SABLE

See also:

• ANTELOPE

ANTELOPE  , the English name for a large and hand-some South African antelope (Hippotragus niger), exhibiting the rare feature of blackness or dark colour in both sexes The sable and the roan antelope (H. equinus) belong to a genus nearly related to the oryxes, with which they form a group or sub-family . In all these antelopes long cylindrical horns are present in both sexes; the muzzle is hairy; there is no gland below the eye; the tail is long and tufted; and in the breadth of their tall crowns the upper molar-teeth resemble those of the oxen . The sable and roan antelopes are distinguished from Oryx by the stout and thickly ringed horns rising vertically from a ridge over the eyes at an obtuse angle to the plane of the lower part of the face, and then sweeping backwards in a bold curve . 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 . The roan antelope is a larger animal, with shorter horns, whose general colour in both sexes is strawberry-roan . It is typically a South African species, but is represented by a local race in the eastern Sudan (H. equinus bakeri) distinguished by its redder colour and different face-makings .