Sable antelope
The sable antelope is a striking herbivorous mammal found predominantly in the open woodlands and grasslands of southeastern Africa, ranging from Kenya to South Africa. Characterized by their distinct physical features, male sable antelopes sport a black coat with white markings, while females display a lighter reddish-brown hue. Both genders possess long, curved horns and a short mane along their necks. Adult males typically weigh around 575 pounds, whereas females weigh about 475 pounds.
Sable antelopes are social animals, living in female-only herds or mixed groups that can include young males, usually comprising 15 to 20 individuals. Males may form bachelor groups, and both sexes establish breeding territories. Their diet consists mainly of grass, shrubs, and bushes, and they practice ruminating to maximize nutrient intake. As prey for larger predators like lions, they exhibit defensive behaviors, including charging at threats or fleeing at speeds of up to 35 miles per hour.
The breeding season varies, with a gestation period of approximately eight to nine months, typically resulting in one calf that remains hidden to avoid predators. The giant sable antelope, a subspecies found in Angola, is notable for its larger horn size, reaching up to 4.5 feet long. Sable antelopes generally live for 17 to 19 years in captivity and are not currently at risk of extinction.
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Sable antelope
Sable antelopes are rare, but not at risk of becoming extinct. The longest sable antelope horns recorded were four feet (1 1/4 meters) long.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Genus: Hippotragus
Species: Niger
Male and female sable antelopes look similar, but not identical. Males have black coats with white markings on their faces and white fur on their underbellies. Females have the same white markings and fur, but their basic coat color is a lighter, reddish brown. Males and females have a short mane of stiff black hair that runs down their necks onto their backs. They also display long, pointed, and curved horns. Sable antelopes have a head and body length of 75 to 100 inches (190 to 255 centimeters) and a shoulder height between 46 to 55 inches (117 to 140 centimeters). The males weigh about 575 pounds (258 kilograms), while the females are a little smaller, weighing only 475 pounds (213 kilograms).
Sable antelopes live in open woodland or grassland in southeastern Africa, particularly from Kenya to South Africa. They live in female-only herds, or herds of females with young or immature males, of 15 to 20 members. Some bulls, or males, create bachelor groups of around 12 members. They have their breeding territories. They often graze over an area of 4 to 125 square miles (323 square kilometers).
Since sable antelopes, like other grazing antelopes, are herbivores, or non-meat eaters, they usually eat grass, shrubs, and bushes. Sable antelope are also ruminants. They chew their food once, swallow it, regurgitate (cough it back up), and then chew it again. This process is called "chewing cud." Cud-chewing animals get more nutrients and vitamins out of their food than animals who chew their food only once. Sable antelopes also need to drink water every day.
Approached by a lion, the sable antelope will often fight back. It makes a shrill cry and charges at the lion with its horns. If the antelope is not in the mood to fight, it can run up to 35 miles (56 kilometers) per hour. Leopards, crocodiles, hyenas, and wild dogs also prey on sable antelope.
The breeding season varies by location but usually lasts about two months. The gestation period (duration of pregnancy) is about eight or nine months. The female gives birth to one calf, which weighs between 25 and 30 pounds (11 to 13 kilograms). The calf will stay hidden while the mother is grazing, and wait for it to return for one of its two daily nursings. After about 10 days, the calf joins a nursery herd led by an older female, called a cow. Females begin breeding after 2 1/2 years and males after 5 years.
The subspecies sable antelope called giant sable antelope (Hippotragus niger variani) lives only in Angola and has horns that can grow 4 1/2 feet (1 1/4 meters) long. Other subspecies include the Zambian sable antelope (Hippotragus niger kirkii), the eastern sable antelope (Hippotragus niger roosevelti), and the southern sable antelope (Hippotragus niger niger).
Sable antelope have a life span of 17 to 19 years in captivity.
Bibliography
Roenning, Eric. "Hippotragus Niger." Animal Diversity Web, animaldiversity.org/accounts/Hippotragus‗niger. Accessed 15 Apr. 2024.
"Sable Antelopes." SeaWorld, seaworld.org/animals/facts/mammals/sable-antelope. Accessed 15 Apr. 2024.