kudu, short-haired African antelope, genus Strepsiceros. The greater kudu, Strepsiceros strepsiceros, has a reddish brown coat with thin vertical white stripes on its sides. It is among the largest of the antelopes; males may reach a shoulder height of 5 ft (150 cm) and a weight of 500 lb (230 kg). The male has widely spread spiral horns with up to three full twists, sometimes exceeding 5 ft in length; it has a long throat fringe and a white chevron on the muzzle. Females are smaller and hornless, without a beard or nose markings. The greater kudu inhabits hilly brush country of E and S Africa, ranging to altitudes above the treeline. Members of this species are always found near water and are excellent swimmers. Kudus are primarily browsers, feeding on leaves and young shoots, but they may graze as well. Females and their young travel in small bands; males are solitary and join the band only during the mating season. The lesser kudu, S. imberbia, reaches a shoulder height of about 3 ft (90 cm) and has more numerous stripes and no throat fringe; it inhabits desert and semidesert areas of eastern Africa. Kudus are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Artiodactyla, family Bovidae.

Slender African antelopes of the genus Tragelaphus. The greater kudu lives in small groups in hilly bush country or open woods. It stands about 51 in. (1.3 m) high at the shoulder and has a fringe on the throat and a crest of hair on the neck and back. It is reddish brown to blue-gray, with a white mark between the eyes and narrow vertical white stripes on the body. The male has long, corkscrewlike horns. The lesser kudu lives in pairs or small groups in open bush country; it stands about 40 in. (1 m) high, has more tightly spiraled horns, and has two white patches on the throat and no throat fringe. Both species browse on shrubs and leaves.

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