The very first thing she did with her freedom? Hunt!
KwaZulu-Natal (10 September 2025) – As the gate to her soft-release enclosure at Thula Thula swung open, a young female serval spotted her chance. One leap, one (unlucky) vlei rat, and dinner was sorted. Just like that. She carried it off into the long grass and enjoyed her munch in peace.
After proving that the wild would be no challenge for her, she later slipped off into the night.
She wasn’t alone on the journey. A male serval, her brother, who had been acclimatising in a neighbouring enclosure, joined her. Together, they became the fifth and sixth servals FreeMe Wildlife has returned to the wild this year. A big win for a species that was once thought extinct in parts of South Africa.
These two were rescued and nursed back to health by FreeMe earlier this year. In March, they were brought to Thula Thula and received further care from the team there.
“They were finally released [recently] and are now enjoying their freedom to roam and explore the game reserve,” shares Thula Thula.
Wild cats again, both servals are now fitted with satellite collars that will quietly log their movements for the next year before falling away. This data will help conservationists better understand how servals adapt back into the wild and how they share space with the big guys – leopard, hyena, and cheetah.
They’re more than ready.
Servals aren’t the biggest cats on the block, but they’re some of the sharpest. Those long legs and oversized ears are built for hunting. They can hear rodents moving underground and leap two metres straight into the air to snatch up a bird in mid-flight. Half their hunts end in success, which is the best strike rate of any cat!
While servals are now found across all nine provinces, their survival depends on protected habitats like wetlands and grasslands, as well as careful reintroduction efforts just like this one.
For FreeMe Wildlife and the Thula Thula team, moments like these are a massive reward after months of care and planning. Judging by that first vlei rat, these two already know exactly how to be wild again.
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