The sable (Martes zibellina) is a species of marten, a small omnivorous mammal primarily inhabiting the forest environments of Russia, from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, and northern Mongolia.

Sables resemble pine martens in size and appearance but have more elongated heads, longer ears, and shorter tails.

Today, sable fur is often used to decorate clothing items, and the species has no special conservation status according to the IUCN Red List.

The name sable appears to be of Slavic origin and entered most Western European languages via the early medieval fur trade.

[3] Thus the Russian соболь (sobol') and Polish soból became the German Zobel, Dutch sabel; the French zibeline, Spanish cibelina, cebellina, Finnish soopeli, Portuguese zibelina and Medieval Latin zibellina derive from the Italian form (zibellino).

[4] The term has become a generic description for some black-furred animal breeds, such as sable cats or rabbits, and for the colour black in heraldry.

[6] Different subspecies display geographic variations of fur colour, which ranges from light to dark brown, with individual coloring being lighter ventrally and darker on the back and legs.

[10] Sables greatly resemble pine martens in size and appearance, but have more elongated heads, longer ears and proportionately shorter tails.

[12] Sables inhabit dense forests dominated by spruce, pine, larch, Siberian cedar, and birch in both lowland and mountainous terrain.

They defend home territories that may be anything from 4 to 30 square kilometres (1.5 to 11.6 sq mi) in size, depending on local terrain and food availability.

However, when resources are scarce they may move considerable distances in search of food, with travel rates of 6 to 12 kilometres (3.7 to 7.5 mi) per day having been recorded.

Their dens are well hidden, and lined by grass and shed fur, but may be temporary, especially during the winter, when the animal travels more widely in search of prey.

In winter, when they are confined to their retreats by frost and snow, they feed on wild berries, rodents, hares, and even small musk deer.

[13] Predators of sable include a number of larger carnivores, such as wolves, foxes, wolverines, tigers, lynxes, eagles and large owls.

The resulting hybrid, referred to as a kidus, is slightly smaller than a pure sable, with coarser fur, but otherwise similar markings, and a long bushy tail.

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 the girl's parents.

[21] Shortly after, when the young Shigi Qutuqu was found wandering a destroyed Tatar camp, he was recognised to be of noble descent because of his sable-lined silk jerkin.

[7] The Soviet Union allowed Old Believer communities to continue their traditional way of life on the condition that they hand over all sable skins they produced.

[24] The dissolution 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.

[1] 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 watercolour or oil painting are not manufactured from sable hair, but from that of the Siberian weasel.