Black wildebeest in Mountain Zebra National Park, South Africa
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Mammalia
Order:
Artiodactyla
Family:
Bovidae
Subfamily:
Alcelaphinae
Genus:
Connochaetes
Species:
C. gnou
Binomial name
Connochaetes gnou
(Zimmermann, 1780)
Distribution range
Synonyms[2]
Bos gnou (Zimmermann, 1777)
Antilope capensis (Gatterer, 1780)
Antilope gnou (Zimmermann, 1780)
Antilope gnu (Gmelin, 1788)
Catoblepas operculatus (Brookes, 1828)
Bos connochaetes (Forster, 1844)
The black wildebeest or white-tailed gnu (Connochaetes gnou) is one of the two closely related wildebeest species. It is a member of the genus Connochaetes and family Bovidae. It was first described in 1780 by Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zimmermann. The black wildebeest is typically 170–220 cm (67–87 in) in head-and-body length, and the typical weight is 110–180 kg (240–400 lb). Males stand about 111–121 cm (44–48 in) at the shoulder, while the height of the females is 106–116 cm (42–46 in). The black wildebeest is characterised by its white, long, horse-like tail. It also has a dark brown to black coat and long, dark-coloured hair between its forelegs and under its belly.
The black wildebeest is an herbivore, and almost the whole diet consists of grasses. Water is an essential requirement. The three distinct social groups are the female herds, the bachelor herds, and the territorial bulls. They are fast runners and communicate using a variety of visual and vocal communications. The primary breeding season for the black wildebeest is from February to April. A single calf is usually born after a gestational period of about 8 and 1/2 months. The calf remains with its mother until her next calf is born a year later. The black wildebeest inhabits open plains, grasslands, and karoo shrublands.
The natural populations of black wildebeest, endemic in the southern part of Africa, were almost completely exterminated in the 19th century, due to their reputation as pests and the value of their hides and meat, but the species has been reintroduced widely from captive specimens, both in private areas and nature reserves throughout most of Lesotho, Eswatini, and South Africa. The species has also been introduced outside its natural range in Namibia and Kenya.
^Vrahimis, S.; Grobler, P.; Brink, J.; Viljoen, P.; Schulze, E. (2017). "Connochaetes gnou". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T5228A50184962. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T5228A50184962.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
^von Richter, W. (1974). "Connochaetes gnou". Mammalian Species (50). The American Society of Mammalogists: 1–6.
The blackwildebeest or white-tailed gnu (Connochaetes gnou) is one of the two closely related wildebeest species. It is a member of the genus Connochaetes...
ungulates. There are two species of wildebeest: the blackwildebeest or white-tailed gnu (C. gnou), and the blue wildebeest or brindled gnu (C. taurinus)....
species of wildebeest. It is placed in the genus Connochaetes and family Bovidae, and has a close taxonomic relationship with the blackwildebeest. The blue...
Connochaetes Blackwildebeest (or white-tailed gnu), C. gnou Blue wildebeest, C. taurinus Blue wildebeest C. t. taurinus Eastern white-bearded wildebeest C. t...
(specifically the blackwildebeest), "approximately 80 km/h or 50 mph", and "over 50 miles per hour [80.5 km/h]" (specifically the blue wildebeest). Different...
place, by the following mammals: Africa: Hartebeest Springbok Blackwildebeest Blue wildebeest Blesbok Tiang Burchell's zebra Quagga (extinct) Thompson's...
William Shatner as Kazar, a megalomaniacal blackwildebeest and tyrannical leader of a herd of wildebeests who seeks to change the food chain by eating...
poisonous gaze and a poisonous breath. An invalid binomial name for the Blackwildebeest is Catoblepas operculatus as coined by Brookes (1828), likely in reference...
robust, muscular neck that was likely held horizontally, much like blackwildebeest. The nasal region of Megalotragus (with the exception of Megalotragus...
body with little hair.: 260 The animal is mostly purplish-grey or blue-black, but brownish-pink on the underside and around the eyes and ears.: 260 ...
(sometimes referred to as the Kenyan impala), and the larger and darker black-faced impala, which lives in slightly more arid, scrubland environments...
colouration, ranging from a pale white (as in the Arabian oryx) to black (as in the blackwildebeest). However, only the intermediate shades, such as brown and...
: 15 On both sides of this sculpture blackwildebeest are chiselled into the walls of the monument. The wildebeest symbolically depicts the dangers of...
with the black stripes on the face. Both sexes' coats feature a two-tone colouration; in males, the majority of the body is dark brown to black, with white...
the closely related O. gazella, but the latter has an entirely black tail and more black to the legs and lower flanks. Oryx gazella Family Bovidae Subfamily...
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), although others such as the black muntjac, Bornean yellow muntjac, and giant muntjac are vulnerable, near...
their coat. Camouflaged coats come in colors of yellow, gray, brown, or black tones. Even-toed ungulates bear their name because they have an even number...
and small beard (a goatee). The Black Mass, a probably mythological "Satanic mass", involved Satan manifesting as a black goat for worship. The goat has...
Rangarajan, M. (2001). India's Wildlife History. Delhi, India: Permanent Black. p. 4. ISBN 978-81-7824-140-1. Turvey, Samuel T.; Sathe, Vijay; Crees, Jennifer...
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