UWA Translocates 200 Kobs to Kidepo Valley National Park
Thursday, 16th March 2023 was a historic day in the wildlife conservation and tourism of Kidepo Valley National Park as the Uganda Wildlife Authority started the translocation of over 200 Uganda Kobs to this safari destination from Kabwoya Wildlife Reserve (in the popular Murchison Falls Conservation Area).
This process is done in phases that will last two weeks and will see the translocation of 130 female and 70 male Uganda Kobs to the remote Kidepo Valley National Park found in the Karamoja sub-region, in the Northeastern side of the country. This exercise makes it the second time these antelopes are translocated to this side of the country, the first being in 2017. Over 110 Uganda Kobs were introduced to this magnificent Protected Area, and the population of these antelopes has increased to between 350 and 400 individuals in the past 5 years. This year’s translocation is likely to see the population of these outstanding antelope species grow to over 600 individuals.
During the pre-translocation address by Sam Mwandha (the Executive Director of Uganda Wildlife Authority), he pointed out that the current population of Uganda Kobs within Kidepo Valley National Park is not the ideal number for their long-term survival. Therefore, the translocation will see an increase and faster multiplication of the Uganda Kobs in this National Park thus long-term survival.
“The Present population of these antelopes in Kidepo valley National Park isn’t what we expect, hence there is need to reinforce it by translocating more of them. Having Uganda Kobs in a number of Protected Areas (especially National Parks) will play an important role in promoting their long-term survival”, Mwandha emphasized.
John Makombo, the Uganda Wildlife Authority Director for Conservation also pointed that translocation is important in addressing one of the important strategic objectives of wildlife species which is restoration of their population in areas where they initially existed for their long-term survival and this is critical in the present land-use changes as well as developments happening in their natural habitats. It is Uganda Wildlife Authority’s mandate to protect and conserve the country’s wildlife resources, thus translocation will expand the home ranges of wildlife species while keeping in mind the land-use changes in Uganda.
Uganda Kobs’ translocation is aimed at reinforcing the population of these antelopes within Kidepo Valley National Park, a 1440-square-kilometer Protected Area in the remote northeastern part of Uganda to promote genetic diversity, breeding as well as ecosystem balance. In so doing, visitors will have more to see during game drives, or bush/nature walks within the National Park.
About Uganda Kobs
Scientifically referred to as “Kobus kob thomasi”, Uganda Kobs are sub-species of the Kob found in Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and South Sudan. These reddish-brown antelopes are usually mistaken for the impalas but are more heavily built than impalas.
Uganda Kobs exhibit sexual dimorphism whereby males have horns that are usually divergent, lyre-shaped, and strongly ridged, while females have no horns. Each ring on the Uganda Kob’s horn represents its age. Additionally, the males are larger than the females, weighing over 94 kilograms against 63 kilograms. Males are also 90 to 100 centimeters at their shoulders while females are 82 to 92 centimeters.
These antelopes also have golden to reddish-brown coats, white throat patches, eye rings, muzzle, and inner ear and these colors differentiate them from other sub-species of Kobs. Not only that, the front of their forelegs is black while the inside of their legs as well as bellies are white.
They are herbivores that mainly feed on grasses and reeds. Young male and female Uganda Kobs make loose groups of different sizes that depend on the availability of food and usually move along water courses in addition to grazing at the bottoms of the verdant valleys. Their gestation period is around 9 months with calving taking place at the end of the wet season (usually November or December).
Besides Uganda Kobs, Kidepo Valley National Park is also home to other 75 mammal species that include the side-striped jackals, white-eared Kobs, Cape buffaloes, African bush elephants, Oribis, Reedbucks, duikers, Dik-diks, Topis, Jackson’s hartebeests, Rothschild giraffes, cheetahs, lions, leopards, spotted hyenas, Patas monkeys, warthogs, to mention but a few. There are also over 475 bird species that include the helmeted guinea fowls, Abyssinian ground hornbill, Karamojong Apalis, Ostriches, and so much more