Species profile
About the greater kudu
A greater kudu bull carries horns that spiral through two and a half turns and can measure well over a metre and a half along the curve — the longest horns of any animal alive. The body is grey-fawn with narrow white flank stripes, and there is a white chevron between the eyes.
For its size the kudu is astonishingly hard to see, standing motionless in dappled woodland until it turns and bounds away with the tail flared white. Ruaha is Tanzania's outstanding kudu park, and one of very few places on earth where greater and lesser kudu regularly occur side by side.
Life in the wild
Behavior & relationships
Behavior
Mainly crepuscular and nocturnal where hunted, and shy in cover. Freezes before fleeing, and clears high obstacles with ease.
Social life
Small female herds of six to ten with their young; bulls live alone or in bachelor groups and join the females only to breed.
What makes it remarkable
Special features
The longest horns of any living animal, six to ten narrow white body stripes and huge rounded ears with acute hearing.
