Saw this fellow at the Field Museum....

He was very impressive. It was listed as a giant sable. I could not find anything stating the horn measurements.





Well worth photographing though, even though it is an old and faded mount.

Wow! The taxidermist certainly did full justice to a phenomenal animal. Super Pics. Thank You, Ann.

What are the odds of anyone being able to legally hunt these beautiful animals anytime soon?

Probaly zero to zero for the next 20-25 years if ever

What about hunting in Angola in general. Any chance that will open up soon?

I've asked this question to two Namibian PHs who feel that it is doubtful like AfricanHunter has said. Primary reason being land mines. Seems like there was also uncertainty about some lingering civil unrest as well in some of the remote areas, but I'm sure about that.

A friend & neighbour of mine was part of a team that went up to search for the Giant Sable a couple of years ago. They located two good sized herds and have now organised a special team of rangers to monitor them. Finances are tight as they always are in Africa but things are looking good for the species. It's hoped they'll allow one or two old bulls to be hunted within the next few years or so - my guess is that it'll be closer to 10 years if all goes well..... However, it'll be a tough hunt as it's a bit of a mission to get a person into the area let alone supplies and I'll be it'll cost a bundle.....

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ALF, at least one photo of a small group of cows (taken by some kind of automatic camera set up) was published last year.

Another great photo, Ann. Thanks.

Giant Sable Article

Alf,

I posted a few pics taken with a trail camera by my neighbour Dr Jeremy Anderson a year or so ago...... If I remember correctly, on both this and the NE site.

Here's one of them again. If I remember correctly, one herd was estimated at 100+ and the other around 50.

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Alf,

I have absolutely no doubt in my my mind that Jeremy Anderson went up there as part of the sponsored mission and no doubt in my mind that if he says he found giant Sable then he did.. I'd be happy to let you have his e-mail address by PM if you'd like to verify it.

http://www.kissama.org/giant_sable_report.htm

http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/2-15-2006-89066.asp

http://www.scienceinafrica.co.za/2005/april/sableantelope.htm

The last attempt has been reported in the European Journal of Wildlife Research. Where genetic evidence was verified by Pitra, C., VazPinto, P., O´Keeffe, B.W.J., Willows-Munro, S., Jansen van Vuuren, B ., Robinson, T.J.

Tending to be a sceptic myself I am yet to be 100% convinced one way or the other. I have seen all the still hidden camera shots which are now common knowledge within the industry and from what I read it seems that MONEY is the problem to get the next expedition funded.

Being of sound logical thinking if (as it seems from reports) there are small herds of some breed of sable in the region, I would have thought (rightly or wrongly) that SCI being the formost and largest wildlife conservation body on earth that they would by now have sorted out and possibly even funded a team of wildlife adventurers to make another trip armed with movie camaras bushmen trackers and whomever else they deemed fit to make a confirmed legally documented find and present it to the world. SCI are not short on finances as they spends hundred of thousands on lawsuits and they have very very rich men on their books so to speak so it would not IMHO take a rocket scientist to arrange the visit !!!

Cheers, Peter

There is a recent hard bound book out, called, I believe, IN SEARCH OF THE GIANT SABLE. The author seemed to believe that they exist as a separate sub-species. But genetic testing of all specimens from different museums, seem to indicate that there is no genetic difference. That being said, the author maintains that the white check stripes are different and of course the horns are larger.