Sable Antelope Capture

What a day, we were invited to join the reserve owner, his team and some guests for the capture of six male sable antelope. 

We joined up inside the breeding enclosure, a two square kilometre area inside a double fence.  We were mob handed, somewhere between 20 and 25 people, 6 vehicles and three horsewomen as back up.  The vet took up position in the front of one of the jeeps, driven by Ant, the owner and we rounded on a small group of the sable antelope (see extra).  A dart was fired, the target jumped and started to run off and then slowed, wobbled and then went down on all fours in the grass.  Vehicles converged from everywhere, Ant and Paul, the vet jumped out and grabbed the sable’s horns and then invited others to come nearer.  The horns are deadly instruments so they were capped with pieces of rubber tubing before the vet started to administer to the animal. Vital measurements were taken; the horns each measured 52 inches (the longest recorded are 55 inches).  Finally, for the most mature of the captures, an antidote to the tranquilizer was prescribed and he slowly woke and stood up.

Once the mature male was let go, it was time to capture 5 younger male antelopes to be transported to a new reserve area called Bush Willow, to be opened shortly. This was where the numbers came in handy, as each sable was tranquillised, people jumped out of the vehicles to stay with the animal, holding its horns to keep it in an upright position until the vet could give it the once over. Then it was time to lift it into the waiting transporters.

It was a privilege to help in our small way and working together as a group was very enjoyable. The offer has been made to help again tomorrow, this time to capture some Cape buffalo, one of the big five. It promises to be every bit as special as today.