The sable (Martes zibellina) is a type of marten, a small mammal that eats both plants and animals. It lives mainly in forest areas of Russia, from the Ural Mountains through Siberia and northern Mongolia. Its habitat also includes parts of eastern Kazakhstan, China, North Korea, and Hokkaido, Japan.
The sable’s fur is colored from light to dark brown. It has a long head and large ears. It is a strong climber and uses sound and smell to find food. Sables mate between June and August, and each litter usually has two or three young. Sable fur has been very valuable in the fur trade since the early Middle Ages. This value has caused hunting and efforts to protect the species. Today, sable fur is often used to decorate clothing. The sable is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Etymology
The word "sable" seems to have originated from Slavic languages and spread to many Western European languages through the fur trade during the early medieval period. For example, the Russian "соболь" (sobol') and Polish "soból" became the German "Zobel," Dutch "sabel," French "zibeline," Spanish "cibelina" and "cebellina," Finnish "soopeli," Portuguese "zibelina," and Middle Latin "zibellina." These terms come from the Italian version, "zibellino." The English and Middle Latin word "sabbellum" comes from the Old French words "sable" or "saible."
Description
Male sables have a body length of 38–56 cm (15–22 in) and a tail length of 9–12 cm (3.5–4.7 in). They weigh between 880–1,800 g (31–63 oz). Female sables are slightly smaller, with a body length of 35–51 cm (14–20 in) and a tail length of 7.2–11.5 cm (2.8–4.5 in). Their winter fur is thicker and fluffier than their summer fur. Fur color varies by location, ranging from light to dark brown. The belly is lighter in color, while the back and legs are darker. Japanese sables have black fur on their legs and feet. A light patch of fur on the throat may be gray, white, or pale yellow. The fur is softer and silkier than that of American martens. Sables look similar to pine martens in size and shape but have longer heads, longer ears, and shorter tails. Their skulls are similar to pine martens but larger and stronger, with more curved cheek bones.
Distribution and habitat
In Russia, the sable's current location is mainly due to the release of 19,000 animals between 1940 and 1965. The sable lives as far north as the tree line and as far south as 55–60° latitude in western Siberia and 42° latitude in mountain areas of eastern Asia. In the west, the sable is found in the Ural Mountains, where it lives alongside the European pine marten. It also lives on the island of Sakhalin.
In Mongolia, the sable is found in the Altai Mountains and in forests near Lake Hovsgol. These forests are connected to the Trans-Baikal boreal forest, which is known for producing the most valuable sable fur. In China, the sable is found in a small area of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. In northeastern China, it is limited to the Greater Khingan Range. In eastern Heilongjiang, the sable lives in the Lesser Khingan Range and is also found on the island of Hokkaido and the Korean peninsula.
Because the sable looks different in various places, scientists have debated how many distinct subspecies exist. One source lists 17 subspecies, while other recent studies suggest numbers ranging from 7 to 30.
Behaviour and ecology
The sable lives in dense forests with spruce, pine, larch, Siberian cedar, and birch trees in both lowland and mountain areas. Its home range is between 4 to 30 square kilometers (1.5 to 11.6 square miles), depending on the local environment and food supply. However, when food is scarce, it travels long distances, sometimes moving 6 to 12 kilometers (3.7 to 7.5 miles) each day to find food.
The sable builds burrows near rivers and in the densest parts of forests. These burrows are often dug among tree roots for extra protection. It is a skilled climber of trees and cliffs. It is primarily active during twilight hours but becomes more active during the day during the mating season. Its dens are hidden and lined with grass and shed fur, but they may be temporary, especially in winter when the sable travels farther to find food.
The sable eats a variety of foods, including plants and animals. In summer, it hunts mountain hares and other small mammals. In winter, when snow and cold limit movement, it eats wild berries, rodents, hares, small musk deer, and sometimes the leftovers from wolf or bear kills. It also eats slugs, which it rubs on the ground to remove mucus, and occasionally catches fish with its front paws. It hunts using sound and smell, and it has very good hearing. It marks its territory with scent from glands on its belly.
Larger predators that hunt the sable include wolves, foxes, wolverines, tigers, lynxes, eagles, and large owls.
