SEPTEMBER 2019 • NAT GEO KIDS (^13)
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
INDIAN
OCEAN
AFRICA
AS
IA
ALL EARS
The serval’s big ears
might look silly, but
they’re key to the ani-
mals’ hunting success.
Servals rely on sound
more than any other
sense when they’re on
the prowl. Thanks to
their jumbo ears—the
biggest of any wild
cat’s relative to body
size—a serval can hear
just about any peep on
the savanna. (If a per-
son had ears like a
serval’s, they’d be as
big as dinner plates!)
To make the most of
their super hearing,
servals avoid creating
noise while hunting. So
instead of stalking
prey like some cats do,
servals squat in clear-
ings and sit still—
sometimes for several
hours—as they listen
for food. “On a windless
day, a quiet serval can
hear rodents that are
squeaking many feet
underground,” Thiel-
Bender says.
Take our quiz to see how much you know about
wild cats. natgeokids.com/september
Where
servals
live
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