New records of servals Leptailurusservalin central South Africa

Abstract

Servals are restricted to eastern South Africa, apparently due to favourable habitat types in this region. Despite their recorded absence from central South Africa, we provide more than 20 new records of servals from the Free State, eastern Northern Cape, and southern North West from over the past two decades. Most records are close to rivers or dams, suggesting servals use waterways as corridors to penetrate otherwise unsuitable habitat in drier areas. These new records provide evidence of an apparent re-colonization of the eastern Free State, and of recent long-distance dispersers and/or a range expansion into suitable areas in the western Free State and eastern Northern Cape.