TABLE OF CONTENTS - National Zoo

SABLE ANTELOPE
(Hippotragus niger)
Herbivore
Description: The sexes of the sable antelope resemble each other. They have
pronounced facial markings; some also have black markings on their forelegs and
hind legs as well as a dark band on the side. Their underparts are white. Its English
name is frequently translated incorrectly into German as saber antelope. The saber
antelope, however, is a completely different animal, and the English word “sable” has
nothing to do with a saber, but means somber or dark. Only the adult bulls are really
pitch black (on the upper part of their bodies). The cows and young bulls are blackbrown
to reddish-brown, and the calves are light brown. They have a well-developed
and often upright mane on the nape; a short mane on the throat; a moderately long
tail with a tufted tip; large, long, and pointed ears; and long white hairs below the
eyes. The large, curving horns, borne by both sexes, are stout and heavily ringed,
and rise at an obtuse angle from the plane of the face. When fully developed, the
horns can reach up to 4 feet long!
Teeth: The sable antelope has no upper incisors or canines. They do have three
pairs of incisors and 0-1 pair of canines in the lower jaw. They have three pairs of
premolars in the upper jaw and 2-3 pairs of premolars in the lower jaw. There are
also three pairs of molars in both the upper and lower jaws. The total number of
teeth is 30-32. The surfaces of their molars have a smooth texture.
Diet: They feed primarily on grass, but the sable may also browse extensively in the
dry season.
Range: They live in the savanna zone from southeastern Kenya to Angola and
eastern South Africa.
Habitat: These antelopes occur in a variety of habitats, but generally the sable
requires some wooded country, such as tree and brush savannas, gallery forests,
sparse coppices near water, in flat and hilly country, also in park land and dense
brushy forests.
Social Organization: More than 50 individuals may herd together at any one time.
The herds consist mostly of females and young, and are dominated by a single adult
male. Their enemies are the lion, leopard, Cape hunting dog, hyena, crocodile.
Conservation Status: Sable antelopes in Angola are endangered, possibly
exterminated during that country’s civil war. However, as a result of large protected
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