Greater Kudu are large woodland antelope

Greater kudu, or kudu antelope, is an African species of antelope from the subfamily of bulls. This strong, hardy animal has beautiful twisted horns and can jump over a three-meter fence. In this article you will find a description of the kudu antelope, learn interesting facts about the life of this animal and see a photo of the kudu antelope.

The description of the kudu antelope should begin with a story about how beautiful this animal has screwed horns. Kudu looks majestic because his horns can reach up to 1 meter and the larger they are, the more important the status of the male in society. The antlers of male kudu begin to grow at the age of 6–12 months. The first spiral whorl is formed by 2 years, full 2–3 whorls of the horns form only in 6 years.

Males are gray-brown in color with a reddish tint. The head is somewhat darker, and between the eyes they have a white V-shaped pattern. The males also have a beard on their throats. Females and juveniles are much lighter, do not have horns and beards. The kudu antelope has a large narrow body, long strong legs, large rounded ears and a decent length tail. Also, the body of the animal is decorated with a pattern of 4–12 white vertical stripes.

Greater kudu is a large forest antelope. Males are significantly larger than females. The size at the withers in males is about 1.5 m, with a weight of 250–300 kg and a body length, taking into account the tail, up to 2.5 m. Females weigh 150–200 kg and reach a height of no more than 1 meter. The average life expectancy of males is no more than 10 years, for females about 15 years. In captivity, these animals can live for more than 20 years.

It is worth noting that there are 2 types of kudu: large kudu and small kudu. They are similar in appearance and lifestyle, only the large kudu is really much larger than the small one and they also have a slightly different color.

Where does the greater kudu live?

Greater kudu lives in East and South Africa and is found primarily in the savannas, which are a transitional form between forests and bare steppe. Near rivers, large kudu can also be found in more arid regions.

The kudu’s habitat includes scrubland, mixed scrub woodlands, abandoned fields and pastures, lowlands, hills, and mountains. They sometimes venture out into the plains only if there is a lot of bush there, but usually they avoid such open areas so as not to become an easy target for their predators.

The great kudu’s range extends from the east in Ethiopia, Tanzania, Eritrea and Kenya to the south where they are found in Zambia, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Also, large kudu live in such territories as the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Eswatini, Malawi, Mozambique, Somalia and Uganda. Small quantities of kudu have been introduced to New Mexico but have never been released into the wild.

Despite such a wide area, kudu are sparsely populated in most areas due to habitat decline, deforestation, and poaching. Only in South and East Africa the number of these animals is numerous. In the northern territories, in countries such as Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia and Chad, kudu are on the verge of extinction.

How does the kudu antelope live?

The kudu antelope lives settled. Small groups of 3 to 10 animals inhabit an area of ​​about 50 km². Usually such groups consist of females with offspring. Males form separate groups of bachelors or live alone and join females only during mating seasons.

The great kudu antelope lives by being active both during the day and at night. They mainly feed and drink early in the morning and late in the evening, getting water from wells or roots and bulbs that have a high water content. The large kudu feeds on leaves and grass, eating young branches and various shoots, as well as fruits. Kudu are not picky and often eat even poisonous plants.

In the midst of the heat of the day, the markhorn kudu usually ceases to be active and tries to find shelter in the forest. Although this woodland antelope prefers to be settled, it can travel long distances in search of water during times of drought. Also, in especially dry times, kudu can gather in large herds near rivers, showing activity at any time of the day.

The markhorned kudu has natural enemies. The main ones are the spotted hyena, the lion and the African wild dog. Their enemies are cheetahs and leopards, although they primarily hunt calves or females. Nile crocodiles also attack the great kudu.

The forest antelope kudu usually hides in the bushes. In case of danger, the female gives a signal to warn the herd. The great kudu antelope has good eyesight and hearing, which allows you to notice the threat in time. Also, their coloring helps to camouflage, and they can also stand still for a long time, making them even harder to spot. If you still failed to go unnoticed, then kudu flee, while they are able to develop high speed and jump over obstacles to a height of up to 3 meters.

Greater kudu has suffered greatly from human interference. People are destroying forests and converting much of the natural habitat of these animals to agriculture. However, artificial water sources created by people allowed kudu to occupy those areas that were previously unsuitable for their habitation due to lack of water.

Greater kudu populations in the northern part of its range have declined due to overhunting and rapid habitat loss. Poachers prey on kudu for their meat and their beautiful horns. But in general, they are not in danger of survival, since kudus well protected in other areas. There are large populations of these antelopes in parks and reserves, as well as on private farms.

Greater kudu baby

Kudu mating season begins at the end of the rainy season. Males follow the female, making a call, until she shows sympathy. Competition for a female does not often occur between males, in which case they will fight for her position, pushing each other and blocking the horns, until one of them emerges victorious. It rarely happens that males, clinging to each other with their horns, cannot free themselves, which leads to their death.

Kudu females become capable of breeding as early as 1.5 years, and in males this period begins at the age of about 2 years. The female bears cubs for about 8 months, childbirth occurs in the rainy season. Usually one cub weighing 15 kg is born in kudu, occasionally two are born.

After birth, kudu cubs hide in the vegetation for about 1.5 months, after which they begin to go out for short walks. Reaching the age of 3–4 months, kudu calves follow their mother everywhere. At the age of six months, a kudu cub becomes a practically independent individual from its mother.

Interesting facts about Greater Kudu:

• The Greater kudu is the second largest antelope species in the world. The largest one is only Eland.
• Greater kudus have the most spectacular horns in the animal kingdom. You can even tell the age of kudu by the number of twists on its horns. The horns begin to grow when the male kudu is between the ages of 6–12 months; they form the first spiral rotation at around 2 years of age and reach the full two and a half rotations when the animal is 6 years old.
• Greater kudus have excellent hearing and acute eyesight which helps to alert them to approaching predators.
• When sensing danger kudus freeze and stand still which makes it extremely difficult to spot them.

References

1. Greater Kudu on Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_kudu

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