Gnu

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Characteristics - Wildebeest are African bovids with broad shoulders, cow like horns, and a broad muzzle. The horns are unridged, have a parenthetical shape, and are thicker in males than in females. Of the two species in the genus Connochaetes, blue wildebeest are smaller and lighter in weight and are slate gray with tan forelegs. They range in mass from 118 kg to 270 kg. Adult males are generally darker than females. Blue wildebeest are uniquely marked by dark vertical stripes on the shoulders and back. In general, wildebeest have a mane and a beard, which is usually white to tan colored.

Range - Common wildebeest are common in eastern and southern Africa, from Kenya to eastern Namibia. Their southern range is bordered by the Orange River in South Africa.

Habit - Common wildebeest can be found in a wide variety of habitats, from dense bush to open woodland floodplains, however, they appear to prefer acacia savannahs and plains with rapidly regrowing grasses and moderate soil moisture levels.

Food - Wildebeest are grazers, and will eat during both the day and moonlit nights. Their primary food consists of rapidly growing colonial grasses found on the savannah and the plains. When grasses are sparse, they may eat leaves off of shrubs and trees. During times of decreased food abundance, migratory herds of several thousand wildebeest travel hundreds of kilometers to find food.

Conservation Status - International Union for Conservation Nature and Natural Resources-IUCN Red List Least Concern – LC