Lesser kudu

The Lesser Kudu (Tragelaphus imberbis) is a medium-sized East African antelope found in East Africa. The species is not especially closely related to the Greater Kudu, though both belong the Artiodactyl tribe Tragelaphini (family Bovidae), of striped, spiral-horned African bovids, along with the Nyala,Elands, Balbok, Bushbucks,Bongo, and Sitatunga. It was first scientifically described by EnglishzoologistEdward Blyth (1869).

The lesser kudu is a browser subsisting off of foliage from tall bushes, trees, and herbaceous perennial plants. They are not territorial, and mainly crepuscular, preferring to be active after dusk until the dawn hours, seeking shelter in dense thickets just after the sunrise. The Lesser Kudu inhabits dry bushland regions, bordering on arid grasslands, as well as scrubland and light open forest habitat.

The Lesser Kudu is native to Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda, but it is possibly extirpated from Djibouti. It may have been present in Saudi Arabia and Yemen as recently as 1967, though its presence in the Arabian Peninsula is still controversial.

The total population of the Lesser Kudu is decreasing. Presently, the International Union for Conservation of Nature rates the Lesser Kudu as "near threatened".

The handsome head of the male Lesser Kudu, with his elegant spiraled horns, is the symbol of the Saint Louis Zoo.