One of the most exciting sightings (and we had many!) of our Satara Summer was this epic battle between two big Kudu bulls, encountered near the Kruger National Park‘s Nhlanguleni picnic site. At times the fight was so heated that we were sure one of them was going to break the other’s neck or stab a hole straight through his adversary. After several minutes the fight ended abruptly when they found themselves in thicker vegetation and one of the combatants threw in the towel.
Kudu bulls in serious fight
Kudu bulls in serious fight
Kudu bulls fighting
Kudu bulls in serious fight
Kudu bulls fighting (photo by Joubert)
Kudu bulls in serious fight
Kudu bulls in serious fight
Kudu bulls in serious fight
Kudu bulls fighting (photo by Joubert)
Kudu bulls fighting (photo by Joubert)
Kudu bulls in serious fight (photo by Joubert)
Kudu bulls fighting
Kudu bulls in serious fight
Kudu bulls in serious fight
Kudu bulls fighting (photo by Joubert)
Moving into denser vegetation, the fight soos came to an end
DeWetsWild 
What a dramatic encounter. I am glad they both survived to fight another day should that again become necessary!
We also got the idea that the battle may be over, but the war is still ongoing!
This visit to your park is so filled with drama! Beautiful series of images. Thanks to both you and Joubert for sharing!
It was definitely a most memorable trip, John – spending a month in Kruger was sure to have its share of dramatic encounters. Thanks for visiting with us!
So amazing! They were fighting for a female, no doubt!
We agree entirely, Amoralegria, that this was a fight about mating rights – serious business in the Kudu fraternity!
Those bulls look very strong indeed. They’re built like tanks! Great photos, Dries.
Thanks, Sylvia – credit also to Joubert, a few of these are his pictures!
Too close for me!
If it was a human boxing match we would’ve been covered in spit and sweat, so close were we! 😀
Superb! Glad I scrolled back far enough in the Reader to see it. I’ve been rather busy and not getting online as much, but I would have hated to miss this.
janet
Thank you for spending a little of your precious time with us, Janet – always nice to have you over!
Always nice to visit.
It is a wonder to witness such an encounter in the wild.
It really is, Anne. Normally the fight would end as soon as they become aware of the vehicles and human spectators, but these two kept at it, just showing how serious they took their rivalry!
Cool captures of kudus colliding! 😁
And they collided at a considerable force, believe you me!
BIG wow.
That sums it up perfectly, thanks Gavin!
It is compelling to see this and also horrifying . I have been told reindeer have this kind of fight. In the north they wear themselves out and use up too much energy before the harshness of winter and then might not survive the winter. The answer to this was a partial castration so they did not have so much testosterone fueling these battles.
Thanks for the interesting contribution, Anne. I suppose in an animal-husbandry setting there’s a case to be made for such intervention, but in the natural order “weeding out” the weakest from the herd in that way helps the gene pool grow stronger.
Quite interesting! Is this only to measure their strength or a lethal fight? Excellent photos. 🙂
Antelope males often have little skirmishes to test their strength, but those aren’t as ferocious and long-lasting as this fight was. This was definitely a fight for dominance and mating rights.
That really is amazing.
A most impressive sight, Linda!