THE SABLE ANTELOPE 



(Hippotragus niger} 



ALTHOUGH belonging to the same group of Antelopes as the Oryxes, 

 the Sable is a very distinct type, and certainly excels all its relatives 

 in beauty if indeed it is not the finest of all Antelopes, as many 

 would maintain. It is large enough to be imposing, being as big as 

 a full-sized Pony, and its carriage is as gallant and showy as its 

 colours and form are striking and beautiful. 



The cow is not much inferior in beauty to the bull, but she 

 is rather dark brown than black, especially in the southern portion 

 of the Sable's range, the females of northern herds being very dark. 

 They may, however, always be distinguished from the bulls by their 

 horns, which are decidedly shorter and not so strongly curved, besides 

 being slenderer. The horns of a good bull are over a yard long. 



The young Sable is of a light brown, without the face-markings 

 of the old animal at first. 



Like all the finest Antelopes, the Sable is an African animal, being 

 especially characteristic of South Africa, though it ranges up to German 

 East Africa and Angola. It was first discovered by the well-known 

 sportsman, Harris, in the Transvaal, but is now extinct there, though 

 English people still sometimes call it the " Harrisbuck " ; the Boers 

 know it as " Zwart-wit-pens " (black- white-belly). 



The kind of country it prefers is high, open, and rather bushy, 

 and it is fairly sociable, a number of cows and calves being found in 

 herds together. With these, however, there will be only one old bull, 

 for the Sable is a fierce animal, and brooks no rivals. It may even 

 be aggressive to other Antelopes, as it has an unscrupulous habit of 

 turning out Lichtenstein's Hartebeest from beds or lairs which this 

 animal is fond of making for itself. The attitudes of the Sable 

 Antelope are very picturesque, as it carries its neck gracefully arched ; 

 its pace is good, but it has not the extreme speed of some much less 

 handsome and symmetrical Antelopes. When driven to bay it is very 



