Wildebeest

Wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Class: Mammalia Order: Artiodactyla Family: Bovidae Genus: Connochaetes Distribution Map Conservation Status: Lower risk

The undisputed protagonist and real anti-hero of the Great Migration, the Wildebeest is a large bearded antelope, ungainly and weird-looking, whose aspect might appear as the cross between a cow, a horse and a goat.

Smaller than an African buffalo but bigger than a gazelle, this social grazer of the acacia savanna and short-grass plains, known also as gnu, is the most numerous inhabitant of the Masai Mara (as it is of the Serengeti), with an estimated population of almost 2 million individuals living in the Great Serengeti ecosystem.

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.

Around July of each year, these grass-eaters migrate from the Serengeti plains in search of fresh pasture, and return to the south around October. This circular, clockwise migratory route, the Great Wildebeest Migration, is one of the world's greatest natural events.

Each year the promise of rain and fresh grass brings more than 1.3 million Wildebeest into a single massive herd, which makes a spectacular entrance on the southern plains of the Mara in a huge, surging column of wildlife.

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 pheromones 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 the most important food source for predators such as lions and hyenas.

With excerpts from Wikipedia's Wildebeest page. Photo by Pcb21 displayed under a GNU Free Documentation License.

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