The Koodoo 44.5 



the horns are about an inch in diameter, smooth and round, and with- 

 out the prominent keel always present in the horns of a koodoo bull ; 

 and whilst the one grows straight up in a sharp spiral twist to a length 

 of 24 inches over the curve and i 3^ inches in a straight line from point 

 to base, the other grows out at right angles to the head and measures 

 37 inches over the curve, but only tapes 10 inches in a straight line from 

 point to base. Koodoos are essentially bush-loving animals, and during 

 the greater part of the year they are seldom to be met with except in 

 thick cover. Towards the end of the dry season, however, in September, 

 October, and November, they often wander from their usual haunts in 

 search of young green grass, and at such times may often be encountered 

 in open forest country, intersected with broad grassy glades. In such 

 situations they can be successfully hunted on horseback. The cows I have 

 always found both fleet and enduring. They run very lightly and easily, 

 bounding over fallen timber or other obstacles without any apparent effort. 

 Old koodoo bulls, however, run heavily, and if met with in ground where 

 a horse can gallop at his utmost speed for a mile or so, can often, though 

 by no means always, be overtaken within that distance. They would not, 

 however, be run to a standstill in such a distance, but only outpaced, and 

 as the horseman ranged alongside, would swerve off and continue their 

 flight, always making for rough ground or thick cover, and in such places 

 no horse can live with them. 



So far as my own experience goes, koodoos never congregate together 

 at any time of year in very large herds. During the rainy period and 

 the early part of the dry season, they are usually to be met with in little 

 parties of less than ten, and I have often come across a single cow alone 

 with her last year's calf, or two, three or four cows together, sometimes 

 accompanied by a bull, though these latter are usually alone. As with 

 other antelopes, however, during the latter part of the dry season the 

 little scattered bands of koodoos collect together, forming fair-sized though 



