Sable Antelope

Sable Antelope - jewel of its tribe

"Clad in their black attire like the chief mourner at a funeral . . . with all the pomposity and self-importance of village billy goats . . . so brilliant an addition to the catalogue of game quadrupeds - so bright a jewel amid the riches of zoology". So enthused Sir William Cornwallis Harris, explorer and trophy hunter, who first described the species in 1838.

Most Magnificent

The Sable Antelope is regarded by many as the most magnificent antelope in Africa. The males have the glossy, jet-black coat set off by striking white facial markings and underbelly. The females are rusty red and handsome creatures in their own right. In common with other members of the Hippotragini antelope tribe, both sexes have horns, and what horns they are! Few antelope have anything to compare with the massive swept back spikes which commonly exceed one metre in length in the males, and are somewhat shorter in females. Like its close relative, the Roan, the Sable has a conspicuous mane and this, combined with its horse-like build, have earned them the family name of Hippotragini, which means ‘horse-goat'.

The Harem

Sable live in small herds consisting of numerous adult females, which have a strict hierarchy according to seniority, and their offspring. Each herd is accompanied by a dominant bull which - although it may often feed away from the harem - will never be far away and will always accompany them to water, where attack from a predator is most likely. Even Lions show a great deal of respect for these antelope, however, and there have been numerous instances of the big cats having been gored to death by Sable bulls. Females and calves are at risk to Spotted Hyena, Leopard, Cheetah and Wild Dog. Non-breeding bulls occur singly or in small bachelor herds. After a gestation period of eight to nine months, expectant females leave the herd to give birth to a single youngster. The sandy-coloured calf is then concealed in long grass for the first three weeks of its life, before its mother leads it into the herd.

Seasonal Movements

Sable are primarily grazers of dominant grass species, either of medium height or in new growth. During the dry season they are typically found in valley bottoms and along drainage lines, where they are able to find drinking water on a daily basis. In the wet season they leave the heavy spoils of the lowlands to move into broad-leaved woodlands

Endangered Giant

Sable are thinly distributed in the woodland-savanna of south-central Africa, with two isolated populations commonly regarded as subspecies. The so-called Giant Sable of north-western Angola is endangered, and was actually feared extinct until a population was discovered a few years ago in this war-ravaged country. The Giant Sable is a particularly impressive animal, with males having horns up to 1.6 metres in length! Fears for its ongoing survival in the remoteness of Angola are high as it is extremely difficult to monitor or police its remaining habitat. The Kenyan coastal population (sometimes referred to as ‘Shimba Sable') has shorter horns than the typical Sable but is regarded as threatened as its Angolan relative.

&Beyond's Sable Hotspots

Sable are regularly encountered in the open woodlands of Matesti which is situated on the Zambezi River in north-western Zimbabwe. Reasonable numbers occur in Botswana's Okavango Delta, where visitors to Nxabega and Sandibe have a chance of encountering them. Stragglers may wander into Ngala on the western extremity of the Kruger National Park, but there have been just a handful of sightings in recent years.

- Duncan Butchart -

Posted: Mammals by CC Africa, Date: 21 November 2006