Kudu

Males of both species have long horns, which point upward and slightly back, curling in a corkscrew shape.

When males do have a face-off, they will lock their horns in a competition to determine the stronger puller; kudus' necks enlarge during the mating season for this reason.

In dry seasons they eat wild watermelons and other fruit for their liquid content and natural sugars.

Predators, such as lions, leopards, cheetahs, wild dogs, hyenas, crocodiles and sometimes pythons, hunt adult kudu or their young.

Kudu numbers are also affected by humans hunting them for their meat, hides and horns, or using their habitats for charcoal burning and farming.

Kudus were highly susceptible to the rinderpest virus (now eradicated after a vaccination program in domestic cattle), and many scientists believe that, in earlier times, recurring epidemics of the disease reduced kudu populations in East Africa.

[citation needed] Kudu meat is similar to venison (deer), with a slight gamey, liver-like flavor.

The kudu, "tholo" in the languages of Sepedi, Setswana and Venda, is a tribal totem of the Barolong and Batlhaping people of Botswana and South Africa.

The sport is mostly popular among the Afrikaner community in South Africa, and a world championship is held each year.