How to Use serval in a Sentence

serval

noun
  • That was the case with a serval, another small African cat that is extremely shy.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 June 2019
  • After the serval was out of the house, Frank called animal control.
    — Vanessa Etienne, PEOPLE.com, 7 July 2021
  • However, per the refuge, the serval is not protected under that law.
    — Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 Feb. 2023
  • For $75 a night, visitors could share a small cabin with a bobcat, cougar, or serval.
    — Rachel Nuwer, Longreads, 10 Mar. 2020
  • With the longest legs relative to body size of any wild cat, the serval is also one of the fastest, able to run at speeds up to fifty miles per hour.
    — Discover Magazine, 15 Sep. 2014
  • Five serval cats also call the refuge home, plus a constant stream of pangolins, the world’s most trafficked animal.
    — Washington Post, 15 Jan. 2021
  • One serval kitten in a crate appeared lethargic, with watery eyes and diarrhea.
    — Animals, 18 Dec. 2020
  • In addition to tigers and lions, there were also panthers, bobcats, servals, lynx, etc.
    — Matt Wake | [email protected], al, 17 Apr. 2020
  • Wilson said because servals like Juno are very fast, the best way to catch him would be using a tranquilizer.
    — Ivana Hrynkiw, AL.com, 1 May 2018
  • The center said a variety of cats have died from the outbreak, including cougars, bobcats and African servals.
    — Minnah Arshad, USA TODAY, 25 Dec. 2024
  • In an initial veterinary exam, the refuge’s team found the serval was suffering from several problems.
    — Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 Feb. 2023
  • According to the outlet, Frank found a serval — a wild cat native to Africa sometimes kept as an exotic pet — in her bed.
    — Vanessa Etienne, PEOPLE.com, 7 July 2021
  • Habimana points out a camera trap; fixed to a gate less than a mile from the lodge's villas, its lens has captured serval cats, African buffalo, and bushbuck.
    — Noo Saro-Wiwa, Condé Nast Traveler, 13 Oct. 2023
  • Prygoski says anyone who sees the serval should stay away from the cat and contact animal control or the DNR.
    — Rachel Trent, CNN, 3 July 2021
  • Groo photographed this elusive serval cat at sunrise on the Makao Plains of Ndutu, Tanzania.
    — Joshua Rapp Learn, Smithsonian, 21 Apr. 2017
  • While assessing the serval's health, caretakers ran a toxicology report — which is when the wild story took another turn.
    — Anna Lazarus Caplan, Peoplemag, 8 Mar. 2023
  • Within a few minutes, a jet-black serval—a wildcat with a normally cheetah-like coat—ambled into view of the shocked group before disappearing back into the bush.
    — Sergio Pitamitz, National Geographic, 22 Mar. 2017
  • During this annual event, community members wear lipatelo skirts made from leopard and serval fur and mishukwe headpieces topped by lion manes.
    — Catherine Garcia, The Week, 8 June 2023
  • Despite being barely twice the size of an average house cat, the serval is the most effective hunter of all wildcats, with successful kills approximately half of the time.
    — Discover Magazine, 15 Sep. 2014
  • Smaller wildcats in captivity, such as servals or ocelots, are often fed a domestic cat-like diet, while big cats such as jaguars and leopards get meat and animal carcasses.
    — National Geographic, 17 Mar. 2018
  • However, the private ownership of wild or hybrid cats, like a serval, is prohibited in Baltimore.
    — Desiree Anello, PEOPLE, 8 Dec. 2025
  • Four days later, a coatimundi and serval died without veterinary care or a necropsy, the animal equivalent of an autopsy.
    — Tessa Duvall, The Courier-Journal, 7 Feb. 2020
  • The aquarium offers similar visits with its binturong (or bearcat), serval (African wild cat), porcupine and otters.
    — Kourtney Geers, The Know, 20 Feb. 2017
  • Lions, cheetahs and leopards may be spotted during the day, while night brings out a parade of smaller carnivores, including serval, genets, civets, pale foxes and honey badgers.
    — Rachel Nuwer, New York Times, 14 May 2018
  • Scientist and photographer Jeffrey Kerby, who spent almost a decade working at the gelada project, once watched a tawny serval make off with a baby monkey.
    — Craig Welch, National Geographic, 28 Mar. 2019
  • According to the African Wildlife Foundation, serval cats are most commonly found on savannas and possess long necks and legs that enable them to see over tall grass.
    — Desiree Anello, PEOPLE, 8 Dec. 2025
  • Most significantly leopards, but also serval and caracal cats, aardvarks and aardwolves, as well as many smaller mammals and much of the bird and reptile life that had previously vanished.
    — Joe Yogerst, CNN, 9 Mar. 2023
  • Lions, African wild dogs, serval cats, monkeys, puku antelope, and warthogs are all featured in the series, but there is one specific animal Britton saw herself in.
    — Corin Cesaric, Peoplemag, 9 May 2023
  • Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge is looking forward to helping with the serval's recovery and offering the feline a loving home.
    — Anna Lazarus Caplan, Peoplemag, 1 Feb. 2023
  • However, other tigers, lions, snow leopards, cheetahs, clouded leopards, Amur leopards, pumas or servals the infected zookeeper cared for are showing no signs of the disease.
    — Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 6 Apr. 2020

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'serval.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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