Wildebeest: The wildebeest (plural wildebeest or wildebeests), also called the gnu is an antelope of the genus Connochaetes. It is a hooved (ungulate) mammal. Wildebeest is Dutch for "wild beast" or "wild cattle" in Afrikaans (beest = cattle), while Connochaetes derives from the Greek words konnos ("beard") and khaite ("flowing hair"). The name "gnu" originates from the Khoikhoi name for these animals, "gnou". Gnus belong to the family Bovidae, which includes antelopes, cattle, goats, and other even-toed horned ungulates. Connochaetes includes two species, both native to Africa: the black wildebeest, or white-tailed gnu (C. gnou), and the blue wildebeest, or brindled gnu (C. taurinus). Fossil records suggest that these two species diverged about one million years ago resulting in a northern and a southern species.
The blue wildebeest changed very little from the ancestor species, while the black wildebeest took on more morphological changes to adapt to a habitat of open grassland in the south. Today there are five subspecies of the blue wildebeest while the black wildebeest has no living subspecies. A full grown wildebeest can be 4 ft 2 in (1.27 m) to 4 ft 10 in (1.47 m) at the shoulder and weigh 265–600 lb (120–270 kg). They inhabit the plains and open woodlands of Africa, especially the Serengeti National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Tanzania, Masai Mara Game Reserve in Kenya and Liuwa Plain National Park in Zambia. Wildebeest can live more than 40 years, though their average lifespan is around 20 years. The wildebeest have a broad muzzle shaped like a lawnmower which helps it with eating short grass.
Wildebeest
Wildebeest
Wildebeest
Wildebeest
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