The kob (Kobus kob) is an antelope found across Central Africa and parts of West Africa and East Africa. Together with the closely related reedbucks, waterbucks, lechwe, Nile lechwe, and puku, it forms the Reduncinae tribe. Found along the northern savanna, it is often seen in Murchison Falls and Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda; Garamba and Virunga National Park, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as grassy floodplains of South Sudan.

Kob are found in wet areas (such as floodplains), where they eat grasses. Kob are diurnal, but inactive during the heat of the day. They live in groups of either females and calves or just males. These groups generally range from five to forty animals.

Among the kobs of eastern Africa, the Ugandan kob (Kobus kob thomasi) appears on the coat of arms of Uganda, and white-eared kob (Kobus kob leucotis), found in South Sudan, southwest Ethiopia, and extreme northeast Uganda, participate in large-scale migrations.

Description

thumb|200px|left|Ugandan kob at Murchison Falls NP

The kob resembles the impala but is more heavily built. Males are more robust than females and have horns. Males have shoulder heights of and an average weight of . Females have shoulder heights of and weigh on average .

Ecology

alt=A female kob in Ghana|thumb|Kob at Mole National Park in Ghana

The kob's distribution from western Africa to central East Africa is patchy.

Social behavior and life history

Female kob can live in herds numbering in the thousands. They move more and are more social than territorial males. Females and bachelor males live in large herds of up to 2000 and move through the leks, which are surrounded by high-quality grass and are near waterholes and commonly travelled routes.

thumb|upright|left|Kob at Côte d'Ivoire

Conflicts between territorial Ugandan kob (K. k. thomasi) are usually settled with ritual and rarely actual fighting, whether in conventional territories or leks. A male usually needs only to walk in an erect posture towards the intruder to displace him. Neighboring males in leks do the same thing when they encounter their borders. Lek-holding white-eared kobs fight more often. Ugandan kob do sometimes sustain serious or fatal injuries, especially when control of a territory is at stake. Fights usually involve the combatants clashing, pressing and twisting each other with their horns head-on. However, a neighbor may attack from the rear or side. Replacement of males in leks are much more common than in traditional territories, and most males are able to stay in the centre positions for only a day or two and rarely up to a week. This is largely due to intense competition and because most males leave their territories to feed and drink. Centrally located males reduce their chances of being replaced by leaving to feed during periods of relative calmness, yet they are not able to get enough food and water and have to eventually leave their leks. However, a male can gain enough energy after a week or two, and try to take back his position. At every lek cluster, males are always waiting take or retake a central lek. The Ugandan kob (Kobus kob thomasi) became extinct in southwestern Kenya and northwestern Tanzania due to the expansion of human settlements and agriculture. However, there are sizeable populations of this subspecies in Murchison Falls and Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda and Garamba and Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The white-eared kob is protected in Boma National Park and Bandingilo National Park in South Sudan,

References

Bibliography

  • Kob: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation