disappear where wetlands are drained. Caracals occupy the opposite end of the gradient: dry woodland, semi-desert and rocky hills, avoiding both rainforest and permanent wetland.
Where their ranges meet, the habitat gradient generally keeps them apart, and their prey lists overlap far less than their similar silhouettes suggest.
Living alongside people
Both are currently listed as Least Concern, but their relationships with farming differ. Caracals are killed in significant numbers by small-livestock farmers in southern Africa. Servals face habitat loss through wetland drainage and are also affected by demand for skins used in ceremonial dress.
What to take away
- The serval is a rodent specialist of wet grassland; the caracal is a dry-country generalist.
- Serval hunting is acoustic and vertical; caracal hunting relies on explosive power.
- Both are widespread, but they face different pressures from farming.
Identification
How each species is named and classified.
Caracal
Caracal caracal
Serval
Leptailurus serval
Caracal
Caracal
Serval
Leptailurus
Caracal
Caracal lineage
Serval
Caracal lineage
Caracal
Medium-sized cats
Serval
Medium-sized cats
Caracal
Desert lynx, Persian lynx
Serval
Tierboskat
Body and movement
Published field measurements for adults. Ranges cover both sexes unless noted.
Caracal
2 ft – 3 ft (62–91 cm)
Serval
2 ft 2 in – 3 ft 3 in (67–100 cm) Longer
Caracal
7 in – 13 in (18–34 cm)
Serval
9 in – 18 in (24–45 cm) Longer
Caracal
16 in – 20 in (40–50 cm)
Serval
21 in – 2 ft 2 in (54–66 cm) Taller
Caracal
15–42 lb (7–19 kg) Heavier
Males average noticeably heavier than females across the range.
Serval
15–40 lb (7–18 kg)
Males average about 11 kg, females about 9.7 kg.
Caracal
50 mph (80 km/h)
Short sprints over open ground; the species is better known for vertical leaping than for sustained speed.
Serval
Not reliably measured
Rarely measured; the serval is known for leaping rather than for sprinting.
Life span
Typical adult longevity. Figures for managed care come from zoo and sanctuary records.
Caracal
10–12 years
Serval
10–12 years
Caracal
16–19 years
Serval
20–23 years Longer
Habitat and range
Where each species lives and the conditions it tolerates.
Caracal
semi-arid scrub, savanna, dry forest, desert, montane forest
Dry woodland, scrub, semi-desert and rocky hills; caracals avoid true desert interiors and dense equatorial rainforest but do well on farmland margins.
Serval
wetland, grassland, savanna, montane forest
Well-watered grassland, reedbeds, marsh edges and moist savanna. The species depends on tall vegetation and permanent water, and avoids dry open plains.
Caracal
Africa, Asia
Widespread across Africa outside the Sahara core and Congo rainforest, and through the Arabian Peninsula, the Middle East, Central Asia and into north-western India.
Serval
Africa
Widespread across sub-Saharan Africa, with a small and threatened remnant in Morocco and Algeria in the north.
Diet and behaviour
Feeding ecology, social organisation and hunting technique.
Caracal
small mammals, birds, hares, medium ungulates
Hyrax, hares, rodents and gamebirds form the bulk of the diet, with small antelope taken by larger individuals.
Serval
small mammals, birds, reptiles, insects, amphibians
Vlei rats and other rodents supply most of the diet, along with frogs, lizards, insects and birds taken in flight.
Caracal
Solitary and territorial
Adults hold large ranges and are rarely seen; they are among the most successful cats at persisting in farmed landscapes, which brings them into conflict with sheep farmers.
Serval
Solitary
Adults hold overlapping ranges centred on wetland; individuals are more tolerant of one another than most solitary cats where prey is abundant.
Caracal
Nocturnal
Almost entirely night active where persecuted; more crepuscular activity is recorded inside protected areas.
Serval
Crepuscular and nocturnal
Two clear activity peaks around dawn and dusk, with additional night-time hunting; servals rest in dense grass during the heat of the day.
Caracal
Stalk and vertical leap
The caracal creeps close, then launches; birds flushing from cover are struck in mid-air, sometimes several feet above the ground.
Serval
Acoustic location and vertical pounce
The cat stands still, rotates its ears to pinpoint rustling, then leaps up and forward, striking downward with both forepaws.
Caracal
Strong More developed
Climbs well and will cache food in trees, though it hunts on the ground.
Serval
Capable
Climbs competently but spends almost all its time on the ground.
Caracal
Limited
Occupies dry country and rarely encounters, or enters, deep water.
Serval
Capable More developed
Comfortable in shallow water and marsh, wading through flooded grassland while hunting.
Conservation
Red List category, population direction and the pressures documented for each species.
Caracal
LC — Least Concern
Assessed 2016
Serval
LC — Least Concern
Assessed 2015
Caracal
Stable
Serval
Stable
Caracal
Killing in response to livestock losses, Habitat conversion in Asia, Road mortality near cities, Trade as exotic pets, Depletion of small-mammal prey
Widespread and reasonably secure in Africa; populations in Central Asia and North Africa are much smaller and are considered at risk locally.
Serval
Wetland drainage and conversion, Grassland burning regimes, Killing for skins used in ceremonial dress, Trade as exotic pets and for hybrid breeding, Loss of North African populations
Secure across much of sub-Saharan Africa, though wetland drainage removes the habitat it depends on, and the North African population is critically small.
Notable traits
Details that do not fit neatly into a measurement table.
Caracal
- The name derives from a Turkish word meaning "black ear".
- Caracals were historically trained in Persia and India to hunt birds, a practice recorded for centuries.
- Urban caracals on the Cape Peninsula in South Africa are the subject of a long-running research programme.
Serval
- A serval can leap roughly ten feet in a single bound to catch a bird taking off.
- Its legs are proportionally the longest of any cat, an adaptation to seeing over tall grass.
- Recorded hunting success rates in some studies approach one kill for every two attempts, unusually high for a felid.
Sources used for this comparison
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Global assessment categories, population trends and documented threats.
- IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group Species accounts, distribution notes and Cat News reporting for every wild felid.
- Panthera Field research programmes and species profiles for big and small wild cats.
- Small Wild Cat Conservation Foundation Dedicated research and field reporting on the lesser-known felids.
- Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Reviewed species accounts with morphometric ranges and reproductive data.
- Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute Body measurements, longevity records and life-history notes.