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The Black Wildebeest or White Tailed Gnu, Connochaetes gnou, is an grazing antelope of unmistakeable appearance found on the central plateau of South Africa.

Description
Shoulder Height: (m) 1,2 m; (f) 1 m Body Length: 170 - 220 cm Tail Length: 80 - 100 cm Horns: 48 - 64 cm Mass: (m) 180 kg, (f) 160 kg

A large dark brown to black antelope with a long off-white horselike tail and an upright mane of off-white hairs tipped with brown. The coat is short and glossy in summer but becomes shaggier in winter. Both sexes carry horns which bend sharply downwards, forwards and upwards. The face is covered with bristlely tufts of hair, the muzzle is strongly whiskered and a beard extends under the throat. A fringe of hair stretches from between the forelegs onto the upper chest. Males are slightly larger and heavier than females but otherwise alike. Calves initially have straight horns that only begin to curve at at approximately nine months of age.

Distribution, Diet & Predators
In their natural range they are found only in South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland, populations have been introduced into private game farms in Namibia. Their Preferred habitat types are grassveld savannah and Karoo of the central South Africa plateau. they favour open areas and avoiding areas with tall grass or dense vegetation. They are unable to go without water for more than a few days. Primarily a grazer they prefer feeding on grasses but will eat karroid shrubs, herbs and succulents, often kneeling to graze, a position few other ruminants assume.

There primary predators apart from man are Lions, young are killed by Cheetah, Leopard, Spotted Hyena and Wild Dogs. However most of the areas where they exist or have been introduced are predator free resulting in a low mortality rate.

Habits
There are no truly wild Black Wildebeest today, those in their natural habitat only exist in fenced private game farms and nature reserves. Therefore all recent recorded behaviour (within the last hundred years) of this species is not necessarily accurate; fenced areas restrict long-term movements and human intervention has restricted herd sizes. The largest existing herd numbers 330 head at Willem Pretorius Game Reserve, Orange Free State.

Most active in the early morning and late afternoon, they lie up during the heat of the day. They are also active before dawn and after sunset. The white-tailed gnu is quite vocal, as well as the two-part call "ge-nu" it also produces a metallic snort and a resonant "hick".

Black Wildebeest are gregarious, forming small groups or herds up to 50, they often associate with other animals. Social groups consist of territorial breading herds and bachelor groups.

Territorial males are spread over a grid of individual territories. These territories are set up by males over four years of age. The boundaries are marked with urine and faeces and a central midden is also created in which the owner urinates, scrapes, and rolls. Each territory is aggressively defended, especialy during the mating season. Territorial conflicts involve posturing and horn wrestling. The bulls also attempt to keep females in their territories by herding them away from the boundaries.

Maternal herds have a distinct hierarchy, and are usualy 'closed' not allowing outsides to join there group. Female herds they have been seen attacking and driving off unwelcome bulls and solitary strangers attempting to join the herd. Bachelor herds, on the other hand, rarely display any aggression. The herds of females and their young wander in home ranges averaging 250 acres in size, passing through territories of the breeding males.

Reproduction
The primary breeding season is from February to April. After a gestation period of 8-8.5 months (240 to 250 days) a single calf is born in the summer months between November and January. Like C. taurinus, 80-90% of all calves are dropped within the three week birth peak. Calves can stand soon after birth and can run within hours. They begin to graze in less than a month, are weaned after 4 months and stay with their mothers until the next calf is born. Females mature at 1.5 to 2.5 years of age, males do not mature until 3 years of age. Their expected lifespan is up to 20 years.

Conservation & Threats
Black Wildebeest are endemic to the South African region. At the end of the 19th century excessive hunting had reduced the vast herds that roamed the central plateau of South Africa to just a few hundred individuals on two farms in the Free State Province. Since then, protection by farmers and conservation groups has allowed the species to recover and be re-introduce to parts its former range in South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho as well as into Namibia, previously outside its natural range.

This species is a recovery success story. In 1965 the IUCN Red List classified it as Very Rare, in 1994 as Vulnerable, 1996 Lower Risk/conservation dependent and then in 2004 listed as Least Concern. From only a few hundred at the beginning of the 20th century to in excess of 18 thousand in 2003.

Previously, the main threat to this species had been hunting pressure. Since its recovery and increase in numbers, a new threat has emerged, the problem of hybridization with the Blue Wildebeest C. taurinus which can occur when the two species are mixed unnaturally on fenced land.

Links

 * Wildebeest Hybradization
 * Images