Kudu horns begin growing at six to twelve months and take several years to reach full form. The first turn is complete by about two years and the second around six, with mature bulls generally showing about two and a half turns. Measured along the curve, exceptional horns exceed one and a half metres, though straight-line tip-to-tip length is far less.
The horns are heavy and awkward in dense woodland, and the animal's solution is postural: a running bull tips its chin up so the horns lie back over the shoulders, letting it pass through thicket without snagging. Females carry no horns at all, and are considerably lighter.
The kudu's main defence is not speed. It relies on standing motionless in dappled shade, where the vertical white stripes break the body outline against stems, and on a sudden explosive departure with a loud bark when discovered. A common misconception is that the horns are used to gore predators; they are principally a male-to-male contest structure, and bulls occasionally die with horns permanently interlocked.