Does anyone have current information on the status of kudu populations in northern Namibia? I received a report recently that kudu populations in that part of the country may be down significantly this year due to last year's drought or other reasons. I am trying to get more information and would appreciate any current information. Thank you.

From Jochen Hein (our partner in Nam), Kudu were hurt quite badly by the drought across much of Namibia, particularly in the West, but in the area around Okahandja (which normally gets more rain than the rest of the country), the numbers are still good. Suggest you pick your area carefully if Kudu are high on the list.

Rabies has hit some area's kudu populations very hard as well............

The kudu population in some areas around Okahandha has suffered from rabies for the last 2 years but there are still very good trophy bulls available. The heavy rains that the area had this year has made finding them harder but it also seems to benefit the other animals such as blesbok, oryx (I saw more of these this time than I've ever seen), wildebeest, hartebeest, and steenboks. The cheetah population also seems to be rising but I saw very few jackals (that's because I wanted to take a couple of them for rugs).

Check with the outfitters and PHs before you go for kudu in Namibia to see if they have survived in good numbers in their area.

Namibiahunter

I had one PH mention the rabies in the process of our first phone call....I had things narrowed down to a final four and when asked 3 of the 4 the others all said the Kudu have been hit by rabies pretty bad in some spots.

I just talked with the PH I had this time last year, and he had good and bad news. He is in the area of Outji, and Kamanjab in the NW. They finaly got a substantial amount of rain which has really helped with the vegitation. Last year we were in grass that had been standing dead for a year and a half. He did say the Kudu had taken a big hit due to the drought lat year, and their numbers were down.

When I was there last year (July 07) the kudu were hit HARD by the rabies. We found a lot of them dead. Compared to being there in 05, the population was incredibly low. My PH said he could hear them dying all around camp. We found one freshly dead the first morning of the hunt. Did not see many kudu. Not sure how they rebounded yet. We did travel over to the Ohkahandra area and saw quite a few BIG bulls there. One of my friends got a 55" bull and there were a couple with it that were bigger for sure.

There's always one or another hot spot for rabies, particularly in the North. Not too much problem in the South, but the drier climate there holds their numbers down somewhat. In the South there are probably fewer kudu, but their numbers are more consistent from year to year. Some spots in the North that have dodged rabies outbreaks for several years are lousy with kudu. Some areas where rabies have been particularly bad lately are almost devoid of kudu, but those areas are usually fairly localized.