Wildebeest
- "Gnu" redirects here.Template:Otheruses6
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 Blue Wildebeest
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Connochaetes gnou |
Wildebeest (plural, wildebeest or wildebeests), also called the gnu, is the common name for an antelope of the genus Connochaetes, characterized by horns in both sexes, which are smooth and initially curving downward, elevated shoulders, and thin legs. Gnus belong to the family Bovidae, which includes antelopes, cattle, goats, and other even-toed horned ungulates. Connochaetes includes only two extant species, both native to Africa: the Black Wildebeest, or white-tailed gnu (C. gnou), and the Blue Wildebeest, or brindled gnu (C. taurinus).
Description
Wildebeest are antelopes, which are a diverse group of typically hollow-horned and swift bovids native to Africa and Asia. Antelope species do not form a taxonomic group but are spread throughout the subfamilies of the Bovidae family (bovids) of the order Artiodactyla (even-toed ungulates).
As members of the Artiodactyla order, wildebeest walk on the third and fourth toes of each foot, which are covered and protected by hoofs—specialized claws. Standing on the toes has the effect of lengthening the legs, which gives them greater quickness and speed in running and jumping and lets them hold their heads higher above the ground to better watch out for predators (Huffman 2007).
As members of the Bovidae family, wildebeest are ruminants, which means that they have a four-chambered stomach that allows them to digest foods that are too low in available nutriments for many other animals, notably grasses and the leaves of trees and bushes. No animal is able to directly digest cellulose, the material of plant cell walls; ruminants rely on their symbiotic relationship with bacteria and other microorganisms in their first stomach, called the rumen, to break down cellulose by fermentation.
Wildebeest typically are further classified as members of the subfamily Hippotraginae (grazing antelopes) and tribe Alcelaphini (Taylor 2004). The Alcelapini also includes the hartebeests and the sassabies.
Wildebeest have a medium to large body, of somewhat stocky built, a long head, elevated shoulders, thin legs, and horns in both sexes, which is smooth and initially downward curving (Taylor 2004). They also have a very long, tufted tail, a beard, and a mane (Taylor 2004). Wildebeest grow to 3 ft 9 in–4 ft 7 in (1.15–1.4 meters) at the shoulder and weigh 330–550 pounds (150–250 kilograms).
The black wildebeest occurs only in South Africa, but the blue wildebeest occurs from South Africa to Kenya and Angola (Taylor 2004). They inhabit the grasslands and open woodlands, especially the Serengeti. Wildebeest can live more than 20 years.
Behavior
Like almost all bovids, the wildebeest are social animals that live in groups, called herds.
The principal food source of wildebeests is grasses. While the blue wildebeest may be sedentary, nomadic, or migratory, depending on local conditions of rain and green grass (Taylor 2004), the seasonal nature of the African grasslands in the Serengeti of Tanzania forces spectacular and regular migrations of herds in that area (Taylor 2004). The main migration is in May, when around 1.5 million animals move from the plains to the woods; they return in November as summer rains water the plains.
While wildebeest graze on grass, the black wildebeest also will browse on plants during the winter; blue wildebeest prefer to graze areas of short grass (Taylor 2004). Since the diet of wildebeest and cattle are broadly similar, these antelope are considered by many to be competitors for grazing land, and populations thus have been extensively reduced in size with livestock expansion (Taylor 2004).
The name wildebeest finds its origin in the Dutch and Afrikaans words wild and beest, which mean "wild animal" and "beest" in Afrikaans means "cattle" (or "steer"). Although the name is derived from the Dutch language, the name wildebeest doesn't officially exist in the Dutch language. The Dutch name for wildebeest is gnoe (where the Dutch "g" is pronounced [x], as in loch).
Afrikaners (Afrikaans-speaking South Africans) may have started using the name wildebeest for the animal as they had no other name for it when it was first encountered. "Gnu" is from a Khoikhoi language (which pronounced the [g]), likely an imitation of the grunting noise that a wildebeest makes.
The pronunciation of [gnuː] was popularised in English by the comic song "The Gnu" by Flanders and Swann, in which all words starting with n have a g prepended: 'I'm a g-nu, I'm a g-nu, the g-nicest work of g-nature in the zoo.'
See also
- Catoblepas (a legendary creature based on the wildebeest)
- The Great Space Coaster (children's show that featured newscaster Gary Gnu)
- White-bearded Wildebeest
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Taylor, B. 2004. Bovids II: Hartebeests, wildebeests, gemsboks, oryx, and reedbucks (Hippotraginae). Pages 27 to 44 in B. Grzimek et al., Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia, 2nd edition, vol. 16, mammals V. Detroit, MI: Thomson/Gale. ISBN 0787657921.
- Huffman, B. 2007. The Ultimate Ungulate Page. Retrieved February 1, 2007.
External links
- Wildebeest (White Bearded).jpg
White bearded wildebeest at the Wildlife Ranch in San Antonio, TX
A grazing wildebeest
- WildebeestMigration.jpg
The wildebeest migration in the Serengeti
White bearded wildebeest, Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania.
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