Africa is known for its wide variety and abundance of spectacular antelope species, with each one more impressive than the other. From Africa’s largest antelope, the eland, to the world’s smallest antelope, the Royal Antelope, hunters are spoilt for choice on the dark continent.
One antelope that stands out head and shoulders above the rest is the beautiful, graceful, and intelligent sable antelope. This blog will explore what makes this antelope so sought-after, as well as the challenges that are faced when hunting this spectacular species.
Table of Contents
Key Takeaways
- Africa is known for its wide array of antelope species, from the largest to the smallest, they are all exceptional.
- The sable is a large antelope found in various countries throughout Africa and is available to hunt on an African plains game safari.
- There are four sub-species of sable found in Africa, each with their unique physical characteristics and attributes, as well as preferred habitat and location.
- Sable antelopes prefer a habitat of wooded savannas and miombo woodlands, with plenty of water available.
- Sable hunts can be extremely challenging for a range of reasons including sable habitat and the difficulty in tracking them in varying conditions, the animal’s intelligence, camouflage skills, wary nature, terrain, and shot placement, amongst others.
- Sable hunts are undertaken using various hunting methods, including spot and stalk, ambushing techniques, safari style hunting, bow hunting, as well as hunting from a blind
The Sable At A Glance
If you are looking for an exceptional African plains game hunting trophy, then the sable (Hippotragus niger) surely ticks all those boxes. Often referred to as “the black pearl of Africa,” this graceful antelope is one of the largest you will encounter, and one of the most striking too. Its long, scimitar-shaped horns with its dark coat make a stunning view on the African savanna!
Habitat
In terms of habitat options for this African plains game species, the sable’s preferred environment is miombo woodlands, as well as wooded savanna. The sable tends to avoid open areas, rather than staying in ranges such as wooded areas, where they can camouflage themselves and hide from predators.
A key component for any habitat would be a good water source, as the sable is water-dependent and needs to drink daily, especially during the drier seasons.
Where is the Sable found in Africa?
The sable antelope is found in numerous African countries, including South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Angola, Malawi, Zambia, and Namibia. The sub-species of the sable differ as to where the sable is located.
Sub-species of the Sable Antelope
There are four recognized sub-species of the sable antelope, each with their preferred habitat and physical attributes:
- The Southern Sable (Hippotragus niger niger) inhabits Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
- The Zambian Sable (Hippotragus niger kirkii) is a subspecies found in eastern Angola as well as Zambia.
- The Eastern Sable (Hippotragus niger roosevelti) is the smallest subspecies amongst the four and is found in Malawi, Tanzania, and northern Mozambique.
- The Giant Sable (Hippotragus niger variani) is endemic to Angola and is critically endangered.
Interesting Facts About the Sable Antelope
- A sable is one of the continent’s largest African plains game antelope species, reaching weights of more than 500 pounds.
- The antelope is seen as being extremely intelligent.
- A sable antelope’s coat grows darker as they get older.
- A sable’s majestic curved horns can grow over 5 feet in length.
- While in some antelope species, only the males have horns, the female sable also grows horns, although they don’t reach the impressive length of the males’.
- Sable females hide their newly born calves for the first couple of weeks of their lives, to protect them from danger. The females return a couple of times a day to suckle the young and when they are older and large enough, they are introduced to the herd.
- Sables feast on mainly grass but will at times add herbs and leaves to their diets.
- Sable bulls are extremely territorial and will defend their territories.
Why are Sable Hunting Safaris so Popular?
There are several reasons that sable hunts remain popular. Firstly, there are regions where sable can be hunted throughout the year without any issues relating to availability, which makes it a great option for anyone looking for a challenging African plains game target.
Sable are also exquisite game hunting trophies: From their striking dark coats to their unusual and impressive horns, sable antelopes are worth adding to any trophy room.
The pure adrenaline and thrill in targeting this elusive antelope is another reason why hunters enjoy hunting sable. To successfully harvest this beautiful antelope shows a hunter has ticked the boxes in terms of strategy, patience, perseverance, and skillset.
A Sable Hunt in Africa: Is it a Challenge?
When it comes to hunting sable, this game hunting safari is going to be one to challenge a hunter! The sable is elusive, and secretive and is known for its intelligence and agility, testing the hunter’s skills and perseverance on this exciting African hunt.
Some challenges related to a sable hunt include:
- The antelope’s chosen habitat of woodlands and savannas limits a hunter’s visibility during a sable hunt. The vegetation also aids the antelope in terms of camouflaging itself.
- Hunting within a wooded area, with the target of the sable hunting safari having a dark-colored coat, can be a challenge to both shot placement and visibility.