Mating usually happens between June and August 15, though the timing varies by location. During courtship, sables run, jump, and make rumbling sounds like cats. Males dig shallow grooves in snow and often urinate while doing so. Males fight each other for the chance to mate with females. Females become ready to mate in spring. Mating can last up to eight hours. After mating, the embryo does not attach to the uterus immediately. Instead, it attaches eight months later, even though the full pregnancy lasts 245 to 298 days. Embryos develop for only 25 to 30 days. Sables give birth in tree hollows, where they build nests from moss, leaves, and dried grass. Litters usually have one to seven young, but two or three are most common. Males help females by protecting their territory and providing food.
Newborn sable cubs are born with closed eyes and very thin fur. They weigh 25 to 35 grams (0.88 to 1.23 ounces) and are about 10 to 12 centimeters (3.9 to 4.7 inches) long. They open their eyes between 30 and 36 days and leave the nest soon after. At seven weeks, the young are weaned and fed regurgitated food by their parents. They reach sexual maturity at two years old. Sables can live up to 22 years in captivity and up to 18 years in the wild.
The sable can breed with the pine marten, a related species. This has been observed in the wild in the Ural Mountains and is sometimes done intentionally on fur farms. The hybrid offspring, called a kidus, is slightly smaller than a pure sable with coarser fur but similar markings and a long, bushy tail. Kiduses are usually unable to have babies, though one female kidus was recorded to breed with a male pine marten.
History of fur use and status
Sable fur has been highly valued in the fur trade since the early Middle Ages. It is often considered the most beautiful and richly colored pelt among martens. Sable fur is unique because it feels smooth in every direction it is touched. The fur of other animals may feel rough when stroked against the grain. A wealthy 17th-century Russian diplomat once called the sable "A beast that the Ancient Greeks and Romans called the Golden Fleece." Russian sables were typically skinned over the mouth, with no cuts made on the body. The feet were kept to preserve as much fur as possible. Byzantine priests wore sable fur during religious rituals.
In England, sable fur was greatly admired. Henry I received a wreath of black sable from the Bishop of Lincoln for £100, a large amount at the time. Sable fur was a favorite of Henry VIII, who once received five sets of sable worth £400 from Emperor Charles V. Henry later declared that only nobles above the rank of viscount could wear sable fur. The Russian conquest of Siberia was partly driven by the presence of sables there. Ivan Grozny once demanded 30,000 sable pelts annually from the Kazan Tatars, but they sent far fewer due to wars with Sweden and Poland. The best sable skins came from Irkutsk and Kamchatka.
According to the Secret History of the Mongols, when Genghis Khan married his first wife, Börte Ujin, his mother, Hoelun, received a coat of sable furs from her in-laws. This gift was both practical and symbolic. Later, a boy named Shigi Qutuqu, found wandering near a Tatar camp, was identified as noble because of his sable-lined silk jacket.
According to Atkinson's Travels in Asiatic Russia, the area around Lake Baikal, specifically Barguzin, was known for its sables. Their fur is deep black with white-tipped hairs. Hunters sometimes asked for $80 to $90 for a single skin. In 1916, the first nature reserve in the Russian Empire, the Barguzin Nature Reserve, was created to protect and grow the sable population. Sable fur remained Russia’s most desired fur until sea otters were discovered in Kamchatka, whose fur was considered even more valuable. Sable fur was highly sought after by Russian nobles, and few skins left the country. Some were secretly obtained by Jewish traders and sold at the Leipzig fair. In some cases, sable hunting was assigned to convicts exiled to Siberia.
Imperial Russian fur companies produced 25,000 sable skins each year, with nearly 90% exported to France and Germany. The civic robes of London’s Lord Mayor and Corporation were trimmed with sable. Like minks and martens, sables were often caught using steel traps. Increased hunting in Russia during the 19th and early 20th centuries caused sable numbers to drop sharply, leading to a five-year hunting ban in 1935 and later a limited winter hunt. These measures, along with sable farming, helped the species recover and expand its range.
The Soviet Union allowed Old Believer communities to live traditionally only if they gave up all sable skins they produced. After the Soviet Union ended in 1991, hunting and poaching increased in the 1990s because wild Russian furs were seen as the most luxurious and expensive. Today, the sable is not listed as endangered by the IUCN Red List, though the Japanese subspecies M. zibellina brachyurus is marked as "data-deficient."
Sable fur is still highly valued and used in clothing, such as collars, sleeves, hems, and hats (like the shtreimel). The so-called "kolinsky" sable-hair brushes used for painting are not made from sable, but from the fur of the Siberian weasel.