THE GIANT SABLE CAPTURE OPERATION

With an estimated total population of 300, the giant sable antelope is one of the most critically endangered African mammals. They primarily reside in two protected areas in Angola: Cangandala National Park and Luando Integral Nature Reserve. Even though the “Palanca Negra” is a National emblem, very little is done to protect the species. Both Reserves suffer from lack of rangers leaving the sable population subject to intense threat of poaching for their meat.

In 2022, the Kissama Foundation implemented ‘The Giant Sable Capture Operation’ with funding from ACTIF, VIRIDIA, and ExxonMobil Foundation. The operation aimed to identify and assess the five known herds of sable in Luanda, Angola.

Over the course of 8 days in July a specialized team flew through the region and collared, tagged, photographed, sampled and treated any health issues (snares) amongst all sable herds. The teams also retrieved a lot poaching traps.

The operation was considered highly successful having located all five surviving herds of giant sable and the deployment of 18 GPS collars which means that now each herd has at least two GPS and VHFcollars transmitting.

Unfortunately, poaching is still a major threat to giant sables so it needs to be a clear priority to expand the reach of ranger activity to be able to protect the sables in the near future.