Giant Sable Antelope | Online Record Book Preview

Hippotragus niger variani

Also called royal sable. Named for H. F. Varian, the British engineer who supervised construction of the Benguela Railway and who was the first European (in 1913) to take specimens.

DESCRIPTION Despite its name, this subspecies is actually a little smaller in body than the common sable; however, it has much larger horns that are often widely spread at the tips. Pickup horns nearly 65 inches (165 cm) long have been recorded, with tip-to-tip spreads of as much as 35 inches (89 cm). The male has the same glossy black coat as the typical sable, but its face differs by being mostly black, lacking the white stripe. The female is a bright chestnut red, and is rather similar in appearance to the female Roosevelt sable.

DISTRIBUTION Only in north central Angola in a limited area between the Cuanza and Luando rivers, mainly in and around the Luando reserve and Kangandala National Park.

STATUS Listed as endangered by the IUCN and the USF&WS (1976) and on Appendix I of CITES (1975). Protected under law in Angola. In 1970, the population was estimated at 2,000-3,000. In 1997, a ground survey of part of its range found that it had survived Angola's long civil war in relatively good numbers.