• Email

Blog

With the horns in battle mode

  • July 04, 2023 | Rhulani Safari Lodge

Rhulani's ranger Willem had quite an exciting morning with great game viewing. What made it special this time were three different sightings in which animals got involved in a little fight with their horns. Those animals were of imposing stature and equally imposing horns: Kudu and Buffalo.

Two male buffalo, horn to horn

A third male Kudu joins

"It was actually the first time that I could observe kudu males in a fight," says Willem. Considering the long and curved horns, which look like corkscrews, one wonders whether the animals can get tangled up and then hardly detach themselves, not to mention the possibility that the horn either breaks off or the fighting antelopes can seriously injure themselves.

“First we came across two male kudu in a dried out quarry where they were already busy fighting”, says Willem. “We continued our journey towards a nearby pan and soon we were greeted by a herd of buffalo. A big herd of buffaloes! Babies coming past, mothers coming past, but at the last, the males started to cross over, and there we had it: two male buffaloes also starting to fight!”

The young ranger can't help but laugh at this unusual coincidence. “Seems like it was an eventful day out in the bush with the aggression of the male! It was impressive to see these huge buffaloes having a horn to horn against each other.”

One of the guests on Willem's vehicle expressed the wish to drive back to where the kudus were for another photo opportunity. Lo and behold: the two male kudus have become three kudus in the meantime! Willem says: “And the third Kudu was even larger than the other two and started to fight with the first one. That was really amazing!”

Two male Kudu in a fight