Lesser Kudu LESSER KUDU Tragelaphus imberbis German: Kleiner Kudu Breeding French: Petit koudou Mating season Any time of year but distinct birth peaks with the rains Spanish: Cudu Menor Gestation 220 days Measurements Number of young 1 Total length: 1,85 – 2,05 m (6.1‘ – 6.7‘) Birth weight 4 – 7 kg (8.8 – 15.4 lb) Tail: 25 – 30 cm (9.8” – 11.8”) Sexual maturity Male > 15 months, breeds only at 4 – 5 years; Shoulder Height: 1 m (3.3‘) female 15 months Weight: Male 100 kg (220 lb) Longevity Wild to 8 – 10 years; captives > 15 years Female 62 kg (137 lb) Description Medium-sized antelope with overall Lesser kudu greyish-brown colouration, although ewes often more fawn-reddish. There are up to 15 narrow, white, vertical lines on each side, with two distinctive white markings on the throat. Inner upper legs with white and black markings, lower legs orange-brown in colour. Ears large and prominent, but only ram carries the long and widely spiralled horns. Distribution Only in eastern Africa, from south-central Right front, 70 mm (2.8”) Right back, 60mm (2.4”) Tanzania, Kenya, north-eastern Uganda, to north-eastern Ethiopia, south-eastern Commiphora woodland in semi-arid Sudan and Somalia. Although generally areas. They avoid open areas and rarely Shot placement held to be an African endemic there are move far from cover. two specimen records from the Arabian Peninsula, one shot at Jabal Halmyn in Behaviour south Yemen and the second was shot They may be solitary, especially rams, in at Nuqrah in western Saudi Arabia. pairs, or in small groups of related ewes Both were said to have been shot in the and their young. Fixed home ranges are 1960s. Reports from these areas indicate occupied and most animals are sedentary, that they did occur naturally at very low but in some areas seasonal movements densities, but today no longer occur. are undertaken. Home ranges tend to Given the propensity of rich Arabs to be smallest in the dry season, expanding collect animals from Africa and elsewhere during the rains. Ram ranges average 2 it is always a possibility that these were 2 – 3 km (500 - 1,00 acres) in escapes from private menageries. It is size, whereas those of ewes tend Rifles and Ammunition offered as a trophy only in Tanzania and to be somewhat smaller at under Suggested Calibre: .270 to .308. 2 Ethiopia. 2 km (500 acres). There is no territorial Bullet: Expanding bullet. behaviour by either sex. Most feeding Sights: Medium-range variable scope. Hunting Conditions: Expect short to medium shots in Conservation standing takes place at night or during the cooler thornbush habitat. Possibly as many as 110,000 lesser kudu early morning hours. Rams rely mainly throughout its range, but one estimate on displays during rutting and fighting is gives less than half this figure. It is a said to be rare. Even in areas where they difficult antelope to count accurately and are relatively common they are not easy the higher figure is probably correct. They to observe. are losing ground outside conservation areas and controlled hunting blocks Food mainly because of habitat loss and Predominantly a browser that feeds on meat hunting. Lesser kudu are highly leaves, growth points, flowers and pods susceptible to the disease rinderpest and but also takes some grass, especially there have been significant die-offs in during the rains. Highly selective of grass recent decades. species and the growth stage. Habitats Occupy areas dominated by dense Acacia 99 Lesser Kudu Female lesser kudu are more brightly coloured than the ram, and lack horns Photo: G.&M. von Hasseln G.&M. von Photo: Lesser kudu ram shot in northern Tanzania, close to the Kenyan border 98 Game Animals of the World.