Meet our stunning Servals!

Adelaide Zoo is home to four regal Servals, Maji and Kali and their sons Hasani and Zuberi.

Mischievous male Maji was born at Melbourne Zoo on 4 October 2011 and arrived at Adelaide Zoo in May 2014. He’s a cool cat with a very relaxed personality but also loves to explore. Maji has a very distinctive wide jaw and is slightly larger than his mate, Kali.

Kali was born at Wellington Zoo on 14 December 2006 and joined us at Adelaide Zoo in February 2009. She’s a feisty feline, but she’s also an incredibly attentive mother.

Together, the pair have welcomed four litters of kittens, including son Husani who was born on 19 December 2015 and still lives at Adelaide Zoo.

In the wild

Native to the savannahs of Africa, the Serval prefers wetlands and well-watered long-grass habitats.

The Serval is a tall, slender cat with the longest legs relative to body size of any cat species. These long legs make Servals incredible jumpers, able to leap more than six metres from a stationary position. Servals have huge ears set close together which they use to listen for prey. Their hearing is so acute they can even here a mouse burrowing underground.

They are adventurous animals and unlike a lot of cat species, they love to climb and play in water! Servals are also very intelligent and possess remarkable problem-solving abilities. They usually eat small rodents and birds, but aren’t afraid to hunt snakes for food.

Servals are protected in many countries as their numbers have dwindled due to habitat destruction and fur hunting.