Botswana Travel Guide
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Botswana Travel Guide

Sable antelope



Hippotragus niger Shoulder height 135cm. Weight 230kg.
The striking male sable is jet black with a distinct white face, underbelly and rump, and long decurved horns – a strong contender for the title of Africa's most beautiful antelope. The female is chestnut brown and has shorter horns, whilst the young are a lighter red-brown colour. Sable are found throughout the wetter areas of southern and East Africa, but are common nowhere.

In Botswana they occur in the north of Botswana, as far west as the central Okavango. The Chobe riverfront is a good place to look for them, usually between the Kasane and Chobe Game Lodge as there's a herd that frequently comes down to drink there. Similarly, they're occasionally seen near the Kwando and Linyanti rivers. They're not common in the Delta region, but are seen periodically. Good sightings have recently been recorded around the Gomoti River (near Starling's Camp), and in NG20 and NG21. The Vumbura Concession, NG22, probably offer the highest density of sable in the Delta, whilst they're generally absent from NG26, NG27, NG30 and further west.

Sable are normally seen in small herds: either bachelor herds of males, or breeding herds of females and young, which are often accompanied by the dominant bull in that territory. The breeding females give birth around February or March; the calves remain hidden, away from the herd, for their first few weeks. Sable are mostly grazers, though will browse, especially when food is scarce. They need to drink at least every other day, and seem especially fond of low-lying dewy vleis in wetter areas.


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