Number of servals ...

[dillotest0]

I was reading this page when I saw this curious tidbit.
With fewer than 300 servals in zoos around the world and less than 150 in US zoos, getting to know this beautiful feline is a special treat for any wildlife lover!
My immediate thought was, 'well, there's certainly quite a few in my neck of the woods ... is this number truly accurate?'
And so I checked Zootierliste which largely backed up my notion - 29 collections in the UK are currently listed as having serval, with about 190 collections in EAZA countries alone having serval.
And given quite a few of these collections would keep more than one serval, this number of '<300' seems a bit suspect, somehow.

 

[PossumRoach]

My guess is that SDZ may have excluded unaccredited zoos (and maybe all zoos outside the “western world”) when coming up with this stat. Just when I thought the “bad zoos=/=zoos” logic couldn’t have gotten more far fetched…

 

[lintworm]

My guess is that SDZ may have excluded unaccredited zoos (and maybe all zoos outside the “western world”) when coming up with this stat. Just when I thought the “bad zoos=/=zoos” logic couldn’t have gotten more far fetched…

More likely is that they just pressed the button of current holdings in ZIMS, which is the easiest way to get such a number, no reason for bad faith arguments.

 

[MRJ]

Most likely an uneducated guess, or a marketing person misunderstood data presented to them.

 

[15399]

It would be extremely difficult to estimate the number of servals in private hands in the US, as it is a species relatively common in the private trade. The number of servals in the AZA is just under 80, so I suppose assuming there's the same number in private zoos could be a reasonable guess, although my gut tells me that 150 number is a bit low, even if we only consider facilities open to the public.

 

[birdsandbats]

I would guess there are in fact thousands of captive Servals in the US, mostly in private collections, and at least a few hundred in US zoos alone.

 

[TinoPup]

More likely is that they just pressed the button of current holdings in ZIMS, which is the easiest way to get such a number, no reason for bad faith arguments.

This would be my guess as well, since many facilities don't use ZIMS, and that wouldn't include the pet trade. It's uncommon for zoos to have more than one serval, especially within AZA, as they tend to be an ambassador animal rather than an exhibit animal. They're one of the hardest species for me to confirm for the cat thread.

 

[15399]

It's uncommon for zoos to have more than one serval, especially within AZA, as they tend to be an ambassador animal rather than an exhibit animal.

And this is quite unfortunate. Many traditional ambassador species are currently struggling in the AZA since not enough places are willing to breed them. Servals are one of these species, along with fennec fox, tamandua, north american porcupines, and a few others. Unfortunately if more zoos don't get their act together and prioritize breeding, many of these incredible species may not be available in high quantities for much longer.

 

[TinoPup]

And this is quite unfortunate. Many traditional ambassador species are currently struggling in the AZA since not enough places are willing to breed them. Servals are one of these species, along with fennec fox, tamandua, north american porcupines, and a few others. Unfortunately if more zoos don't get their act together and prioritize breeding, many of these incredible species may not be available in high quantities for much longer.

There's plenty outside AZA, and they pop up as rescues fairly often; that's where some AZA ambassadors come from, since the rescues are already very used to humans and might not do well in a traditional exhibit.

 

[birdsandbats]

And this is quite unfortunate. Many traditional ambassador species are currently struggling in the AZA since not enough places are willing to breed them. Servals are one of these species, along with fennec fox, tamandua, north american porcupines, and a few others. Unfortunately if more zoos don't get their act together and prioritize breeding, many of these incredible species may not be available in high quantities for much longer.

None of these species are in danger of disappearing from zoos, they are super common and regularly bred in the private sector and unaccredited zoos.