Endangered servals receive second chance
Two serval cats, a threatened species, were released into the wild yesterday after evading certain death and a life of isolation and enclosure.
CONSERVATIONISTS won a small battle for wildlife conservation wildlife yesterday when they released two serval cats into the Pakamisa Private Game Reserve. Servals are currently listed as a threatened or protected species.
The two majestic young felines are once again roaming free after they were successfully rehabilitated by the Durban-based Centre for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife ( CROW). The furry duo spent several months at the rehabilitation centre.
Sabrina, a female serval, faced a life of isolation and enclosure, as she was being kept illegally by residents in Tongaat, north of Durban CROW said in a statement. Fortunately, police managed to confiscate her.
A few weeks later a male serval, affectionately known as Salem, and his mother were rescued from a storm water drain in Howick. Unfortunately, the mother died shortly after their rescue, due to severe injuries.
“Rehabilitating wild animals is not for the faint-hearted. It takes skill, dedication and patience as well as nerves of steel, especially when dealing with wild cats such as servals. But as any wildlife rehabilitation will tell you, ultimately being able to give a wild animal back its freedom, definitely makes all the hard work with it in the end,” said CROW clinic nurse, Sue-Ann Shutte.
