Sable
Antelope (Hippotragus
niger)
Family: Bovidae
Status: No special status
Size: Length is 8 to 10 ft (2.4 to 3 m.). Weight is 400 to 550 lbs. (180 to 250 kg.)
Diet: Herbivore
Characteristics: Sociable, gregarious
Area: Africa
Offspring: One calf per year
Predators: Lions. Hyenas and leopards kill juvenile sable antelopes
Trivia:
· A subspecies, Hippotragus niger variani, which is a giant sable antelope, is endangered.
· The blue buck, a related species, became extinct around 1800.
· Sable antelope live in herds of 25 to 100 antelopes.
· They run when approached by a predator, at speeds of up to 35 mph (57 km per hour).
· When cornered, a sable antelope will use its horns to protect itself.
· During the rainy season, the herd will break up into smaller groups.
· Herds are made up of one adult male, several females, and their offspring.
· Both males and females have stout, heavily ringed horns.
· Adult males are predominantly black, while females and juveniles are chestnut in colour.
· Their fur is short and glossy.
· Sable antelopes have a short, upright mane and a long tail with a tufted tip.
· They need to drink daily, so they never move more than 2.5 miles (4 km) from water.
· Sable antelope are found in the savanna woodlands and grasslands of southern Kenya,eastern Tanzania, Mozambique to Angola, southern Zaire and South Africa.
· A female can begin to reproduce at two years of age.
· The gestation period ranges from 8 to 9 months.
· Birth usually occur at the end of the rainy season.
· Calves weigh 24 to 40 lbs. (13 to 18 kg) at birth.
· When they reach 5 or 6 years of age, young males leave the herd to join bachelor herds.
· Calves are weaned at six to eight months.