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The giant sable antelope, ''(Hippotragus niger variani)'', also known in Portuguese as the ''palanca-negra-gigante'', is a large, rare subspecies of sable antelope native and endemic to the region between the Cuango and Luando Rivers in Angola. There was a great degree of uncertainty regarding the number of animals that survived during the Angolan Civil War. In January 2004, a group from the Centro de Estudos e Investigação Científica of the Catholic University of Angola, led by Dr. Pedro vaz Pinto, was able to obtain photographic evidence of one of the remaining herds from a series of trap cameras installed in the Cangandala National Park, south of Malanje. The giant sable antelope is the national symbol of Angola, and is held in a great regard by its people. This was perhaps one of the reasons the animals survived the long civil war. In African mythology, just like other antelopes, they symbolize vivacity, velocity, beauty and visual sharpness. The giant sable antelope is evaluated as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. == Description == Both sexes have horns, which can reach 1.5 meters in length. Males and females are very similar in appearance until they reach three years of age, when the males become darker and develop majestic horns. The male antelope weighs an average of with a height of . Females weigh 220 kg and are slightly shorter than males. The horns are massive and more curved in males, reaching lengths of , while females' horns are only in length. Coloration in bulls is black, while females and young are chestnut, except in southern populations, where females turn brown-black. Most sable antelopes have white "eyebrows", their rostra are sectioned into cheek stripes, and their bellies and rump patches are white. Young under two months old typically are light brown and have slight markings. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Giant sable antelope」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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