Sable antelope

“ A sable antelope is a larger animal, I should say, than the Basuto pony I was riding—it stands higher, at any rate, and has a very formidable pair of horns, which it can use most adroitly, and with deadly effect. ”

“ The nearest living allies are the Roan Antelope (H. equinus) , a noble beast of sturdy appearance and imposing stature; and the yet more glorious Sable Antelope (H.niger) , jet-black above, snow-white beneath, its head armed with magnificent horns sweeping backwards in a scimitar-like curve. Le Vaillant compares a Blaauwbok which he saw at a distance to a white Horse ”

“ Its strong individuality must ever stand out in the minds of those who have been so fortunate as to see and shoot it, and it is certainly one of the chief objects of interest in the splendid fauna of that country. Apart from its satin-like hide, sweeping horns, erect mane, and great strength, the Sable Antelope presents an appearance of fearlessness and nobility that is very striking, to say the least of it. Though the Koodoo surpasses his rival in elegance and general appearance when dead, he is but a skulker, and makes but a poor show beside the Sable on the Veldt. ”

“ The tail is long, and has a good wisp of hair at the end, which, like the tails of the Roan Antelope and the Waterbuck, swings from side to side as the animal gallops away. Like the Koodoo, the horns of the Sable are its chief glory, and the noble manner in which the head is carried by the buck when on the move is a splendid thing to see. Unlike all Deer, and nearly all Antelope, the Sable when running arches the neck instead or raising the chin ”

“ To my eyes, and in the bright sunlight of Africa, the juxtaposition of black and white markings, so often seen on the faces of African antelopes, has never seemed to produce an indistinct blur of colour except at a considerable distance. At any distance up to 300 yards the black and white face-markings of the gemsbuck, the roan, and the sable antelope always appeared to me to be distinctly visible, and they have often been the first parts of these animals to catch my eye.
It is all very well to say that a male sable antelope, in spite of its bold colouring, is often very difficult to see. ”

“ At the present a few Sable Antelopes are still to be found in south-western. Matabele Land, in the neighbourhood of the Ramokwebani, Shashani, and Samookwe rivers (tributaries of the Shashe) . Along the waggon-road leading from Tati to the Zambesi it may be met with here and there, but is decidedly scarce. All along the Chobe river, as far as I have been, I have met with this Antelope, though sparingly. In the Mābābe country, and on the road leading from there to Bamangwato, I neither saw a Sable Antelope nor the spoor of one, and do not think its range extends so far to the west. ”

“ The third of this genus is the “roan antelope,” (Aigocerus equinus) , a strong fierce animal, with horns curving backwards as in the blue-buck, but thicker, and more rapid in the curve. It is an antelope not of the plains, but a dweller in the hilly region.
The “sable antelope” (Aigocerus niger) is by far the most beautiful animal of the group. It is not many years since this antelope was made known to science, having been discovered in South Africa by a keen British sportsman. ”

“ On open ground a good deal of hunting can be done on horseback—except in those districts where the tsetse fly exists—and antelopes are occasionally ridden down, but a very stout-hearted horse is required to overtake such animals as sable antelopes, eland or gemsbok. Caution should always be exercised in approaching the larger varieties of antelope when at bay, whether wounded or not, as some of them, notably the roan and sable, and the oryx, are inclined to be very savage, and will charge desperately home. ”

“ Sable antelope are among the handsomest of South African antelopes, and are endowed with great speed and staying power. They are commonly met with in herds including from ten to twenty individuals, but on rare occasions as many as fifty have been seen together. Forest-clad highlands are their favourite resorts. ”

“ In Hippotragus the stout and thickly ringed horns rise vertically from a ridge above the eyes at an obtuse angle to the plane of the lower part of the face, and then sweep backwards in a bold curve; while there are tufts of long white hairs near the eyes. The sable antelope is a southern species in which both sexes are black or blackish when adult, while the lighter-coloured and larger roan antelope has a much wider distribution. ”

