Our guest and friend Claus Nielsen has taken this wonderful video of a Serval cat hunting.
The name Serval is derived from a Portuguese word meaning “wolfdeer. The serval’s sensitive hearing allows it to locate small mammals moving through the grass or underground, and to hunt its prey sometimes without seeing it until the final pounce. It also has the ability to leap vertically and catch prey such as birds, right out of the air. They do this by “clapping” with their front paws together and striking with a downward blow. Primary prey items for the Serval includes rodents, birds, reptiles, fish, frogs and insects. Servals have a hunting success rate of 50%. Video taken in Maasai Mara 2015