@zavatone : hitting a Kudu is horrible - you basically take the legs out and the full weight of the animal comes through the windshield, I'm glad for your friend - he is lucky to escape such an incident, my cousin hit one and he is now a quadriplegic, only 20 years old.

I've noticed from my own personal experience that there seem to be more animals on the tar roads just after dark, I've always wondered if it is because the road surface retains heat for longer, because it's not natural for these animals to seek out clearings in the bush at night.