Greater Kudu

The greater kudu is a large woodland antelope found throughout eastern and southern Africa, from Ethiopia and Tanzania south to Namibia, Botswana and South Africa. It has a narrow body with long legs, a coat that ranges from brown or bluish grey to reddish brown, and 4 to 12 vertical white stripes on the torso. Bulls weigh 190–270 kg and carry large horns with two and a half twists. Its habitat is mixed scrub woodland and bush, and it normally avoids open plains where it would be an easy target. It eats leaves, grass and shoots, and occasionally tubers, roots and fruit. Females form groups of 6 to 10 with their young, while males are often solitary.

About the greater kudu

The greater kudu is a large woodland antelope of eastern and southern Africa, known for the long spiral horns of its males and the thin white stripes on its body. It belongs to the cattle and antelope family, Bovidae, in the same genus as the bongo, nyala and bushbuck, and lives in bush and scrub woodland.

Its scientific name is Tragelaphus strepsiceros. Kudu, also spelled koodoo, is the Khoikhoi name for the animal. The species name combines Greek words for "twisting" and "horn." It is one of two kudu species; the other is the smaller lesser kudu, Tragelaphus imberbis.

This is one of the largest antelopes, a little smaller than the bongo. The body is narrow, the legs long and the ears large and rounded. Bulls stand up to 1.6 m (5 ft 3 in) at the shoulder and weigh 190–270 kg (420–600 lb), with a maximum around 315 kg (694 lb). Cows are much smaller, at 120–210 kg (260–460 lb) and as little as 1 m (3 ft 3 in) tall. Head and body length is 1.85–2.45 m (6 ft 1 in–8 ft), plus a tail of 30–55 cm (12–22 in).

Coat and horns

The coat ranges from brown or bluish grey to reddish brown, and southern animals tend to be the darkest; bulls also darken with age. Between 4 and 12 thin, vertical white stripes run down the torso. The head is darker than the body, with a small white chevron between the eyes, and the tail is black-tipped with a white underside. Bulls carry a fringe of hair along the throat.

Only bulls grow horns, and they are the kudu's showpiece. They begin to grow at 6 to 12 months, complete their first spiral at about two years and reach the full two and a half turns around six years old; a few bulls reach three full turns. Straightened, an average pair would measure about 120 cm (47 in), and the record is 187.64 cm (73.87 in). Cows have no horns and no beard.

Behavior and diet

Greater kudus may be active at any time of day or night, but they usually rest in woodland cover through the hottest hours. They feed and drink in the early morning and late afternoon, spending on average more than half the day foraging. Water comes from waterholes or from juicy roots and bulbs, and in dry country they can survive without drinking regularly.

The diet is mainly leaves, shoots, herbs, fruit, vines and flowers, with occasional tubers, roots and new grass. Kudus are said to be especially fond of oranges and tangerines, and in parts of Africa they damage farmers' crops.

Herds and home ranges

Females live in small groups of 6 to 10 with their young, occasionally up to 20, and herds of 40 are rare, partly because the kudu's choosy diet makes feeding in big groups hard. Males form small bachelor groups or, more often, live alone, joining the females only to mate. Kudus are not territorial. Female groups use home ranges of about 4 sq km (1.5 sq mi), and a bull's range of about 11 sq km (4.2 sq mi) usually overlaps two or three female groups.

Bulls are not usually aggressive with each other, but those of similar size may spar by locking horns and shoving. In rare cases two bulls lock their horns so tightly that neither can break free, and both die.

Avoiding predators

Lions, spotted hyenas and African wild dogs are the main predators; cheetahs and leopards mostly take cows and calves, and Nile crocodiles occasionally kill kudus. When danger appears, an adult, usually a female, barks to warn the herd. Kudus are nimble on rocky slopes but lack the speed and stamina to outrun predators on open ground. Instead they leap over shrubs and small trees, or simply freeze, relying on camouflage. Their hearing and eyesight are excellent.

Calves

Mating takes place at the end of the rainy season, around April to May in South Africa. Courtship involves the bull standing in front of the cow and sometimes neck-wrestling, then following her while calling softly. After about 240 days, usually one calf is born, most often in the wet season from January to March, when the grass is high. The mother leaves the group to give birth and hides the calf in vegetation for 4 to 5 weeks. By 3 to 4 months it follows her everywhere, and it is fairly independent by 6 months. Females mature at 15 to 21 months and males at 21 to 24 months.

Range and habitat

The greater kudu ranges from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya and Tanzania in the east through Zambia, Angola, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe to South Africa. It also occurs in the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Eswatini, Malawi, Mozambique, Somalia and Uganda. Numbers are densest in the south, while in East Africa the population is broken into many isolated mountain groups.

The kudu needs cover. It lives in mixed scrub woodland, mopane bush, acacia, thicket, and bush on abandoned fields and degraded pasture, in lowlands, hills and mountains. In the rains it stays in deciduous woodland, and in the dry season it often moves to the rich growth along rivers. It ventures onto open plains only where bushes are plentiful. Unusually for such a large mammal, it can thrive close to settled areas as long as cover remains.

Up to three subspecies are recognized, based on color, stripe count and horn length, though some authors treat them as separate species. The American Society of Mammalogists lists the greater kudu as a single species. Its relatives in the genus Tragelaphus include the bongo and the nyala, and the elands are close kin as well.

Conservation status

The greater kudu is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, in a 2020 assessment by the IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group. Across the whole range, its long-term survival is not considered in jeopardy because southern populations remain robust and well managed.

The northern part of the range is a different story. There, excessive hunting and rapid habitat loss have reduced numbers, and the remaining animals live in sparse, isolated groups. Farmland is replacing kudu habitat, woodland cover is being cleared, and poachers target the animals for meat and horns. On the other hand, wells and irrigation have let kudus move into areas that were once too dry.

Large populations live in protected areas from southern Tanzania to South Africa, including Kruger National Park, which holds roughly 11,200 to 17,300. The western population is protected in Zakouma and Siniaka Minia National Parks in Chad. Many more live on private farms and conservancies in Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa, where they are popular with trophy hunters.