Liwonde Game Park, Malawi … Everyone has heard the warning about walking under a ladder when someone above is painting the ceiling. Well perhaps not everyone! The kudu seems not to have heard the warning, and this animal appears to be an early warning system for the rest of us to remember what might happen to us if we walk under that ladder. The white stripes on the kudus back seems a sure indication the kudu failed to remember the warning.
The kudu is a woodland antelope and is usually found in eastern and southern Africa. In Malawi the largest portion of the wild animal population live in protected areas known as game parks or national parks. Malawi has a sizeable national park system, and in recent years has undergone major improvements, and increases in animal populations. Population density in the countryside makes animal independence a most hazardous move, and to leave the protected confines of the park can be disastrous.
Kudus have a narrow body with exceptionally long legs. Their coat is brown to reddish-brown. They have horns that are like giant corkscrews, and if straightened out can be as much as 4 feet long. These screw type horns assist the animal in hooking tree branches in order to reach the succulent leaves on which they feed. The male can weigh as much as 600 to 700 pounds, and the females come in at 250 to 400 pounds.
