Lesser Kudu

Scientific Name: Tragelaphus emberbis

The male lesser kudu has striking cork-screw curving horns and a grey coat accentuated with fine white camouflage stripes.  The females do not have horns and both sexes are shy, retiring to the shade and seclusion of the bush.  They are a member of the spiral- horned antelope family which also includes bongo and eland.  Lesser kudu are from the bush veldt regions of East Africa where they live in small herds and feed on a variety of leaves and plants.  The lesser kudu is still numerous in the wild, however their habit is decreasing due to overgrazing from domestic livestock.

The Conservation Center acquired lesser kudu in 2005 and manages the herd as part of the cooperative breeding program for the species in zoos in North America.  As part of our commitment to the Il Ngwesi community of the Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT), we support the conservation of lesser kudu as well as giraffe, cheetahs and Grevy’s zebras, and their habitats, found on the NRT community conservancies in northern Kenya.