Birds & Earth Mammals

Sable Antelope by Bruce Munro

todayNovember 13, 2024 4

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  Sable Antelope 
National animal of Zimbabwe .  Swartwitpens the  Afrikaans name describes it vividly – Black White Belly being the male as females are browner . Adults have a  shoulder height  1.4m and a max mass of 250kg and both sexes have  horns .
Shelter and water are important requirements as they are seldom found more than 3km from water. They prefer open woodland near vleis or grassveld with medium tall grass but avoid dense savanna and areas of short grass. 
 
A territorial male establishes and defends his area with intimidating displays . Nursing herds with one or more dominant females move through these male territories; their numbers are usually  from 10 – 30 animals. Young males leave the nursing group at 3 years to  join bachelor herds remaining with them until they are 5-6 years old.  
 
Sables graze mainly grass in the early morning or late afternoons and will eat  leaves at the end of the dry season . Their vocalisation is in snorts , bellows and sneezes. 
 
Gestation period is 8 months with the young born  between January and March lifespan is on average 17 years.   

 

Written by: mike

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