A striped antelope of African thickets and woodland.
The coat ranges from reddish brown to blue-gray, with stripes along the body. Males have a beard that females lack.
Greater kudus browse on leaves and fruit. A study in mopane woodland in northern South Africa examined their diet at the end of the wet season. From 22 to 24 March 2015, researchers sampled rumen contents from four adult females and four adult males at Sandown Game Farm. Combretum apiculatum, a bushwillow, made up the largest share at 43%. Marula fruit (Sclerocarya birrea) accounted for 24%, and mopane (Colophospermum mopane) for 12%. Leaves made up 81% of the diet, and most of the remainder was marula fruit.
In the four female samples, C. apiculatum accounted for 44% and mopane for 20%. In males, marula contributed 38% and C. apiculatum 34%. Researchers identified 16 plant species in all, showing a varied late-wet-season menu of leaves and fruit in this sample.
IUCN Red List (IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group) · Least Concern (LC) · Global
The 2020 IUCN Red List entry by the IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group, an amended version of the 2016 assessment, lists the greater kudu as Least Concern (LC) globally with a stable population trend. The assessment date was 14 June 2016.