The serval cat is finally back in the Eastern Cape. This wild cat indigenous to sub-Saharan Africa became locally extinct due to habitat loss, hunting and poaching over the past century.
The serval cat is finally back in the Eastern Cape. This wild cat indigenous to sub-Saharan Africa became locally extinct due to habitat loss, hunting and poaching over the past century.
Recently, however, a number of private game reserves in the Eastern Cape have begun re-introducing the species.
Kariega Game Reserve states in a press release that this is “in the hopes of contributing to the eventual re-establishment of these wild cats in the region”.
Shamwari Game Reserve and the Great Fish River Reserve are among the several private game reserves implementing serval reintroduction programs; and while it is difficult to know how numbers are growing, Shamwari guests have reportedly spotted kittens.
Marion Holmes, founding trustee of the Cat Conservation Trust, on Clifton farm near Cradock, bred the four servals released by Kariega Game Reserve over the past seven months.
She explained that many game reserves are interested in the serval cat more than other wild cats, because it is larger, more eye-catching and is often seen by day.
“These wild cats have been reintroduced due to a change in attitude by game farms,” Holmes said.
The serval, however, is hunted by dog packs on agricultural properties, which is why their new homes must be chosen wisely.
“They have been released only in areas where they will be safe,” Holmes said. Kariega released two males in October and two females last Friday – once they were mature enough – and fitted them with tracking collars for effective monitoring.
“The last known record of wild serval in the Kariega area was a specimen spotted in 1889 near Grahamstown,” the Kariega press release reads.
“As part of our commitment to conservation and increasing the wildlife diversity on the reserve we decided to re-introduce serval. We now have five of the seven indigenous wild cats on the reserve.”
