Scientific Classification
- Common Name
- Uganda kob
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Artiodactyla
- Family
- Bovidae
- Genus Species
- Kobus (native African name) kob thomasi (scientific explorer);thomasi represents sub-species
Fast Facts
- Description
- The Uganda kob is a medium-sized antelope with a medium brown coat, medium length horns and large ears.
- Size
- Male: 90 to 100 cm (37 to 40 in.)
Female: 82 to 92 cm (32 to 36 in.)
- Weight
- Male: About 94 kg (207 lbs.)
Female: About 63 kg (139 lbs.)
- Diet
- Mostly feeds on tender green grasses
- Gestation
- Gestation lasts approximately 7.5 to 9 months; Typically a single offspring at a time. After birth, the young lie concealed for about 6 weeks, after which they follow their mothers.
- Sexual Maturity
- Male: At around 18 months
Female: At about 13 months
- Life Span
- Up to 17 years
- Range
- Senegal, West Africa to Kenya, East Africa
- Habitat
- Inhabits moist savannas, flood plains, and margins of adjacent woodlands
- Population
- Global: Unknown
- Status
- IUCN: Lower Risk/Conservation Dependent
CITES: Not listed
USFWS: Not listed
Fun Facts
- Males mark territory boundaries by whistling.
- Kob breed year-round in East Africa with an 8 month gestation and generally one offspring.
- In order to evade a predator, kobs will leap into the air or seek refuge in water or reed beds.
Ecology and Conservation
The Uganda kob is not protected and is abundant throughout its range. However, the range of the kob is shrinking.
By eating grasses, kobs help keep the plains in a state of re-growth, allowing new grasses to grow.
Kobs are an important food source for many larger predators, especially cheetahs, lions, hyenas, African wild dogs, and sometimes larger snakes.
Bibliography
Estes, R.D. The Safari Companion: A Guide to Watching African Mammals. Vermont: Chelsea Green Publishing Co., 1993.
Gotch, A.F. Mammals-Their Latin Names Explained. Poole, U.K.: Blandford Press Btd., 1979.
Nowak, R. (ed.). Walkers Mammals of the World. Vol. II, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991.
Parker, S.P. (ed.). Grizmek's Encyclopedia of Mammals. Vol 5. New York: McGraw Hill Pub. Co., 1990.
