28 o 
EASTERN ETHIOPIA 
xxil 
example, but its liorns and beautifully striped bright- 
coloured skin occasionally adorn the walls of settlers’ 
houses. This antelope has been rarely hunted because 
it lives in the densest parts of the Mau forest, and 
possesses extremely sharp ears and eyes. Most of the 
skins which are available have been obtained from 
Ndorobo hunters. Bongos “ do not graze but browse, 
cropping the leaves, flowers, and twigs of various 
shrubs, and eating thistles ” (Roosevelt). 
Kudus are very handsome antelopes. There are two 
species, the Greater Kudu [Strepsiceros kudu) and the 
Lesser Kudu (Strepsiceros imhei'his). They are allied 
to the bushbucks on the one hand and the elands on 
the other. The horns of the kudus have more twists 
than those of the bushbucks, and the spiral is more 
open than that of elands. Horns are absent in the 
females. The Greater Kudu has a mane of hair 
extending along its throat as well as a dorsal mane 
along its nape and withers. The tawny coat of this 
magnificent animal is marked with narrow vertical 
white stripes. It prefers hills covered with thickets, 
but it is also seen along the banks of rivers as well as 
in thorny jungles on the plains. Kudus are met with 
in pairs or in small parties. On looking at its horns, 
which may measure five or six feet along the curve, 
one thinks that they would be in its way when scamper- 
in^ throuMi low trees and brushwood. Under such 
o . . o 
conditions the kudu lays its horns fiat on its back and 
rushes without hindrance through the thickets to escape 
its enemies. 
The Lesser Kudu has no long hair on its throat, 
hence its name imherbis (beardless), and the horns 
form a closer spiral. It has not the wide range of 
the Greater Kudu, being confined to East and North 
East Africa. These animals are difficult to shoot on 
account of their peculiar coloration and the thickness 
of the bush in wdiich they live and where they love to 
lie in the heat of the day. 
