Ugandan Kob

The kob is an antelope found in Central Africa and parts of West Africa and East Africa. There are three subspecies of kob: (1) The white-eared kob which is protected and found in Boma NP and Bandingilo NP in South Sudan and Gambella NP in Ethiopia; (2) Buffon's kob which is protected and found in Niokolo-Koba in Senegal, Comoe in Cote d'Ivoire, Arly-Singou in Burkina Faso, Mole and Bui in Ghana, Pendjari in Benin, Waza, Benoue and Faro NPs in Cameroon, Zakouma in Chad, Manovo-Gounda-St. Floris and Dzanga Sangha Forest Reserve in the Central African Republic; and (3) the Ugandan kob in Murchison Falls and Queen Elizabeth NPs in Uganda, Garamba and Virunga NPs in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Quite honestly, I've never heard of the first two subspecies or most of the places identified in the countries where they are found, and I didn't have a clue what the Ugandan kob looked like even though I'd heard of it. 

This past July we visited Uganda and saw the Ugandan kob in Murchison Falls NP and Kidepo Valley NP. It reminded me of the impala, but it is more sturdily built. The males have lyre-shaped horns that are ridged. The coat is golden to reddish-brown and the throat patch, muzzle, eye ring, inner ear, belly and inside of the legs are white. The front of the forelegs are black. 

It is found in South Sudan, west of the Nile, Uganda and the DRC. It used to be found in northwestern Tanzania and into southwestern Kenya, but it is no longer. It is an easy mark for poachers, so 98% of the present population is found in national parks.