“ The next day was very hot and oppressive, and we felt sure that if lions were anywhere near they would come down that night to drink. I took up my position soon after sundown, and about 12 o'clock, as we had no meat, shot a male sable antelope. He was mortally wounded and ran about sixty yards to die, when, as I discovered, in the morning, he was pounced upon by a lioness and immediately killed. ”

“ Constantly the dainty little Sand-antelopes would spring away through the bushes at my approach. These charming little creatures, called in Somali-land ‘Dĭk-dĭks,’ in size scarcely as big as an English hare, are the most dainty miniatures of the Antelope race. They are ever in pairs of male and female, are much alike, except that the male has two tiny horns about an inch or two long, with a brown tuft of hair between them. Their skins vary in colour from a silvery grey to a russet-brown. ”

“ It is not necessarily found near water,—in fact, it is generally met with on stony ground, where there is a sprinkling of thorn-jungle.
“The gait of this Antelope is peculiar, and when first seen a buck will generally be standing motionless, head well up, looking at the intruder, and trusting to its invisibility. Then the head dives under the bushes, and the animal goes off at a long crouching trot, stopping now and again behind some bush to gaze. It seldom gallops, and its pace is never very fast. ”

“ An antelope stays its rapid course for an instant, upon the opposite bank, to gaze upon her with its pensive eyes, ere its hoofs, swift almost as light, ring a merry chorus as it speeds away, buoyant with innocent life. Truly it is a bower of beauty—a very paradise in the far distant wilderness. The spirit of evil should indeed forbear to set his foot or leave his serpent trail in a place like that. ”

“ They are not usually difficult of approach, and out of a large herd he has shot four, one after the other, within a mile of ground, the herd moving off at every shot, but allowing him to approach again. At 150 yards distance or so Capt. Light says it is very hard to distinguish a buck from a doe of this Antelope, the size of the body being the same, and the slight differences in the thickness of the horns and neck being hardly perceptible. Their gait is longer and slower than that of Pelzeln’s Gazelle, but still not awkward like that of the “Gerenuk” (Lithocranius walleri) . ”

“ Always in the vicinity of the buffalo herd the hunter encounters that beautiful little animal, the antelope. Shy and timid, with an acute scent and far-reaching vision, it is difficult of approach. An old animal is killed now and then by a long-range rifle. Like other timid animals, the antelope has a remarkable development of that too-often fatal instinct, curiosity. ”

“ In some heads the anterior horns are absent, though the bony knobs are covered with a callous black skin.”
The Four-horned Antelope is not unfrequently brought alive to Europe, but cannot be said to accommodate itself very readily to our northern climate. In 1868 a single specimen was received by the Zoological Society of London as a present from the Babu Rajendra Mullick, of Calcutta. In 1881 a pair of the typical form were acquired by purchase, and bred in the Regent’s Park in the following spring. A female calf was born on February 28th, 1882. ”

“ The one first shot was the plumpest, and carried a pair of large beautiful horns which I regretted I could not take with me. The antelopes do not shed their horns like stags; they are formed more like goat's horns, and annually grow further out of the head: they are brown and bent back at the point like chamois horns. The form of the antelope much resembles that of the deer, but it is rather lighter on the legs and of a brighter hue ”

“ Their sense of hearing, as well as vision, is very acute, which renders it difficult to stalk them. By taking advantage of the cover afforded in broken ground, the hunter may, by moving slowly and cautiously over the crests of the irregularities in the surface, sometimes approach within rifle range. The antelope possesses a greater degree of curiosity than any other animal I know of, and will often approach very near a strange object. ”

“ Many females do not have horns, and rarely are these fully developed on any female.
Deer and elk have deciduous horns—that is, horns that are shed annually. Goat and bighorn never shed their horns. But each year antelope sheds the outer part—the point and sheath—of the horn, retaining the stubs or stumps which grow new horns.
The antelope has a number of marked characteristics and some of these are unique. It is without dew claws; the hair is hollow and filled with pitch; teeth are of peculiar pattern; it eats mostly bitter or pungent food; has large, long-range eyes of almost telescopic power ”

