SABLE ANTELOPE

Sable Antelope | Hippotragus niger

Conservation Status	Least Concern (IUCN 3.1) http://www.cites.org/eng/resources/species.html
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Family:	Bovidae
Species:	Hippotragus niger

facts

Shoulder Height:	120 – 140cm (55 inch)
Mass:	200 – 270kg
Horns:	Ringed Horns (which arch backward)
Size: (Female)	up to 1m
(Male)	up to 1 ⅟10m
Appearance:	Scimitar-shaped horns
Gestation:	270 days
Breeding Period:	June - August
Litter size:	2 - 3
Life span:	18 years

The Sable antelope (Hippotragus niger) stands 1.2-1.4m at the shoulder and weighs 200-270 kilograms, with males being larger than females. Female Sable antelope are chestnut to dark brown and darken as they mature, while males are very distinctly black. Both sexes have a white underbelly, white cheeks and a white chin. They have a shaggy mane on the back of their neck. Sable antelope have ringed horns which arch backward. In females these can reach a meter, but in males they reach more than that. The life span of these animals is up to 18 years.

In the early 1950's Sable antelope were common in the Hoedspruit area. Mrs Lente Roode’s father Willie Schürmann, initially exchanged Sable antelope for giraffes - which were scarce at the time.  Unfortunately the Sable were hunted by game thieves, and as time passed so their numbers declined. Johann and Lente Roode bought 3 young male Sable antelope from Kimberley when they acquired their first farm. A few years later Lente contacted the Vorster family in Letsitele who bred with Sable antelope. The Roode’s exchanged one full grown bull for a young Sable female. The bull successfully mated with the female at Letsitele and Mrs Roode received 2 female and 2 male calves from the Vorster family as a result. There are currently 7 Sable antelope at HESC: 2 bulls, 1 cow, 4 calves (2 male and 2 female).

Sables graze on a variety of short grasses abundant during the growing season, and survive by browsing on herbs, bushes and trees during the dry season. They have a ruminant digestive system. 

Sable antelope are diurnal in nature, meaning they are most active in the daylight.  They are usually associated with dry, open woodland with medium to tall grass.  They avoid dense woodland and short grass veld.

In the wild adult males and females have different and separate social organizations.  Female organizations are similar to that of elephants. They form matriarchal herds comprised of adult females (cows), immature males and calves. The highest ranking female within the hierarchy is generally the oldest, healthiest and darkest colored member of the herd. 

Male offspring are eventually driven out of the female herd at around three to four years of age.  The newly rejected male then joins a bachelor herd, where they continue maturing and practicing their fighting skills.

Bachelor herds in the wild can range from 2-12 members.  At the age of five or six a male will venture off by himself to find and establish a territory of his own.  Territorial males defend a territory of 25 -40 hectares, the goal of territoriality is to protect an area of land with the best food and water resources that a cycling female will be attracted to. 

A bull will tolerate other males in his territory as long as they are not yet sexually mature and remain subordinate to him.  A bull uses urination and defecation scent markings along his territory’s perimeter to drive his rivals off.

If a rival male enters his territory, the bull must physically drive him off.  Fights start by the rivals slowly circling each other, shaking their heads, dropping down to their knees, and finally by clashing horns.

The fight is more of a pushing contest than a slashing battle and rarely ends in death.  The biggest, strongest and healthiest male typically wins and the loser flees the territory.

A Sable antelope’s natural predators are spotted hyenas, leopards, lions, wild dogs and crocodiles.  Due to disease, drought caused food shortages, predators and human interference, their lifespan has shortened considerably.

As the African population continues to grow, the rate of poaching Sable antelope for its protein rich meat and the destruction of their natural habitat for more cattle ranches and crop land will continue to increase as well.

The Sable antelope is considered a low risk, conservation dependent species, while the giant Sable antelope, H.n.variani, is classified as critically endangered by the IUCN (1996).

Sable antelope are a polygamous species.  They breed seasonally in the wild, corresponding the birth of the offspring with high food abundance.  The time and duration of calving season varies across the range and seems to coincide with the height of the growing season.

Males become sexually mature around 1.5 years of age and are strong enough to successfully defend a territory.  A female Sable antelope’s estrous cycle is never longer than 36 hours.  A receptive female breeds with the bull of the territory that she currently occupies.  A cow produces a single calf per year.

A female about to give birth typically isolates herself from the herd in a secluded grassy location.  Soon after giving birth, the cow cleans the calf, eats the afterbirth, nurses the calf for a short time and finally moves the calf a short distance to throw off predators attempting to smell out the newborn.

The cow returns to the hidden calf once to twice daily for nursing and searches visually first, then vocalizes to stimulate the offspring to stand up and reveal its location.  The calf will usually choose a new hiding location after each nursing bout.
The calf’s urine and faeces odour is a magnet to predators, if the calf continually moves away from its own urine and feces it will be less detectable to predators.

The calf's dull brown coat acts as camouflage in the brown grass savanna habitat.  A calf remains solitary for the first two weeks of its life. 2–4 week old calves will continue to hide by themselves, but they do begin to choose hiding locations in closer proximity to other hiding calves.

By four weeks of age, the calf is fully integrated with the herd, traveling, play fighting with other calves, and sleeping in the protective herd grouping.  The calf is fully weaned and independent at 6–8 months of age.