Eland and Kudu

[Cody Raney]

I know Elands and Kudus can breed and produce sterile offspring, like mules, but I've also seen them kept in the same exhibit before. I know in the 70s there was a hybrid at the San Deigo Zoo Safari Park and was believed to be due to the absence of male Kudus in the herd and in a South African private game reserve a mature Eland bull without any Eland cows kept breeding the Kudu cows despite the presence of mature many mature Kudu bulls and kept on doing it even after 10 Eland cows were brough in. Could he just have gotten used to the Kudu cows and associated them with breeding? In a captive setting where there are Eland cows and Kudu bulls will an Eland bull keep to his own species?

 

[Enzo]

I am not sure if an eland bull will keep to his own species if there are both eland and kudu cows, but I know a male kudu, despite having females of its own species around, could still produce hybrids with female eland.

Cebu Safari Park (Philippines) is currently home to a male hybrid between both species (or as I like to call him, a "kuland"). I assume he was bred by the park's late male and of one the eland cows still around.