Why do kudus jump on cars?

**A-R** · 24-04-2018, 22:17

I have seen the results of several kudu-vehicle collisions. Sometimes they are fatal. I try to think like a kudu when hunting them, but can not yet profess to know exactly what they think. Having said that, I think that kudu get startled by any vehicle, and especially a fast-moving one. In daylight, they can easily see where to go to escape the danger. Sometimes this still involves crossing the road. At night, they are startled and confused/blinded by the headlights, so their movements are very unpredictable.

I do not think that they jump at a vehicle on purpose. If they did, we should regularly hear of multiple kudu inpacting a single vehicle. It is more likely that they are startled and try to flee, hereby landing in front of the vehicle. Their size, weight and the way they move causes them to land on the windscreen, break through and land on your lap. When they get hit by a truck, they still hit it at the same height as a car, which is usually below the windscreen.

**TStone** · 25-04-2018, 07:06

Originally Posted by Pirate

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

Thank you for enlightening me.

**Messor** · 25-04-2018, 11:07

Originally Posted by Ds J

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?

Ds

It's just normal behavior.

Remember kudu like to stand in/among thick bushes when not feeding, but like all animals they have to feed/drink away from such safety every day. So logically you come across them when they are already on the move, the light obviously impairs their judgement. Remember they have no concept of crossing the road, crossing the road is a human concept, animals go from here to there the road itself means nothing to them.

Then of course you have the group mentality, when one reacts animals of close proximity will often follow.
With the number of kudu's we have in SA it becomes clear that hitting them is extremely rare, logical when you understand their first self defense mechanism is standing still among cover.

Jumping is also a very distinct flight mechanism among most antelope, nothing strange about that.
People must understand if you see a kudu besides the road there is a VERY good chance it will react, hence if you know this upfront slow down. I see people treating kudu like cattle, because people are so used to cattle besides the road, hence they drive normally thinking the animal wont react, this is a wrong perception.

You see them, slow down, you see eyes or movement at night, slow down, simple as that.

**Ds J** · 25-04-2018, 15:11

Messor, if this is true, why does one mostly hear about kudu accidents? Do they roam more freely, not hindered much by fences? Or do they occur more frequently than other species?

**Messor** · 25-04-2018, 15:53

Originally Posted by Ds J

Messor, if this is true, why does one mostly hear about kudu accidents? Do they roam more freely, not hindered much by fences? Or do they occur more frequently than other species?

Well, they are just about the only large free roaming antelope we have left.
That, coupled with or because of the fact that they are not plains game, makes their numbers much more abundant than anything else out there.

**killzone** · 25-04-2018, 16:26

I can't recall the correct term so I apologise before hand, but are these 'Whistles' or what the heck they are called that makes a certain sound when attached to your vehicle effective ? They are suppose to deter/annoy wildlife and force them from the road if your vehicle approaches.

**DawidS** · 26-04-2018, 12:32

My perseption is that the kudu is frightened by it's shadow the same as with a rabbit. When a rabbit is running infront of the car just turn the lights of for a moment and the rabbit will run of from the road.

**Messor** · 26-04-2018, 13:33

Originally Posted by DawidS

My perseption is that the kudu is frightened by it's shadow the same as with a rabbit. When a rabbit is running infront of the car just turn the lights of for a moment and the rabbit will run of from the road.

When you are driving, with a rabbit running in front of you in the road, where is it's shadow?