Demography of a West African kob (Kobus kob kob ) population

The kob (Kobus kob kob) population studied in the Comoe National Park, Ivory Coast, suffered unsustainable losses to poaching before and during the investigation. This in turn did not only lead to low densities but also changed the population composition, resulting in a strong female bias in all age classes except juveniles. The relative rarity of adult males probably had negative effects on the population recruitment. Although mating occurred throughout the year and birth intervals were short, at least in some females, annual birth-rate was low compared to earlier studies in the same area. Effective conservation measures are urgently needed to ensure the future existence of the studied population. Resume La population de kobes (Kobus kob kob) etudiee au Parc National de Comoe, en Cote d'Ivoire, a souffert de pertes insoutenables dues au braconnage, avant et pendant les investigations. Ceci a entraine non seulement de faibles densites mais aussi des changements de la composition de la population, avec pour resultat un biais important en faveur des femelles dans toutes les classes d'âge sauf les juveniles. Bien que les accouplements aient lieu toute l'annee et que les intervalles entre les naissances soient courts, en tout cas pour certaines femelles, le taux de natalite annuel etait faible compare aux etudes realisees precedemment dans la region. Il faut absolument prendre des mesures de conservation urgentes et efficaces pour garantir l'avenir de la population etudiee.