ij6 Wild Life in Central Africa. 



KUDU (Strepsiceros kudu}. 



NATIVE NAMES. 

 Chinyanja - - Ngoma. | Chingoni - - Kugea. 



Approximate weight, $ 55olb>. 



Good average horns, $ 53in. curve. 



A big bull kudu is a picture of beauty when seen stand- 

 ing on some scrubby hillside with his long spiral horns 

 laid back, and his ears raised to catch the slightest sound. 

 However, he is not often viewed like this, as he is generally 

 a most wary animal, who knows how to take care of these 

 long curving trophies of his, and the usual view is that of a 

 herd, with one or two bulls, doing very good time through 

 the thick bush. 



The bulls are much heavier and taller than the cows, and 

 I do not think many of the females would weigh more than 

 35olb. Kudus have extraordinary large ears, and it is 

 evident that their ears were made for the purpose of self- 

 protection, as, their lives being spent in fairly thick country, 

 they depend for safety mostly on their powers of hearing. 



Kudu browse more than most animals, except perhaps 

 bushbuck and eland. Besides their splendid heads (the 

 males only bear horns although exceptional cases of cows 

 growing horns are on record), their most noticeable features 

 are, besides abnormal size of ears, their pretty blue-grey 

 hides profusely striped with white, and their graceful small 

 hoofs. The males also grow long hair under their throats, 

 which enhances their beauty. T have never seen very large 

 herds of kudu, and a collection of thirty animals may be 

 considered a very large one. Like sable and eland, the 

 old bulls often wander by themselves, although not to such 

 an extent as the former animals, and it is a fairly common 

 sight to see several good bulls consorting together. I 

 recently saw five fine bulls running with a herd of elands. 



An old bull kudu (often spelt koodoo) may become 

 almost hairless, when the prominent stripes w r ill become 

 very faint. 



