Decline of sable antelope in one of its key conservation areas: the greater Hwange ecosystem,Zimbabwe

Land use has major effects on wildlife conservation. We studied variations of sable antelope Hippotragus niger densities between 1990 and 2001 in comparison with various land uses in and around Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe. Trends of other ungulates, including elephant Loxodonta africana, were examined simultaneously, because sable may be sensitive to forage and apparent competition and to high elephant densities. Sable densities declined in the whole region, very likely because of adverse rainfall conditions. Densities were constantly higher in the hunting areas and forestry lands than in the national park. Interestingly, elephant densities showed the opposite, with higher densities in the national park than in the adjacent areas. Whether these results reflect a negative effect of high elephant numbers on sable must still be tested directly. Likewise, while habitat characteristics and lion predation did not appear responsible for the higher sable densities outside the national park, they could not be discounted as an influence on the differing sable densities in different land‐use areas. It is clear, however, that high protection status is not always sufficient to ensure adequate conservation of flagship species. We therefore call for further investigations of ecological interactions within protected areas.