What is a kob?

This antelope is similar in appearance to the impala, but the two species are not related. The Ugandan kob generally is reddish-brown, but other subspecies range from light brown to almost black. The underside of the body is white, a white ring appears around each eye, and a white patch or chevron appears on the throat; a black stripe runs down the front of each foreleg. Horns occur only in males and though lyre-shaped, they are shorter, thicker, and ringed almost to the tip.

Distribution and habitat

This subspecies is native to East Africa. It occurs in South Sudan, to the west of the Nile, Uganda and the north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Its range used to extend into northwestern Tanzania, where it grazed the grasslands margining Lake Victoria, and into southwestern Kenya, but it has been extirpated from these countries.

Ecology

Ugandan kobs are herbivores and feed largely on grasses and reeds. The females and young males form loose groups of varying size which range according to food availability, often moving along watercourses and grazing in valley bottoms. One group in South Sudan was recorded as travelling 150 to 200 km (93 to 124 mi) during the dry season. Sometimes non-breeding males form their own groups. Females become sexually mature in their second year, but males do not start breeding until they are older