Species name: Kudu
Scientific name: Tragelaphus strepsiceros
Weight: Male: ±190 – 400kg - Female: ±120 – 200kg
Shoulder Height: Male: ±1,4 – 1,55m - Female: ±1,2 – 1,35m
General Habitat: Open Savannah/Thorn-tree scattered veld/Rocky Hillsides
Diet: Herbivorous – Browsers

Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve is home to number of antelope species, such as species from the genus Tragelaphus – also referred to as “Tragelaphines” meaning “Spiral Horned Antelope” and there are a few species, namely: Kudu (Greater/Lesser), Nyala, Bushbuck and Eland.

In this blog we are focusing on the largest Tragelaphine found at Sabi Sabi, the Kudu or also known as the Greater Kudu. They are very easily distinguished from most antelope species, generally quite a bit larger, both male and female will have white disruptive markings running vertically along the coat from the flanks to the rump (these line markings are unique in every individual). The only differences between male and female is that the male will have a rather large set of horns which are spiraled (reach 1,2m on average however have been recorded up to 1,7m/an average of 3 curls), and the female will lack these horns. Also, the male will sport a fringe of longer hair stretching from the chin to lower neck.

Kudu are generally browsers, meaning they feed on leaf matter from the canopies of small shrub-like trees no bigger than 1 – 2m tall. They are not deterred by thorns and are found among thorn-tree scattered veld within the environment. They will also occasionally feed on grass, fruits, shoots, seeds and pods. Kudu are ruminants and are quite specialized browsers and outcompete species such as the Giraffe and Black Rhino due to their size and flexibility – such as being able to reach higher up on shrubs than Black Rhino and lower on shrubs than Giraffe.

Kudu are generally seen or found within open savannah thorn-tree thickets and amongst rocky hillsides and the reason for this as this is their habitat preference as they are predominantly browsers discussed previously. They are usually active in the early mornings and late evenings and have been known to browse throughout the night on full moon or moon light nights. On darker evenings, Kudu usually take shelter in dense thickets or vegetation to protect themselves from predators. Due to the density of their habitat preference, Kudu rely on their sense of hearing and smell as their eye sight will be obscured by all the vegetation. Based on these two senses, they can detect predators and will alert the family herd/breeding herd or bachelor herd with a loud hoarse barking sound which usually intimidates the predator. Kudu have a few predators, namely for the bulls – Lion and Spotted Hyena, and for the cows and calves – African Wild Dog, Leopard and Cheetah. Kudu bulls have a higher mortality than that of the cows due to the size of their extremely large and heavy horns.

Kudu are a relatively social species and not territorial but instead form home ranges which is shared with other individuals. The cows and calves form unstable family herds where sub-adults and adult bulls form groupings. A bachelor grouping can range anything from 2 – 10 individuals, however there will be a type of hierarchical dominance as most dominant bulls will rub their horns against trees and leaves as well as to the extent of scrapping the ground. The breeding group consisting of cows and calves and can reach up to 14 individuals. Within this herd, once a bull reaches sexual maturity (cows – 18 months/bulls – 22 months) he is expelled from the herd and will either be solitary or join a bachelor herd of sub-adults and adult bulls previously mentioned. The entire theory of the social structure and division of Kudu does not exist during the mating season as the bachelor herds join the family herd or breeding herd. Other times of the year where different groupings may meet up is during the dry winter season where they might be seen interacting around waterholes.

My Memorable Sighting

As Kudu are common in the reserve, it should be relatively easy to have a sighting you enjoyed the most. Don’t get me wrong, all Kudu sightings are enjoyable but because there are so many, its hard to recall a sighting that you’ll always remember. However, with that being said, I do...

It wasn’t too long ago, about 4 – 6 weeks, mid-way through the rainfall season. Myself and my tracker Richard set out from Earth Lodge in search of leopard in the North Eastern side of the reserve. On our way up to the Northern section, we noticed some weird behavior from a female Kudu. So, I grabbed my binoculars to investigate why this Kudu cow was lying on her side with her head constantly facing her rear end and not focusing on the passing vehicle. Suddenly I noticed that the female was in labour and giving birth to her calf. We sat and watched for about 15 – 20 minutes until the female stood up, forcing the calf to be born and watched as the mother cleaned her new born calf and watch it take its first steps. This was a truly magical and awesome sighting that one can only get to see when spending many years in the bush and have pure luck with the right timing.

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