Legendary sable antelope ‘Piet’ dies

The legendary sable antelope, ‘Piet’, died on Friday evening, February 2, Letaba Herald reports.

Owned by game farmer Piet Warren, the sable antelope was born in 2002. He was a Zambian stock import and was purchased by Warren in 2003.

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At almost 16 years of age, the sable had been suffering from arthritis, which had made him weak and left him struggling to walk.

The antelope was darted on Friday morning for horn measurements to be taken and arthritis medication to be administered by a veterinarian.

He died that evening, and was found by Warren on Saturday morning.

The sable was found dead on Saturday morning.

Warren commented that he could see that the sable’s abilities had been slowing for some time, and that the arthritis had made him so weak that he could not recover from being darted.

The legendary sable is said to have sired over 180 calves in his lifetime and produced eight bull calves with horn lengths measuring over 50 inches.

When measured on Friday, his horns were recorded at an incredible 53.5 inches.

One of the offspring sired is ‘Mopanie’, a bull that sold for a record-breaking price of R27 million in September 2015.

He certainly had a good innings.

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