The Antelopes 



259 



there are two or three elieek-spots, as well as an arr(j\v-sha,[)e(l white mark across tlie nose, 

 below tlie eves. In the iiiah^ there is a sliglit mane on tlie l)aek of the ni'ck. anil a, Ciinge 

 of long white and hlaekisli-lnrown hair intermixed, extending from the tljroat (o the chest. The 

 ears are veiy large and rounded, and tiie male is adorned with magnificent s])iral hiJiiis, wliicli 

 have been known to attain a length of 48 inches in a straiglit line from base to tip. and 

 G4 inches over the cnrve. 



The greater kudu once liad a. very wide range, -whicli extended from the central jKiiiions 

 of the Cape Colony to Angola on the west, and on the east throughout East Africa up to 

 Ab}-ssinia; but, with the single exception of the buffalo, no species of wild animal suffered 

 more from the terrilile scourge of rinderpest which recently swept over the contini.-nt than 

 this lordly antelope, and it has almost ceased to exist in many disti-icts of South a,nd South 

 Central Africa, wdiere up to 1896 it was still very mimerous. 



The greater kudu is a bush-loving antelope, and very partial to wooded hills, thougli it is 

 also plentiful in the neighbourhood of rivers which flow through level tracts of country covered 

 with forest and bush. In mv own experience it is never found at anv great distance from 

 water. It eats leaves and wild fruits as well as grass, and lives in small herds or families, 

 never, I believe, congregating in large numljers. In Southern Africa, at any rate, it was always 

 exceptional to see more than twenty greater kudus together, and I hnxe never seen more than 

 thirtv. At certain seasons of the year the males lea\'e the females, and live alone or several 

 together. I once saw nine magnificently horned kudus standing on the bank of the Chobi, and 



1 have often seen four or five males 

 of this s[ieeies consorting together. 

 As a rule the greater kudu is met 

 with in hilly country or iu l)ush so 

 dense that a horse cannot gallop 

 through it at full speed ; but if met 

 with in open gr(_)und, a good hoi-se 

 can overtake an old male without 

 ■ ;■' nuich difficulty. The females are 



much lighter and faster, and cannot 

 be o\ertaken in any kind of ground. 

 The greater kudu is one of the 

 most timid and inoffensive of aninrals, 

 and wiren attacked by dogs will not 

 make the slightest attempt to defend 

 itself either with its horns or by 

 kicking. 



The Le.ssek Kudu in general 

 colour nearly resembles its larger 

 relative, l)ut is much smaller, the 

 males only standing about 40 inclies 

 at the withers, and it lacks the long 

 hinye of hair under the throat. 

 The white stripes on the body and 

 hindquarters are, however, more 

 numerous — fi'oni ele\'en to fourteen ; 

 and the horns, which are only present 

 in the males, are less divergent, and 

 with the spiral curvature much closer 

 than in the greater kudu. 



The lesser kudu is an inhaliitant 

 of Somaliland and the maritime 



J'hoto hy I'crcii jUluui'i.m] 



[Cape Toivn, 



MALE Kl'DU. 



A kudu bull stands about 5 feet or .a little iiiuve at the withers, bcini;' in si-zo only 

 inferior to the elantl. The borDS form a corkscrew-like spiral. 



