Everything about The Wildebeest totally explained
The
wildebeest (plural,
wildebeest or
wildebeests), also called the
gnu (or /ˈnjuː/), is an
antelope of the
genus Connochaetes. It is a hooved (
ungulate) mammal. It looks like a mixture of features between a cow and a horse.
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). Gnus belong to the family
Bovidae, which includes antelopes, cattle, goats, and other even-toed horned ungulates.
Wildebeest grow to 3
ft 9
in–4 ft 7 in (1.15–1.4
metres) at the shoulder and weigh 330–550
pounds (150–250
kilograms). They inhabit the plains and open woodlands of
Africa, especially the
Serengeti. Wildebeest can live more than 20 years.
Behavior
The principal food source of wildebeests is
grasses. The seasonal nature of the African grasslands forces wildebeest to migrate. 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.
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'd 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.'
Further Information
Get more info on 'Wildebeest'.
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