HOW TO HUNT KUDU WHILE ON AN AFRICAN HUNTING SAFARI

Researching a South African Hunting Safari? Any outfitter youcontact organizes various African hunting packages whichinclude a variety of plains game trophy animals. Kudu is oftenfirst on most hunters wish list. In this Article, we will focus on theKudu to assist you on your African Hunting Safari. Kudu with itswonderful spiral horns is one of the most graceful and beautifulantelopes in Africa. The Kudu is indigenous to South Africa andoccurs in great numbers. Wildlife husbandry and the privatesector have generally had a positive effect on this species since ithas been largely reintroduced on private property within itsnatural range.

The common name kudu is derived from the indigenous

Khoikhoi language of Southern Africa. The scientific name is

derived from the Greek: Tragos means a goat and an elapho

means a deer; Strephis means “twist” and Keras means “horn.

Greater kudu may be distinguished from a similar species,

the lesser kudu (Tragelaphus imberbis), by the presence of a

throat mane.

THE TAXONOMY

The greater kudu is a big-game

antelope with a fawn coloration

highlighted by thin white

vertical stripes. Female kudu

has no horns.

HOW TO IDENTIFY

THE KUDU?

WHERE CAN YOU

FIND KUDU IN AFRICA?

The greater kudu can be found throughout southern Africa,

Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Zambia,

further north in Tanzania, Kenya and in some parts of Angola.

You can also find a huge population of greater Kudus in the

Eastern Cape South Africa.

HOW THEY FORM THE HERDS?

Herds comprise of 20 or more kudus, usually

split up into smaller groups. While young cows

usually remain with their mothers' unit, the

young bulls of two years old prefer to form

bachelor groups when they reach puberty. On

the other hand, having won the right to mate,

the adult bulls join herds of females in mating

season. Though no territorial spacing exists

amongst bulls, they show age and size-graded

dominance hierarchies.

Habitat and Ecology of South African Kudus

Kudus can be found in a very broad range of habitat, including hilly areas, bush thickets,

mountain slopes with trees, forests, riparian areas, brush areas and wooded savannah. The

average home range area is 90-350 ha during humid summer periods and typically extends

to 600 ha during droughts. Predators like lions and leopards, African wild dogs, hyenas, and

sometimes pythons, hunt kudu and their young.

If you are planning to hunt the Kudus, it may turn out

to be extremely challenging because of their capability

to disguise. Some of the effective kudu hunting tactics

include stalking their feeding areas early in the

morning, waiting at watering holes at midday,

ambushing the bulls when they return from cover and

on higher grounds. You can track them in thick cover

also. For shot placement, go for the high heart or lung

shot instead of head and neck shots.

TACTICS FOR HUNTING A HUNTING A KUDUTROPHY

Follow Us!

https://nickbowkerhunting.com/ Gainesville, Georgia,USA

315-510-5123