Africa Geographic has just published the first part of a two-part article about the giant sable of Angola’s Cangandala National Park, written by journalist John Frederick Walker, entitled “Antelope From The Ashes” (part one of two). Mr. Walker has written about the giant sable in various books and articles, visit our giant sable page to see the links.

Click here to download a PDF of the article. From the article’s introduction:

“The jet-black giant sable bull is a breathtaking animal. Imperious and awe-inspiring, it is endemic to Angola, where it is    revered as a national icon, its distinctive scimitar-shaped horns adorning everything from postage stamps to soccer jerseys. There is a disconnect, though, between the antelope’s symbolic importance and its conservation status. Ironically, the now-famous photograph that proved its miraculous survival through nearly three decades of civil war also held clues to its greatest threat yet – there were no bulls in the picture and at least one of the females displayed evidence of hybridisation with roan antelope. In the first of a two-part series, John Frederick Walker, who wrote about the rediscovery of the giant sable in 2005, takes us inside an audacious expedition to breed the subspecies back from the brink.”

Writer John Walker aboard the helicopter during the 2010 giant sable capture program.