They know their business – trim only up to a certain height and keep the shape as natural as possible. They have a preference for Acacias and are not always conscientious about the size of the branches they remove, nor the amount of leaves that they trim. But Acacias have a trick up their sleeve to protect themselves from voracious kudu appetites. In the early 1990’s, a study by Prof. Wouter van Hoven, a zoologist from the University of Pretoria, on how Acacias protect themselves from being nibbled too much, made headlines.
He found that Acacias produce leaf tannin in quantities that can be lethal to browsers. They also emit ethylene into the air which can travel up to 50 yards downwind. This again warns other trees of the impending pruning, prompting them to step up their own production of leaf tannin which makes the leaves bitter and unpalatable. This discovery was made when he was asked to investigate the deaths of 3000 kudu on game ranches in the old Transvaal.
Luckily, Mountainlands is home to a variety of trees and shrubs that kudu can choose from in case the Acacias have had enough.