“ If a doe chance to stray from the herd, the buck immediately gives chase, and, bleating as he goes, tries to drive her back again. While his attention is thus engaged the others give him the slip, and pursuing first one, then another, he often loses his whole harem. At last, deserted by all, he gives vent to his fury and disgust by striking the ground with his hoofs, curving his tail, lowering his horns, and bleating defiance at his compeers. From morning until evening these scenes are constantly occurring, and there appears to be no bond of union between the male antelope and his does ”

“ Height at withers 23 inches, ear 4·3, hind foot 10·3.
Skull: basal length 7·2 inches, greatest breadth 3·3, anterior rim of orbit to muzzle 4·4.
Hab. South Africa, extending on the west northwards to Angola and on the east up to British East Africa and Somaliland.
The little Antelope called at the Cape the “Duiker” or “Diver,” not from its going into the water, but from its “diving” so quickly into the bushes when alarmed, has been more or less perfectly known to the naturalists of Europe for the past 200 years. ”

“ The series of specimens of this Antelope in the British Museum is not by any means a full one. There are an adult male (stuffed) and an adult female (in skin) from the Zoological Society’s old collection, and a young one obtained by Fraser in the Djereed of Tunis in 1846, besides some pairs of horns and frontlets. Fresh examples of this species from definite localities would therefore be highly valued by the Trustees. ”

“ In 1875 three examples of the subspecies (or variety) without the anterior horns were obtained by purchase. Several examples of this same form have been received of late years, but have not thriven in the Society’s Gardens. At the present time there is only a single female left in the Collection.
Our figure of this Antelope (Plate XXIV.) was lithographed by Smit from a sketch of Mr. Wolf’s. It represents an adult male of the typical subspecies in two positions. ”

“ Female with horns similar to those of the male, but shorter, slenderer, and much smoother.
Range of the Genus. Africa south of the Sahara, but not occurring in the great Congo Forest.
Of this genus, which contains some of the handsomest Antelopes in existence, we recognize three species, one of them (alas!) now extinct. The widely distributed Roan Antelope may be provisionally separated into four local subspecies, which require further elucidation.
A. General colour greyish or pale brown. Horns not or but little longer than the head. a. Size smaller. Face without black markings. 110. ”

“ Messrs. Nicolls and Eglington, in their ‘Sportsman in South Africa’ (1892) , tell us that this Antelope is found only in Zululand, Natal, and the southern portions of Swaziland, but is everywhere very scarce. It is, however, stated on good authority to have been found recently in South-eastern Mashonaland. In habits, these authors say, it resembles the Common Duiker, except that it chooses dense forest as a residence. ”

“ There is no mistaking this Antelope for any other, on account of its extraordinarily long and thin neck, which in the case of a fully adult buck, killed by myself at Merereni, was only 10 inches in circumference. Two females measured only 7 inches each round the neck. When walking and seen at a distance these animals look not unlike pigmy Giraffes, as they carry their long necks stretched out at an angle. They frequent the open bush fringing the outskirts of dense thickets, into which they at once retreat on being disturbed. ”

“ They are seldom to be seen out feeding, but usually jump up at the feet of the hunter and bound away at a great pace. I have observed that they generally make their appearance when least expected, and I do not recollect ever meeting with one among the Sewaliks when I have been actually hunting for them.”
In 1847 Hodgson, the well-known naturalist of Nepal, in a paper published in the ‘Calcutta Journal of Natural History,’ went even further than Sir Walter Elliot and proposed to make five species of this Antelope. ”

“ Another Sing-sing is the Equitoon, or Kob, of Senegal—often confounded with the former species.
A very beautiful antelope is the Blue buck, or Blauwboc of the Cape colonists. It is a large, bold animal, with horns ringed, and gently curving backwards. Its skin is jet black; and it is this colour reflected through the ashy-grey hair that gives the animal that purplish or blue tint, whence it derives its name. It is found in small troops on the plains north of Kurrichane; and when wounded, or in the rutting season, the males are dangerous creatures. ”