- The sable is a large, heavy specimen, and shot placement needs to be on target to ensure both a quick and humane death, as well as avoiding the situation of a dangerous wounded antelope.
- Should the antelope indeed be wounded, there may be added pressure on the hunter in terms of tracking the antelope. This is a challenging task, as the dense vegetation makes tracking in the area more difficult.
- The sable is renowned for its intelligence and wary nature and is quick to detect potential danger that causes them to quickly flee through the heavily wooded areas, or camouflage themselves with their habitat, making them difficult to spot.
- The densely wooded areas are challenging for hunters to navigate through while trying to stalk the antelope without being detected on a sable hunt.
- Being a water-dependent antelope means that the sable is predictable in terms of returning to a water source. This does allow the hunter the opportunity to wait and hide out of sight, should he decide to target the sable at the water. However, the hunter needs to be extremely careful in terms of his positioning to ensure that he does not alarm or warn the animals of his presence.
Sable Hunting Methods
When it comes to a sable hunt, there are various methods and hunting techniques that can be used to target this intelligent and elusive antelope.
Some of the more popular options include:
- Safari Style hunting where vehicles are used, along with guides and trackers, to target potential trophies. Once the suggested trophy on the sable hunting safari is spotted, the hunting party disembarks and continues to track the animal on foot.
- A relatively common type of hunting style for hunting sable is the spot and stalk method. The sable herds are located, whereupon they are stalked without being detected until the hunter is within shooting range. Hunters require a great deal of patience and persistence here, taking their time in approaching the herd without detection, as the antelope is extremely alert and wary and will flee at the slightest sign of danger.
- For hunters wanting to up the stakes even more and challenge themselves further, bow hunting during a sable hunting safari is another option. This requires meticulous shot placement from the hunter, who needs to be close enough to the sable (without detection!) to make a clean shot.
- Setting up blinds near areas where the antelopes are known to frequent is another option when hunting sable. Areas that the sable frequents to drink water or feed are often used.
Shot Placement on a Sable Hunting Safari
Shot placement can be quite tricky when hunting this African plains game target. When on a large antelope hunting safari, the big game hunting enthusiast has three practical options in terms of shot placement, namely head/brain, heart, and lungs.
The choice of which option to take depends on the situation, as well as the angle at which the sable is standing.
Learn more about shot placement for large antelopes.
Frequently Asked Questions
How big are sable antelope?
The sable is a large African antelope. Males average more than 510 pounds and stand between 46 and 55 inches at the shoulder.
What is the lifespan of a sable antelope?
Sable generally reaches up to 16 years in the wild and 19 years in captivity.
Where is the best place to hunt sable antelope?
Sable can be hunted in various African countries, with South Africa’s Limpopo province being renowned for the trophy sable hunted there.
Which African countries can you hunt sable in?
Sable can be hunted in numerous African countries including South Africa, Namibia, Tanzania, Botswana, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Is Sable hunting a popular African plains game hunt?
Yes, hunting sable remains a popular pastime for trophy hunters when hunting in Africa. These sable hunts are sought-after, as the trophy is an unusual one with its majestic horns and striking dark coat.
Is a sable hunting safari challenging?
Hunting sable can be quite challenging. Not only is this African plains game antelope large, but the sable’s habitat of savanna and mixed woodlands allows them plenty of places in which to hide in the dense bush. This, combined with its elusive nature, makes it quite a challenging target for game hunters.
Are sable antelopes aggressive?
While generally, the sable is non-aggressive and calm, should they become injured or wounded, they do become extremely aggressive and will defend themselves against predators.
What are the sable antelope’s main predators?
As a large African plains game antelope, the sable has a range of predators that hunt it, including the lion, leopard, spotted hyenas, Nile crocodiles, and African wild dogs. As adults, they can defend themselves against predators to a certain degree, but the young, old, and infirm are often targeted by predators.
Adult sables will fight aggressively, using their horns to impale their attacker and even cause death. Contrary to this, sables are generally considered the most calm, confident, and even graceful of their antelope family.
How fast can a sable antelope run?
This large African plains game antelope can reach up to 35 miles per hour, keeping the speed up for around two miles, which allows them to escape from would-be predators like the hyena and lion.
Conclusion
Sable hunting remains a popular African plains game safari, with many regions allowing the hunting of sable throughout the year.
These striking large antelopes, with their majestic horns, are a sought-after African hunt for many hunters worldwide. These hunts, for those who were, indeed, lucky enough to add this spectacular hunting trophy to their collection, provide unforgettable memories of a true African safari.
Author: B. Hershensohnn