Wildebeest

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Wildebeest
Conservation status: Lower risk

Image:Black-wildebeest-aka-gnu.jpg
Blue Wildebeest

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Family:	Bovidae
Genus:	Connochaetes Lichtenstein, 1812

Species

Connochaetes taurinus
Connochaetes gnou
Connochaetes taurinus cooksoni
Connochaetes taurinus albojubatus
Connochaetes taurinus johnstoni

The wildebeest, also called gnu (pronounced /nu/ or /nju/), is a large hooved (ungulate) mammal of the genus Connochaetes, which includes two species, both native to Africa: the Black Wildebeest (C. gnou), and the Blue & White-bearded Wildebeest or Blue Wildebeest (C. taurinus). The gnus belongs to the family Bovidae, which includes antelopes, cattle, goats, and other even-toed horned ungulates.

Wildebeest grow to 1.15–1.4 metres (3'9"–4'7") at the shoulder and weigh between 150 and 250 kilograms. (330 and 550 pounds) They inhabit the plains and open woodlands of southern Africa, especially the Serengeti. Wildebeest can live for more than 20 years.

The principal foodstuff of wildebeest are grasses. The seasonal nature of the African grasslands forces wildebeest to make annual migrations. 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.

Image:Wildebeest.jpg

A grazing wildebeest

The cows will calve in summer, on the plains. The calves can walk within minutes, and after a few days can keep up with the rest of the herd. After calving the breeding season begins. Dominant bulls defend territories marked with feces and pheremones produced by scent glands on the hooves. Subordinate males form bachelor herds.

Wildebeest are an important part of the plains ecosystem. Their dung fertilizes the ground and their eating and trampling encourage new growth. They are also an important food source for predators such as lions and hyenas.

Image:Blue wildebeest.jpg

A Blue Wildebeest grazing in Etosha National Park, Namibia

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Name

The name wildebeest finds its origin in the Dutch words "wild beest" which means "wild animal". Although the name is derived from the Dutch language, the name wildebeest doesn't exist in the Dutch language. The Dutch name for wildebeest is "gnoe" (where the Dutch "g" is pronounced as "ch").

'Gnu' is from the Khoikhoi language (which pronounced the g), which likely imitated it from the grunt-type noise that a wildebeest makes.

The pronunciation of '/gnu/' was popularized in English by the comic song 'A G-nu' by Michael Flanders and Donald 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.'

The g is pronounced in Swedish and Danish.

Five species are identified:

Connochaetes taurinus johnstoni - Nyassaland Gnu

Connochaetes taurinus albojubatus - White Bearded Gnu

Connochaetes taurinus cooksoni - Cooksen Wildebeest

Connochaetes taurinus taurinus - Blue Wildebeest (Brindled Gnu)

Connochaetes gnou - Black Wildebeest (White-tailed gnu)

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