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The Uganda kob is a medium-sized, golden-brown antelope of open grassland near water, and it appears on Uganda’s coat of arms alongside the grey crowned crane. Only the males carry the thick, lyre-shaped horns. Kob are abundant in Queen Elizabeth and Murchison Falls National Parks, where they are the most common antelope on game drives and a key prey animal for lions. Here is what makes them interesting and where to see them.
Appearance and habitat
The Uganda kob, a subspecies of the kob found across the savannahs of central and West Africa, is stocky and muscular, with a reddish-gold coat, white eye rings and throat patch, and black markings on the front of the legs. Males are larger and darker, with ridged horns that curve backwards and up. Kob need to drink regularly, so they stay on grassland close to rivers, lakes and swamps, such as the Kasenyi plains near Lake George and the Nile banks in Murchison.
Leks: the kob’s mating arenas
The kob’s best-known behaviour is the lek. In certain traditional spots, often used for many years, males crowd together and each defends a tiny territory, sometimes only a few dozen metres across. Females visit and mate mostly with males holding the central territories. The ground is visibly trampled, and the constant sparring, whistling and chasing make leks fascinating to watch. Queen Elizabeth’s Kasenyi area is one of the best places to see one. See our guide to Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Kob and lions
Kob are a main prey of lions in Queen Elizabeth, and guides often find lions by watching kob herds, which give whistling alarm calls and stare in the direction of danger. Early morning drives on the Kasenyi plains combine both. Kob numbers fell sharply during the years of heavy poaching in the 1970s and 1980s and have since recovered strongly with better protection. See our guide to Uganda’s wildlife recoveries.
A national symbol
On Uganda’s coat of arms, adopted at independence in 1962, the kob stands on one side of a shield and the grey crowned crane on the other, representing the country’s wildlife. The kob also appears on coins and in many logos. See our guides to the grey crowned crane and safari animals in Uganda. A typical route combines kob-rich Queen Elizabeth with gorilla trekking in Bwindi, where the permit costs US$800, or US$600 in April, May and November.
Frequently asked questions
A golden-brown antelope of grassland near water, shown on Uganda’s coat of arms.
Queen Elizabeth and Murchison Falls National Parks, where they are very common.
No, only males have horns.
A traditional mating ground where males defend small territories and females choose mates.
