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