ANGOLA: Rare sable antelope survives the war

© IRIN



LUANDA, 7 Apr 2005 (IRIN) - The rare giant sable antelope (Hippotragus niger varianien), unique to Angola and feared extinct after almost three decades of civil war, has survived.

A majestic but notoriously skittish beast, the 'Palanca Negra' is informally regarded as the country's national animal. The striking curved horns of the adult male, which can grow up to 165 cm long, appear on the logo of Angola's national airline and football team.

Many assumed that 27 years of fighting had wiped out the species because there had been no confirmed sighting since 1982. Even when peace reigned, poachers in search of commercial bushmeat or food for survival posed a serious threat.

Now a team from the Catholic University's Centre for Scientific Studies and Investigation, using remote cameras triggered by an infrared beam, have managed to catch a herd of giant sable on film in the Kangandala National Park in the northern province of Malanje.

"We had been seeing droppings and tracks of the giant sable for around two years, but that was not good enough; we needed proof. This is the first definitive sighting backed with concrete evidence in more than 20 years," said Pedro Vaz Pinto, who led the project.

The photographs show young bulls and several cows with the white facial markings that distinguish the giant sable from more common antelopes. The regal adult male is missing from the pictures, but with at least two of the cows pregnant, Vaz Pinto was confident that the herd was thriving.

"If they survived 30 years of war under those difficult circumstances, I'm sure they can continue to thrive," he said.

News of the giant sable's survival was a welcome diversion in Angola, where more than 150 people have died in recent months from a rare and incurable haemorrhagic fever.

Vaz Pinto warned that rediscovering the Palanca Negra also brought a host of new challenges, not least putting in place some form of protection for the animal, which could fall victim to agricultural encroachment, unscrupulous breeders or trophy-hunters, and poachers.

Not only local people in Malanje but Angolans across the country view the antelope as a mystical, almost sacred creature, and had helped to protect it from poachers.

"Most locals worship the giant sable - they would not have survived if that were not the case. People really protect it; it is a sacred animal," Vaz Pinto said.

There is hope that proper protection and a comprehensive survey to determine how many are left could lead to much-needed employment and income generation in an area desperate for development.

"This is a unique situation, in which you have something really special; where it doesn't matter how difficult it is to get here, people will come. Tourists will come running to Angola - this can really help local development," Vaz Pinto said.

Describing the giant sable's survival as "almost a miracle", the next step is to involve the Angolan government and international conservation organisations in developing a strategic plan to safeguard the animal, considered by many to be the most beautiful antelope in the world.

"The worst has passed for the giant sable," Vaz Pinto said. "Now we need to secure its future."

Thanks Kathi

I am a practicing SCEPTIC especially when it comes to Africa ....

It would be very nice to see these ( pictures ) which they talk about, hope they are clear, not like the infamous Loc Ness monster pictures that crop up from time to time ....

It will generate some interest again which is good, I do recall a specialised team from South Africa going to Angola a few months back as well ...

Time will tell I guess ... BUT dont hold your breath !!!

Pictures Pictures ..... Please I want authenticated pictures BEFORE I consider to DONATE LARGE SUMS of money to the project

Peter

One of the photographs of the Giant Sable antelope taken by the Catholic University's Centre for Scientific Studies and Investigation, using remote cameras

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46514&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=ANGOLA

Here is the origional FULL SIZE picture ..

Giant Sable

HA HA ... that will teach you to download WITHOUT HAVING BROADBAND ... sorry for those on dial up slow servers ... You really MUST UPGRADE to BROADBAND ...

Peter

Peter,

The SA party did find some also. If I remember correctly they estimated a herd of 100 -200.

My neighbour was one of the group who found them and I've forwarded Kathy's post onto him.

Is the giant sable a species, or even a subspecies, of the common sable? I remember reading that DNA studies showed they were identical and that size difference is just a local trait.

Steve ( Shakari )

I am getting confused myself, and cewe has some goood information as well ...

So ask your neighbour All the questions ..

This very nice sable BULL below ( 46.5") was taken on the ranch adjacent to (Kafue Park Zambia) and has similar face markings to the GIANT female in the other picture link ....

MAYBE as cewe says, they are one in the same animal BUT just BIGGER ???

Our ranch location is proberbly about 450 kms from the Angola border, could the animals possibly have wandered that distance during the 25 YEARS of WAR to get away from the chaos !!! ...



NOTICE the (scarring marks) on the animals shoulder caused by the long backward curl of the horns

Peter

Giant or not, that is a nice sable.

What an understatement. Mean to shout!

Peter,

spoke fleetingly to my neighbour who is the "pointman" of the IUCN Antelope Specialist Group on this and am told the following:-

Your photo is of a very big Barotseland Sable which is the largest of the "ordinary" sable. Although the G. Sable can crossbreed with the common sables your animal is not a crossbreed as the markings on the eyes are wrong. (apparently!)

It seems that the Wildlife Assoc of SA (WESSA) has just established a fund for the study and protection of the G. Sable in the area studied and all donations are welcome. The money will be spent on establishing a protection force that will be equipped with motorcycle transport (as there are no bridges left after the war) radios, sat phones etc etc.

I've asked Jeremy to let me have a full report on his study and the future plans for the protection of the species......when it arrives I'll post the whole lot.

FWIW: They're a seperate sub species entirely and not just bigger versions of the same animal.

Here's a close up from the large Irin News photo posted by Balla Balla:




And some info I found on the web.

-Bob F.

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The Angolan Giant Sable, described in 1909 by Frank Varian, was named Hippotragus niger variani in his honour in 1916.

The most striking characteristics of the Giant Sable, a subspecies of the common sable antelope, are its long recurving horns which rise almost vertically above its head before curving backwards and the absence of the full white eye-to-nose line which occurs on the face of the better-known sable antelope.
FROM: http://bigfive.jl.co.za/sable-4.htm


Distinctive characteristics:

* long and robust horns, which can exceed 160cm, strongly curved almost in a semi-circle on the back;
* forehead without white stripe (which one finds in the typical subspe­cies), and the spots around the mouth and the one under the eyes form two completely isolated white markings, which makes the facial and naso-frontal area completely black;
* occipital region is mixed black and reddish;
* ears of a tawny colour, white inside;
* the whole back and the flanks completely black; and
* the whole lower region lighter coloured, including the belly with a slightly yellowing tone.
FROM: http://bigfive.jl.co.za/sable-1.htm

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A very interesting and informative book. Worth a read.

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Of interest Shakari ( AKA Steve ) is doing some general follow up work with a neighbour of his whom is knowledgeble on on the giant sable ....

I would have to concur with Steve that it certainly appears the 46.5 sable our client Scott took in 2002 was in fact a Barotseland Sable ... Hopefully thar BULL has left a number of offspring as he was certainly a wonderful specimen ..

I MUST try to enquire from the USA person whom booked the client on my behalf to try and obtain a picture of the mount AS it was my understanding Scott was going to get a [ FULL MOUNT ] done of that sable

In any event, regards the ( herd of giants filmed recently ) in Angola, below part of the enhanced picture which I produced ..



The ENHANCED picture above to BETTER view the female giant face markings ...


Dendro Park Female which was sick and taken out, marginally different face markings to the giant !!!

Peter