Dental Pathology in a Wild Serval (Leptailurus serval) Population

Abstract

Members of the family Felidae suffer from a wide range of dental, oral and maxillofacial conditions that can cause significant morbidity and mortality. Although many dental, oral and maxillofacial anomalies of the domestic cat (Felis catus) also occur in wild felines, we could find no investigations of these conditions in servals (Leptailurus serval). The objective of this study was to describe the dental, oral and maxillofacial pathology of a wild serval population in South Africa. Detailed extraoral and intraoral examinations and full-mouth dental radiographs on 30 wild servals revealed 14 different dental conditions but no other oral or maxillofacial pathology.

Keywords: dental; maxillofacial, pathology; oral; servals.