Why do kudus jump on cars?

**Ds J** · 24-04-2018, 05:56

Has it ever been proven or explained why kudus jump on or into cars? It usually happens at night with aome exceptions to the rule.

Most discussions I have heard deliver variants of two theories:

A) The animal stands next to the road, gets disorientated and/or scared because of the lights and noise, and jumps behind the lights to avoid the danger thereby landing on the cockpit of the car.

B) The animal stand next to the road, gets scared by its own shadow caused by the lights of the oncoming vehicle and jumps onto the car.

I experienced only one close call of this kind as I was driving an hour or two after sunrise in a kudu-populated area near Piet Plessis. Three kudu cows stood in the road behind a bend. Two jumped to safety on the opposite side of the road and one ran beside the bakkie for a short distance. She was clearly scared and either trying to outrun the bakkie to cross in front of me towards the others, or merely trying to escape on that side of the road.

I have heard of three "cures" for this problem: switching on the small cockpit light, attaching spot lights to the roof or roll bar, and attaching a smalll whistle to the vehicle.

Please share or tell more?

**Trayton** · 24-04-2018, 06:18

Have you tried hitch hiking in the dark? Have you tried it without thumbs? When you need to get somewhere, you gotta do what you gotta do, sometimes that means free loading a lift.

**CorditeCrazy** · 24-04-2018, 07:18

The one theory I have heard is they jump over the headlights. This takes them through the windscreen. For this reason some folk put lights on their roof for night driving.

**CoffeeBean** · 24-04-2018, 07:28

I live next to the N12 in a Kudu populated area and have had only a two close calls one in the day and the other at night.

There is no just one answer.

I have passed kudu at 120km/h without them moving. When I saw them I did not slow down. Why? I have found that the older cowns tend to stand still if there is no sudden changes.. switching from brights to dims, changing revs(slowing down) all these make them jittery.
Bulls and calves do not like to be separated from the herd. If the calve is on one side of the road and the cow on the other side, I’ll bet that there is a 99% chance that the calve would try to cross the road before you pass them.
I haven’t had cows crossing the road like bulls and calves, but what I have found is that sometimes they will stand in the road looking away from the vehicle lights. This happened when I was going around a bend in the road and fortunately I was looking at the reflectors and managed to see “something odd” in the road.

I am sure other people would have similar and/or different experiences.

Kudu tend to kick if something is chasing them, that is why they jump(to kick) and go through the windshield.

The one near mis that I had, was during the day around a bend, and by forcing the gears from 5th at 100km/h into 3rd and applying breaks, the kudu still managed to kick on the lip of the bonnet. It was a calve seperated from the heard.

**Zuku** · 24-04-2018, 08:09

Ive read on another forum that the truck drivers in Namibie claims that the kudu whistle doesnt work and is only a gimmick

**ruaanfs** · 24-04-2018, 08:11

I had a close call during the day between Rustenburg and Swartruggens. A kudu cow jumped the fence and kept on moving. She jumped right in front of us. Luckily I saw her when she jumped the fence so I slammed on the brakes because I could see she had no intentions of stopping. But either way a kudu's body is the same height as most cars windshield so if you would hit it even if it stands still there is a good chance of it ending up inside the car.

But as for the night I tend to agree with CoffeBean. When we went to Namibia last year most Kudus stood still when approached except when I slowed down. The moment I slowed they started moving.

But it is sure a mystery why they would jump towards the perceived danger and not away from it. Disorientation is probably the best explanation why this happens

**Graham12** · 24-04-2018, 08:33

I've been led to believe the reason is the animal is mesmerised by the lights and then walks / jumps into it. I suspect it is somewhat that, together with sudden blindness from the lights and fear that causes it. My last incident was two years ago outside Bedford around 5:00 in the morning. A large female crossing the road missed my right rear bumper by less than a metre. There was no panic, no sudden movement. She just happened to cross the road at the time I came by. That's why I don't think it's a one size fits all type of behaviour.

Do they actually jump or is it that the height of the animal means the bonnet wipes out their legs and the torso goes through the windshield?

**TStone** · 24-04-2018, 19:34

For some reason, game likes to cross a road in front of an approaching vehicle, domestic animals do the same, only much slower. I see this everyday, a herd of springbok (blesbok, kudu, wildebeest etc) standing on the left side of a road will invariably head for the opposite side of the road,trying to cross ahead of the vehicle.

By day you see them coming from a distance, at night you often see them too late. Why they need to cross I have no idea.

**Pirate** · 24-04-2018, 20:30

Originally Posted by TStone

Why they need to cross I have no idea.

To get to the other side of the road, obviously!

**Ds J** · 24-04-2018, 20:50

A congregational member lost family members from a kudu cow that went through the window hooves first. She kicked the three passengers to death on her attempts to escape.

In another incident a dear old man drove a Bantam bakkie. The kudu cow jumped from behind a passing bus and landed on the bakkie's roof between them.