Hippotragus niger

IUCN

Alias：Hippotragus niger,Sable Antelope

Basic Information

Scientific classification

name：Hippotragus niger
Aliases：Hippotragus niger,Sable Antelope
Outline：Ungulata
Family：Artiodactyla Bovidae Hippodrome

Vital signs

length：190-255cm
Weight：190-270kg
lifetime：About 15 years

Feature

It is the national animal of Zimbabwe, and its subspecies, the blackbuck, is the national animal of Angola.

Details

Sable Antelope (scientific name: Hippotragus niger) is also known as Sable Antelope in English. There are 5 subspecies.

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Sable Antelope populations usually have 30-75 females and young antelopes in good habitats. They are led by 5 male antelopes. The herd will be divided into several small groups during the rainy season, and form a large group during the dry season. They travel about 1.2 kilometers a day. During the dry season, the black antelope herd is accustomed to squatting on the same grassland for more than a week, leaving for a period of time only to find drinking water or avoid the sun, and then returning to the same grassland. But basically, the black antelope herd will continue to migrate. The older the female, the higher the status of the herd. Male antelopes are attached to the female antelope group before they mature. After the age of three, they mature and leave the female antelope group to live in the male group. After the age of five, the development of male secondary sexual characteristics makes male antelopes begin to seek territory, or if they cannot get territory, they live an independent life. The male antelope, who is the leader, usually patrols and marks the territory alone.

Black antelopes are herbivorous animals. They mainly eat grass and leaves.

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There is only one estrus per year for Niger antelopes, the breeding season, which lasts from May to July, with peak mating in June. Pregnancy lasts 8-9 months, and the young are usually born at the end of the rainy season, when grass is usually long enough to cover the lambs. Ewes remain hidden for the first week after giving birth to lambs. After the first week, the ewes will return to their original herd with their lambs. Weaning occurs six months after the lambs are born, usually at the end of the dry season, when the grass and trees are lush and rich in protein and other nutrients.

Female antelopes reach sexual maturity after 2.5 years of age, while male antelopes reach maturity after 3 years of age. Mature males will not mate yet. The male must be in a leading position before he has the right to mate with the female antelope. The mother antelopes that give birth to calves will form a group of female antelopes to take care of and protect the calves, especially within three weeks of the birth of the calves. After three weeks, the calves will play with other calves and only return to the group of female antelopes during feeding time. When the calves reach 6-8 months, the mother-child contact becomes less frequent. Generally, the calves live with other calves and only return to the group of female antelopes occasionally.

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The black horse antelope has a wide distribution range and is not close to the critical value of vulnerable and endangered species survival (distribution area or fluctuation range is less than 20,000 square kilometers, habitat quality, population size, and distribution area fragmentation). The population trend is stable, so it is evaluated as a species without survival crisis.

However, due to the large-scale civil war in Angola, its habitat for more than 30 years, the total population of the subspecies of the black antelope is no more than 400, making it a critically endangered species in the world.

Listed in the 2008 Red List of Endangered Species of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) ver 3.1 - Least Concern (LC).

Protect wild animals and eliminate game.

Maintaining ecological balance is everyone's responsibility!

Location

Origin: Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Introduction: Swaziland.
Prefers tropical shrubs and savannas. Lives in savannah woodlands, adapted to life in arid areas, and has a strong adaptability to arid deserts.

Form

The black antelope is 190-255 cm long, 117-143 cm tall at the shoulder, 40-75 cm long in tail, and weighs 190-270 kg. Female antelopes are smaller than male antelopes. The male antelopes have large and curved horns, about 80-165 cm long, while the female antelopes have horns of only 60-100 cm. In particular, male antelopes have a graceful body, a strong neck, upright hair on the back of the neck, and stable limbs, showing a sense of strength. The young antelopes can only be distinguished between males and females after they are three years old. The male antelopes have a darker black body color and a pair of larger horns on the top of their heads. . The body hair is short and rough, and the male antelopes are dark gray or black; female antelopes and young antelopes (under three years old) are chestnut. As for the nominate subspecies, female antelopes also change to brown-black after maturity. There are white stripes on the eyebrows and mouth and nose. The abdomen and buttocks are white.