This is the purrfect gift for the cat lover – spending such intimate time with the incredible medium sized wild cat, the Serval, is as easy as driving 30 minutes west of Melbourne city. The Werribee Open Range Zoo offers this amazing opportunity to anyone over the age of 8 – making it the perfect gift idea for young, old and everyone in between.

Mostly found in the southern parts of Africa, the medium sized Serval is one of many wild cats found throughout the continent. It is known for its gorgeous striped and spotted coat, small head, large ears, and long legs for its body size – with which they can leap vertically up to 2 metres, and double that horizontally! This encounter will get them seriously close to this beauty, to learn about its behaviours and life in the African grasslands.

The African Cat Encounter itself lasts for around 40 minutes, and includes educational components where the group will learn about the conservation efforts of Zoo’s Victoria – especially surrounding threats and extinction of both African and Australian native animals.

Along with this behind the scenes Serval experience, the package also includes general entry to the Zoo, so there is the opportunity to make a full day of fun exploring the rest. A must-do experience is a ride on the Zoo’s own safari bus, where with a guided commentary, they will traverse the savannah’s of Asia, North America and Africa spotting the likes of ostrich, rhinos, bison and much, much more!

Our vouchers are available for use for 12 months from the purchase date, and will appear in your inbox immediately. All organising for the experience will be done directly through the experience provider, where they can work out the perfect time! The Zoo does ask that people please wear close toed shoes for this Serval encounter, and be over the age of 8. This is a great idea for a group activity, but please keep in mind that they can only have a maximum of 6 people in each viewing group.