sable

sable, species of marten, Martes zibellina, found in Siberia, N European Russia, and N Finland. This carnivorous mammal is highly valued for its thick, soft fur, which is dark brown or black, sometimes with white underparts and sometimes flecked with silver. Unrestricted hunting for several centuries has exterminated the sable in some regions and dangerously reduced it in others; it now survives chiefly in the mountains of the northernmost parts of its former range. Protection is now afforded in parts of Russia, and it is raised on farms. The fur of the American marten, M. americana, sometimes called the American sable, also commands a price, although not as high as that of the true sable. Sables are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Carnivora, family Mustelidae.

Sable, Cape, S Fla., southernmost extremity of the U.S. mainland. It is part of Everglades National Park.

(1982) Massacre of Palestinian civilians by Christian militiamen in two Beirut refugee camps during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. The goal of Israel's action was to expel Palestinian guerrillas from Lebanon. To achieve this objective, Israel allied itself with several Lebanese Christian groups, including the Phalange party, who fought the Palestinians during the protracted Lebanese civil war (1975–90). Following the U.S.-brokered evacuation of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) fighters from Beirut, Israeli forces under Defense Minister Ariel Sharon allowed Phalange militiamen into the camps, ostensibly to root out further PLO fighters. Estimates of the number of women, children, and elderly who were killed over the next several days ranged from 800 to several thousand. Although no militiamen were ever prosecuted for their participation, Sharon—who an Israeli commission of inquiry later found indirectly responsible through negligence—was condemned in Arab popular opinion as the culprit of the massacre.

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Carnivore (Martes zibellina, family Mustelidae) that inhabits forests of northern Asia and is highly valued for its fur. The name is sometimes applied to related European and Asian species and to the American marten. The sable is 13–20 in. (32–51 cm) long, excluding the 5–7-in. (13–18-cm) tail, and weighs 2–4 lbs (0.9–1.8 kg). The coat varies from brown to almost black. The solitary, arboreal sable eats small animals and eggs.

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The sable (Martes zibellina) is a small carnivorous mammal, closely related to the martens. It inhabits forest environments primarily in Russia from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, in northern Mongolia and China and on Hokkaidō in Japan. Its range in the wild originally extended through European Russia to Poland and Scandinavia. It has historically been harvested for its highly valued fur, which remains a luxury good to this day. While hunting of wild animals is still common in Russia, most fur in the market is now commercially farmed.

Etymology

The name sable appears to be of Slavic origin and to have entered most Western European via the early medieval fur trade. Thus the Russian sobol and Polish soból became the German Zobel, Dutch Sabel; the French zibelline Spanish cibelina, cebellina, Finnish soopeli and Mediaeval Latin zibellina derive from the Italian form. The English and Medieval Latin word sabellum comes from the Old French sable or saible.

The term has become a generic description for some black-furred animal breeds, such as sable cats or rabbits.

Physical Appearance

Males weigh 880-1800 grams and have body length between 380-560 mm, with relatively long tails between 90-120 mm. Males are somewhat larger than females (700-1560 grams, 350-510 mm). Winter pelage is longer and thicker than their summer coat. Coloration varies in color from tan to black. The fur is somewhat lighter ventrally and a patch of gray, white, or pale yellow fur on the throat is common. The finest, darkest fur is highly prized and referred to as "black diamond".

Behavior, habitat and ecology

Sables are diurnal predators, using their sense of smell and hearing to hunt for small prey. They have been observed to hide in their dens for days during periods such as snow storms, or when they are being hunted by humans. In the wild they are potentially vicious, although there are "domesticated" sables who have been described as playful, curious, and even "tame" (if taken from their mother at a young age). They are mostly terrestrial, hunting and constructing dens on the forest floor. They feed on chipmunks, squirrels, mice, small birds and fish. When primary sources are scarce they eat berries, vegetation, and pine nuts. When weather conditions are extreme they will store their prey in their den. Despite their small size, their sharp teeth and fierce demeanor discourage most predators.

History of exploitation and status

Sable fur has been a highly valued item in the fur trade since the early Middle Ages. Intensified hunting in Russia in the 19th and early 20th century caused a severe enough decline in numbers that a five year ban on hunting was instituted in 1935, followed by a winter-limited licensed hunt. These restrictions together with the development of sable farms have allowed the species to recolonize much of its former range and attain healthy numbers. The collapse of the Soviet Union led to an increase of hunting and poaching in the 1990s, in part because wild caught Russian furs are considered the most luxurious and demand the highest prices on the international market. Currently, the species has no special conservation status according to the IUCN, though the isolated Japanese subspecies M. zibellina brachyurus is listed as "data-deficient".

Because of its great expense, sable fur is typically integrated into various clothes fashions: to decorate collars, sleeves, hems and hats (see, for example the shtreimel). The so-called Kolinsky sable-hair brushes used for watercolor or oil painting are not manufactured from sable hair, but from that of the siberian weasel.

References

External links

Martes zibellina on U. M. Animal Diversity Web