The Antelope That Came Back from the War
Angola's national symbol, a black antelope with sweeping horns, vanished during decades of war. Many feared it was gone. Then a camera in the forest caught one.
What was reported
The giant sable antelope, the palanca negra gigante, lives only in a small area of central Angola. The males are glossy black, with huge curved horns more than a metre and a half long. It's the national symbol of Angola, and the national football team is nicknamed after it.
During the long civil war that ended in 2002, no scientists could reach the area, and no one knew whether any had survived. In 2004, a team led by the Angolan biologist Pedro Vaz Pinto set up camera traps in Cangandala National Park, and photographs showed a small herd still alive.
Explanations offered
The antelope survived in tiny numbers. Conservationists found that some females had bred with roan antelope because there were no sable males, and they have since brought animals together in protected areas to save the subspecies. Its numbers are slowly growing.
- When
- Rediscovered in 2004
- Where
- Cangandala National Park, Malanje, Angola
- Witnesses
- Angolan scientists and camera traps
- Status
- Confirmed
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.