forage on green foliage as well as rely on them for cover. During the dry seasons their diet consists mostly foliage from bushes and trees, shoots, twigs and herbs. They also supplement fruit, flowers, and fresh grass when the rainy season arrives. In response to living in dense cover, spiral-horned antelopes are able to move through the thickett by bounding, rushing, and dodging through the vegetation. Most species are water dependent though kudus and elands do not rely on it as they live in more arid environments. Unlike most species of bovids, spiral-horned antelopes are primarily nocturnal though some species can be seen in the early morning and late afternoon. As with all species of antelope, spiral-horned antelopes (especially the young, the old and the weak) are susceptible to some of Africa's major predators, such as lions, leopards, cheetahs, spotted hyenas, and African wild dogs. Behavior and reproduction When alert to the presence of danger, the necks of these bovines are raised as high as possible. They move in a "goatlike" gait, as they move their neck in a pecking motion (moving the head backwards and forwards). As they spot the predator they immediately stop. The ultimate antipredator strategy is concealment in dense, tall bush, enough for the animal to perfectly camouflage in the vegetation. Sometimes they would raise one leg. If that fails they would sprint away in abrupt flight. They are not known to have high stamina for running, although they are known to jump incredibly high. Given the various species of spiral-horned antelope the social organization varies between. The extreme ends of the spectrum are the predominately solitary bushbuck and at the other end the highly social giant eland. In general the herd size of spiral-horned antelopes are not large as they rarely exceed more than a few dozen individuals, and are mostly sedentary in nature. The herd composition is unisexual which is mostly females and their young. It is currently believed to be the reason why some spiral-horned antelopes practicing herd as a defense mechanism to protect the young predators. In the bongo and eland species this led to the development of larger sizes in the females and horns, along with intense social hierarchical ranking (which is not seen in other species which it is only the larger males that dominate over the smaller females). With the exception of the mother and her calf there are