The African Bush 4 – The Kudu

Kudu - Tragelaphus strepsiceros

This is the fifth in an ongoing series of stories about the bush in Africa. All photos are taken by the author himself using a Canon 1000D, while travelling.

The second largest of the African antelope, the Greater Kudu, also just know as Kudu is found from East to South Africa. It is one of two species, the other being the lesser kudu. It is an amazing animal in its own right, and there is something very regal about a male with massive horns running through the bush.

They love bushy areas and with the camouflage their skin tone and patterns give, they can hide from sight right in front of you. In fact their strategy is exactly that. They stay still as long as they can, and when they run they can run through the thickest brush with no problem and with incredible nimble feet, disappearing in seconds, with only the sound of their departure giving them away.

A youngish Kudu. The older mails have massive curled horns.

The word Kudu is a Khoikhoi (the original inhabitants of most of East, central and Southern Africa) name for the animal (also spelled Koodoo). When we took our little girl, then 3, to our game farm for the first time, and saw a Kudu, pointing it out to her, she replied Shhhh, kudoedoe …. Doe doe being slang in Afrikaans often used with little kids to tell them to sleep.

These browsers eat leaves and shoots, and are reasonably hardy animals. The greater Kudu is however more dependent on water than the lesser kudu.

Kudu meat is the best game meat for me by far. AS it is a very lean meat, it is healthier than beef, and if cooked correctly is a very nice eating meet. It is also great for biltong (dried meet eaten in Africa … jerky in the States), and while it needs to be eaten when slightly drier than beef biltong, I prefer it to beef Biltong.

I know, the thought of eating this beautiful animal is a little sad, but given that most of their population is now in closed in areas due to much of their habitat being destroyed, one has to control their numbers and they are very popular in hunting circles. I would eat them, but do not hunt them anymore. Maybe a little hypocritical, but I am a meat eater, what can I say.

Other Articles in this series include
The African Bush – 4 July 2017
The African Bush 2 – 5 July 2017
The African Bush 3 – 19 July 2017
The African Bush 4 – 20 July 2017