Although a medium sized cat, the serval's prey base tends to centre on smaller mammals such as hare, rodents including mole rats, ground squirrels and vlei rats and birds such as quails, quelea and flamingoes.
Serval prey mainly on rodents, especially vlei rats, and show a marked preference for tall grassland habitat situated near water.
Larger animals such as vlei rats and even small antelopes are preferred, if they can be easily taken.
Poles, used as raptor perches, dot the veld and encourage the predators of vlei rats and striped field mice, mainly Jackal Buzzard, to catch the rats which are a menace to young trees.
Previous research projects involved behavioral ecology of bat-eared foxes, systematics of horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus sp.), African whistling rats, vlei rats and soft ticks belonging to the genus Ornithodoros.