The black serval (Leptailurus serval) is an unusual, melanistic version of the African serval, a medium-sized wild cat that's native to Africa. Regular servals are stunning; leggy like a supermodel, spotted like a cheetah, with a long neck and oversized ears. Black servals take this elegance to new heights. They owe their unique colouration to an as-yet-unidentified blip in their genetic code, which affects their pigment-producing cells.