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Francis William Ruhinirwa, Education Officer at Uganda Wildlife Education Centre (UWEC) says, the Uganda Legislative Council adopted the Coat of Arms shortly before independence. 

The Uganda Kob (Adenota kob Thomasi), an antelope, symbolizes the abundance of wildlife that Uganda preserves.  

“This choice must have been premised on the fact that the kob is among the most abundant mammals in Uganda,” Ruhinirwa says. 

An assessment by Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) in 2017 estimated 74,702 kobs to be present in Uganda.

Joshua Sserunkuuma, a tour guide with Classic Tours and Travel says this kob can be found in national parks and game reserves including; Queen Elizabeth, Murchison Falls and Kidepo Valley National Game Parks, Karuma Wildlife Reserve, and UWEC. 

Meanwhile, some sports teams are named after the kob. For example; the under-23 football team is called Uganda Kobs and Kobs Rugby Club. This animal also appears on every government document and piece of money.

Uganda kob’s identity

The Uganda Kob is medium-sized with a medium brown coat, medium-length horns, and large ears.

It has a strong resemblance to the impala but the two are different. This kob is also different from other subspecies. It is generally reddish-brown, but others range from light brown to almost black.

A black stripe runs down each of the forelegs of the Uganda kob distinguishing it from the impala that has a black stripe on the back of each thigh and along the middle of the lower back to the tail. 

The inside of the ears, around the eyes, the throat, and the underside of the body are white.

A male Uganda kob is called a ram while a female is a ewe.

Rams are larger than females and have horns, which are curved with an S shape and are ringed almost to the tip, measuring up to 50cm in length. 

However, despite being called the Uganda Kob, this animal can be found in 15 other countries in Africa. 

Ugandan kobs are herbivores

These animals eat grasses, fruits, and reeds. They are also active during the day (diurnal) and prefer open spaces to spot predators. 

Uganda Kobs can live for up to 17 years much as they are food to poachers, lions, leopards, cheetahs, crocodiles, and pythons. They protect themselves from predators by running away. 

They are organized animals

Kobs live in groups called herds and have permanent breeding grounds called leks where the mating happens. 

On the grounds, females move around while looking for mating partners who engage in competitive displays and courtship rituals to entice the females. 

They make soft noises through the nostrils after mating. The other territorial echo this sound. 

The herds consist of males and females with their calves but sometimes, non-breeding males form their own groups of up to 40-100 animals. A dominant male protects his herd.

While moving, the females lead followed by young ones and males follow in line. In addition, females become sexually mature in their second year and give birth to a single calf at a time after a gestation period of 8 to 9 months. 

The baby is concealed for about 6 weeks, after which it follows the mother. It is also breastfed for 7 months.