Rare Antelope Survives War in Angola

by Sherry Morse

The giant black sable antelope, which was feared extinct after twenty-five years of civil war in Angola, has been rediscovered by a group of American and South African scientists.

The giant black sable weighs about four to five hundred pounds and has horns which rise vertically to about five feet and curve backwards.

The scientists set out on an expedition in search of the antelope last August and spotted the animals five times in Cangandala National Park, which is located in the north-central Malanje Province.

The last sighting of the antelope before this was in 1982 when Richard Estes, who also took part in the recent expedition, traveled to Cangandala.

The news that the giant sable was still alive was greeted with excitement in Angola, where it is the national symbol and appears on postage stamps, passports and banknotes.

Professor Wouter van Hoven, who led the expedition to find the sable, said, "It would have been a disgrace on humanity if such a gracious animal had been allowed to disappear."

The war in Angola took a great toll on the country’s wildlife. It is estimated that thousands of black rhinos, many herds of buffalo and 100,000 elephants were slaughtered for food or for their tusks, which were sold to provide funding for the war between 1975 and 2002.

© 2003 Animal News Center, Inc.