Hunting to decorate the walls of salons or museums around the globe, and later the Civil War that ravaged Angola until the 2002, left the Giant Sable ( Hippotragus niger variani ) on the brink of extinction. However, since 2003 an ambitious project, now led by the Kissama Foundation, works to save the species. Only two populations remains for this endemic giant antelope. One located in the Cangandala National Park and the other in the Luando Integral Reserve.
GIANT SABLE
In 2003, hope was lost in Cangandala, where just hibrid males inhabited the Reserve. However, after an ambitious project, in 2009, Duarte the first male from Luando reserve was reintroduced in Cangandala, and brought a shine of hope to the species.
Since then, brand new pure males were born in the Cagandala herd. The ghost of the miombo savannah, that after hundreds of years of persecution survives hiding in the Reserve.
Every year, young males change their reddish fur color to black and start to develop the large horns that characterize the species, getting ready for the mating season.
In Angola, thousands of square kilometers burn every year during the "cacimbo". The warm sun and the smoke stain the sunsets with its characteristic curtain of color.
Meanwhile, Mercury, the big dominant bull of Cagandala, digests the stodgy leaves of the miombo far away from the herd. He prefers a solitary protection of the forest until the next mating season.
On the other hand, in Luando, the camp is integrated into the dry landscape of the "cacimbo", while the rangers protect the Reserve untiringly.
However, the scarcity during the dry season does not only affect wild animals, since local people have to walk more than 20 km to find water every day.
However, in this region of the World, games can be very different from those of the Western Countries.
Where bushmeat is a widely precious and the size doesn't affect as long as they make an economic or nutritional contribution to the family.
Even the most threatened species on Earth could be a potential prey for food or as symbol for spiritual protection.
With the main aim of fight against this impact, the project integrates members of the nearby communities as rangers, and bring them an alternative life and opportunities.
Meanwhile, a guard prepares rope made with natural fiber to tie the large diesel drums that are on its way guarded by the military.
Rangers visit the a station located in the heart of the reserve, from where they protect the herds that lives more deep in the reserve.
Together with the military, the team reorganizes the diesel that will be used by the helicopter that is use to find the herds in the reserve.
Pedro Vaz Pinto, coordinator of the project, explain the militars and ranger the methodology of tranquilizer darts that will be use in the next capture.
Thanks to permanent monitoring in both populations, a special care of the reproductive male and females, and the rigorous protection against poaching in the area, the Giant Sable gradually moves away from the extinction. However, the battle is still alive, where social education and the protection of the species are the main pillars for the species salvation. If you want to know more about the project you can do it by clicking on the following photographs and get involve in the protection of this emblematic species.
