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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
|
| COMMON
NAME: |
Eastern
white-bearded wildebeest, gnu |
| KINGDOM: |
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| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Mammalia |
| ORDER: |
Artiodactyla |
| FAMILY: |
Bovidae |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Connochaetes
(flowing beard) taurinus (like a bull) albojubatus
(white mane) |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
This
subspecies of wildebeest has a white beard, unlike
most other subspecies which have black beards; both
sexes have smooth, cowlike horns. |
| MALE |
|
| FEMALE |
|
|
| SIZE: |
|
| MALE |
1.25
to 1.45 m (50-58 in.) at the shoulder |
| FEMALE |
1.15
to 1.42 m (46-57 in.) at the shoulder |
|
| WEIGHT: |
|
| MALE |
165
to 274 kg (360-600 lb.) |
| FEMALE |
140
to 230 kg (308-510 lb.) |
|
| DIET: |
Prefer
short grasses, but will eat taller grasses during
the dry season; generally drink twice a day |
|
| GESTATION: |
240
to 255 days |
| ESTRAL
PERIOD |
|
| NURSING
DURATION |
Young
nurse for 4 to 9 months |
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| SEXUAL
MATURITY: |
|
| MALE |
At
3 to 4 years |
| FEMALE |
Around
2.5 years |
|
| LIFE
SPAN: |
Up
to 20 years in zoos |
| MALE |
|
| FEMALE |
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| RANGE: |
Kenya
and Tanzania in eastern Africa |
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| 1. |
Each
year white-bearded wildebeest migrate in search
of fresh pastures. Such migrations may contain
as many as one million animals. Thomson's gazelles
and plains zebra often travel with the gnus. |
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| 2. |
Eighty
percent of calves (sometimes up to half a million)
are born within a 2 to 3 week period at the start
of the rainy season. Since predators can only take
a limited number of prey at any given time, there
is a higher chance of survival for each individual
calf. |
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| 3. |
Calves
can stand and run within 3 to 7 minutes after birth.
They follow their mothers as they move with the
herd. |
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| 4. |
At
night white-bearded wildebeest sleep on the ground
in rows; this provides them with the security of
being in a group while allowing them space to run
in case of an emergency. |
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| White-bearded
gnu have increased greatly in number in recent years.
In 1950, a census revealed approximately 100,000
individuals in the Serengeti region; today about
1.5 million white-bearded wildebeest are believed
to be present. However, the growth of human settlements
along their northern migration routes have begun
to disrupt their natural patterns. The grazing and
trampling of the grasses by such large herds helps
to stimulate grass growth, while their waste provides
nutrients for the soil and plants. Wildebeest are
also an important food source for predators such
as lions and hyenas. |
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| |
|
|
| Estes,
Richard. The Safari Companion. Post Mills,
Vermont: Chelsea Green Pub. Co., 1993. |
| |
| Gotch,
A.F. Mammals-Their Latin Names Explained.
Poole, U.K.: Blandford Press Ltd., 1979. |
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| Nowak,
Ronald (ed.). Walker's Mammals of the World.
Vol. II, Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press,
1991. |
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| Parker,
S.P., ed. Grzimek's Encyclopedia of Mammals.
Vol. 5. New York: McGraw Hill Pub. Co., 1990. |
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| Spinage,
C.A. The Natural History of Antelopes. New
York: Facts on File Pub., 1986. |
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| Stuart,
C. and T. Field Guide to the Mammals of Southern
Africa. Florida: Ralph Curtis Books Pub., 1988. |
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