藪貓

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編輯

藪貓

保育等級

低危 - 暫無危機

分類

界：	動物界 Animalia
門：	脊索動物門 Chordata
綱：	哺乳綱 Mammalia
目：	食肉目 Carnivora
科：	貓科 Felidae
屬：	藪貓屬 Leptailurus
種：	藪貓 L. serval

學名

Leptailurus serval
(Schreber, 1776)

分布圖

藪貓（学名 Leptailurus serval）是产于非洲的中型猫科动物，为藪貓屬的唯一成员。藪貓体长85厘米，尾长40厘米。平均寿命在12-20年。与其他猫科动物相比，它体型修长，腿长而尾短，耳朵又高又圆，距离很近。斑点有许多变种。

Its main habitat is the savanna, although melanistic individuals are more usually found in mountainous areas. Servals need watercourses within their territory, so they do not live in semi-deserts or dry steppes. They are able to climb and swim, but they seldom do so. They have now dwindled down in numbers, due to human population taking over their habitat and hunting them for their pelts. They are protected in most countries. Servals are listed in CITES Appendix 2, indicating that they "not necessarily now threatened with extinction but that may become so unless trade is closely controlled." [1]

[编辑] 亚种

Leptailurus serval serval, Cape Province
Leptailurus serval beirae, Mozambique
Leptailurus serval brachyura, West Africa, Sahel, Ethiopia
Leptailurus serval constantina, Algeria (endangered)
Leptailurus serval hamiltoni, eastern Transvaal
Leptailurus serval hindeio, Tanzania
Leptailurus serval ingridi, Namibia, southern Botswana, Zimbabwe
Leptailurus serval kempi, Uganda
Leptailurus serval kivuensis, Congo
Leptailurus serval liposticta, northern Angola
Leptailurus serval lonnbergi, southern Angola
Leptailurus serval mababiensis, northern Botswana
Leptailurus serval robertsi, western Transvaal
Leptailurus serval togoensis, Togo, Benin

[编辑] 捕食对象

Although the serval is highly specialised for catching rodents, it is an opportunistic predator whose diet also includes hares, hyraxes, birds, reptiles, insects, fish, and frogs.^[1] Servals have been observed taking larger animals, such as small antelopes, but over 90% of the serval's prey weighs less than 200g (7 oz).^[2] Servals eat very quickly, and if their food is big enough, they sometimes eat too fast and regurgitating the food because of clogging in the throat.

As part of their adaptations for hunting in the savannas, servals boast long legs (the longest of all cats, relative to body size) and large ears. The long legs and neck allow the serval to see over tall grasses, while its ears are used to detect rodents, even those burrowing underground. While hunting, servals will pause for up to 15 minutes at a time to listen with eyes closed. The serval's pounce is a distinctive vertical 'hop', which may be an adaptation for catching flushed birds.^[3] Servals are highly efficient hunters, catching prey on as many as 50% of attempts, compared to around one of ten for most species of cat.^[2]

The litter consists of two or three young (called cubs or kittens), sometimes as few as one or as many as five. They are raised in sheltered locations like abandoned aardvark burrows. If such an ideal location is not available, a place behind a shrub may be sufficient. Servals are sometimes preyed upon by leopards. More dangerous for this cat are humans. Servals were extensively hunted for their fur. They are still common in West and East Africa, but they are extinct in the South African Cape Province and very rare north of the Sahara.

野外的藪貓

[编辑] 驯养

Though they are not domesticated animals, servals are sometimes kept as pets (particularly in the United States). In many countries, a special wild animal licence is required in order to keep servals. Those with experience of pet servals report them to form a strong bond with humans, often head butting and pouncing out of affection. They also report to be non-aggressive towards their owners and more intelligent and active than domestic cats. As proof of their intelligence servals have been documented many times and featured on various video's as playing fetch with their owners. In spite of their intelligence, they can be troublesome like many regular feline cats, often getting into things they shouldn't and with advanced intelligence sometimes seen opening doors and cabinets. Before owning a serval, proofing the house is required with these factors in mind. While they are not aggressive most of the time, servals can be hostile if one feels threatened or annoyed and can cause damage to the owners and anyone close. When threatened or excited the serval cat arches its back, bends its ears backwards, and raises a line of hair on its back in a mohawk-like fashion. This is why it is not recommended to own a serval if children are in the household. Servals, unlike their domesticated hybrid breed, the savannah, will not hesitate to show their dislike of something. While aggressiveness is rare, the chances are increased with children present. Servals can be litter box trained, but since in the wild servals instinctively do not cover their feces such as the domestic cat, they do not always feel the need to go in the litter box. Also, Servals are not instinctively afraid of water, and giving them a water bowl can be a challenge because it is as likely to play in it with its front paws as drink it.

Another factor to keep in mind is that servals require a special diet consisting of raw meat. Some breeders simply recommend premium cat food but has proved to cause health problems later on in the cats life. Another controversial subject is if the food should be covered in protein and vitamins that the cat would normally of gotten in the wild from the bones they would of eaten.

^{[來源請求]} Male servals have been bred to domestic cats to produce hybrids. This cross is the basis of the Savannah cat breed. Servals have also been hybridised with caracals (their closest relatives) to produce servicals and caravals. Additionally, the Serengeti Cat is a breed being developed with the aim of producing a wild-looking domestic cat, similar in appearance to a serval in many respects, but utilizing only domestic breeds and not actually incorporating any genetic contribution from the Serval.

[编辑] 文学作品

The serval Template:In it was the symbol of the Tomasi family, princes of Lampedusa, whose best-known member was Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, author one of the most famous Italian novels of the twentieth century, Il Gattopardo.

[编辑] 参考文献

Cat Specialist Group (2002). Leptailurus serval. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. 擷取於12 May 2006.（英文） Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern