Rare sable antelope baby born at Schmiding Zoo

After a gestation period of just over 8.5 months, the female spent the first few days protected with her mother. Now the young antelope is already confidently making its first trips where it can be observed well, the zoo reported in a press release on Monday. Animal keepers gave it the name “Shari”, which means something like little princess and the wording is also reminiscent of the Sahara, the original home of the sable antelope.

View picture gallery

Up to a thousand antelopes roamed through the central Sahara in originally huge herds. However, the uncontrolled hunt for the magnificent, saber-like forehead decoration of the animals decimated the population so much that they could no longer be found in the wild in the 20th century. The imposing horns of the rare desert dwellers reach a length of up to 1.20 meters. Thanks to their original homeland, the sable antelope are coping well with the current heat. Because as one of the few mammals that live in the central Sahara, the antelopes are optimally adapted to desert life. They can survive for up to ten months without drinking water by getting their water needs from grass and plants.

The small sable antelope can be seen daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. (last admission 5 p.m.) at Zoo Schmiding.