Lesser kudu
| Lesser Kudu | |
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| Diorama from the Natural History Museum, Bern | |
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| Southern Lesser Kudu at the San Diego Zoo | |
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| Species: | T. imberbis
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| Binomial name | |
| Tragelaphus imberbis | |
The Lesser Kudu (Tragelaphus imberbis) is a forest antelope found in East Africa and (possibly) the southern Arabian Peninsula. The Southern Lesser Kudu (Tragelaphus imberbis australis) is a subspecies found in Kenya and Tanzania.
Lesser Kudu stand about a metre at the shoulder and weigh 50 to 100 kilograms, males are larger than females. Lesser Kudu males are grey-brown while females are chestnut the coat is lighter on their underside. Both have about ten white stripes on their backs and two white tufts on the underside of their necks. Males have a small mane and horns of about 70 centimetres with one twist.
Lesser Kudu live in dry thorn bush and forest and eat mainly leaves. Lesser Kudu are nocturnal and matinine crepuscular. They live in groups of two to five ranging up to twenty-four on rare occasions these have about equal numbers of males and females.