African Antelope Information

Sable Antelope

Their facial markings are black and white with a long erect main which runs from the top of the neck to the shoulder.

Both sexes have horns which are long, transversely ridged with a very pronounced backwards curve and long narrow ears.

Principally grazers they will browse particularly in the dry season and are dependent upon water

Sables live in areas of light woodland-especially "miombo," a mixture of bush and grassland- but usually avoid open, grassy plains

The Sable is a seasonal breeder - dropping their calves between January to March with a single calf being born after a period of approx. 270 days.

As with most species the sable cow leaves the herd to give birth and the calf remains hidden for some time before joining the herd.

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Roan Antelope

Roan antelope are the second largest antelope found in Africa.
Both sexes carry the back-curved horns, although the cow has a lighter and shorter horn than the bull.

Roan prefer open to lightly wooded grassland - avoiding areas with short grass. They are grazers and rarely browse.
For calcium and phosphorus they will chew bones.

Led by an adult bull they live in herds of up to 12 - larger herds would be from 30 - 80 individuals.

The roan is a magnifient species, horse-like in appearance with very distinct colouring of black and white facial pattern, greyish brown in colour with a reddish tinge (roan).

Calves are dropped at any time of the year following a gestation period of approx. 280 days.
The cow will leave the herd a few days prior to giving birth and will remain with the calf for the first few days before returning to the herd.

After feeding the calf will move to a new hiding place so that predators cannot find it by following its mother's scent trail.

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Lechwe antelope

Lechwe is a semi-aquatic antelope often moving in very large herds of several hundred.

They graze knee deep on the flood plain grasses.

At high water, massive herds may be seen along the upper flood line and in the open grassland

As the floods recede the herds move into the grassy floodplain. They feed on grasses and herbs in water up to a meter deep

Mating takes place mainly between December and January. Males fight over small territories known as leks and then mate with several females.

There are three kinds of lechwe found in Zambia.

The Black Lechwe is the darkest of the three, with a rich blackish brown coat and is found only in the Bangweulu swamps of Zambia.

The Kafue Lechwe has larger and longer horns than the other two species with dark shoulder patches and a light brown coat. It is found in the floodplains of Lochinvar.

The Red Lechwe found in the Busanga area of Kafue National Park is yellowish red in colour and dark brown markings on the legs

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Waterbuck

The waterbuck: when hunted or when it gets much older, it secretes a substance that causes its flesh to take on a pungent smell and an unpleasant taste. This keeps the predators at bay, for they rarely want to waste energy on a kill they cannot eat

The purpose of the white ring marking is not clearly understood, but it could be an aid to help young when moving through thick vegetation.

Waterbuck are dependent on water and are never far from rivers and dams.

Waterbuck are predominantly grazers but do browse.

Only the bull waterbuck has a long heavily ringed horn which curves backwards and then forwards towards the tips.

Waterbuck bear a single calf born after a gestation period of 280 days.

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