Kudu
This is the sixteenth and last cache in the “Uitkyk Game Drive Series”. Here, if you have a good look and you are lucky, you may just see a Pied Avocet (“Bontelsie”) as well.
The pied avocet is a striking white wader with bold black markings. Adults have white plumage except for a black cap and black patches in the wings and on the back. They have long, upturned bills and long, bluish legs. It is approximately 41.9–45.1 cm in length of which the bill is approximately 7.5–8.5 cm and the legs are approximately 7.6–10.2 cm. Its wing-span is approximately 76–80 cm. Males and females look alike. The juvenile resembles the adult but with more greyish and sepia tones.
The call of the avocet is a far-carrying, liquid, melodious kluit kluit.
Greater kudus have a narrow body with long legs, and their coats can range from brown/bluish-grey to reddish-brown. They possess between 4–12 vertical white stripes along their torso. The head tends to be darker in colour than the rest of the body, and exhibits a small white chevron which runs between the eyes.
Greater kudu bulls tend to be much larger than the cows, and vocalize much more, utilizing low grunts, clucks, humming, and gasping. The bulls also have large manes running along their throats, and large horns with two and a half twists, which, were they to be straightened, would reach an average length of 120 cm, with the record being 187.64 cm.
This is one of the largest species of antelope. Bulls weigh 190–270 kg, with a maximum of 315 kg, and stand up to 160 cm tall at the shoulder. The ears of the greater kudu are large and round. Cows weigh 120–210 kg and stand as little as 100 cm tall at the shoulder; they are hornless, without a beard or nose markings. The head-and-body length is 185–245 cm, to which the tail may add a further 30–55 cm
Q. Where do Kudus get their name from?
A. When the bulls run, their testicles bump against one another which then makes a ku-du-ku-du sound