Greater Kudu

Description:

Considered least concern by the IUCN. Historically, the Greater Kudu occurred over much of eastern and southern Africa, from Chad nearly to the Red Sea, south to the Eastern Cape, west to Namibia and north to mid-Angola. While it has disappeared from substantial areas, mainly in the north of its range, it generally persists in a greater part of its former range than other large antelope species, as a result of its secretiveness and its ability to survive in settled areas with sufficient cover. As in the past, it is much more sparsely distributed and less numerous in the northern parts of its range (from northern Tanzania northwards) than further south. The species seems now to be extinct at least in Somalia; there is no recent information on their status in Sudan or Djibouti (East 1999; Owen-Smith in press).

Habitat:

Preferred habitat includes mixed scrub woodland (it is one of the few large mammals that thrives in settled areas - in the scrub woodland and bush that reclaims abandoned fields and degraded pastures-), acacia, and mopane bush on lowlands, hills, and mountains. Recorded to 2,400 m in Ethiopia (Yalden et al. 1996). Kudu are browsers; they can exist for long periods without drinking, obtaining sufficient moisture from their food, but become water dependent at times when the vegetation is very dry (Owen-Smith in press).

Notes:

Taken at Safari West in Santa Rosa, CA.