BLUE WILDEBEEST/BRINDLED GNU Connochaetes taurinus Five

Blue Wildebeest/ Brindled Gnu
BLUE WILDEBEEST/BRINDLED GNU Connochaetes taurinus
Five races: blue C.t.taurinus; white-bearded C.t.mearnsi & albojubatus;
Cookson’s C.t.cooksoni; Johnston’s C.t.johnstoni
German:Streifengnu
French:
Gnou à queue noire
Spanish: Ñu taurino o listado
Breeding
Mating season:
Strongly seasonal; births usually all within 2 – 3 weeks; births South Africa November – January; Serengeti (Tanzania) January – February
Measurements
Total length:
2,4 – 3,3 m (7.9‘ – 10.8‘)
Gestation:
250 days
Tail:
45 – 100 cm (17.7” – 39.4”)
Number of young:
1
Shoulder Height:
Male
1,5 m (4.9‘)
Female 1,3 m (4.3‘)
Birth weight:
22 kg (48.5 lb)
Sexual maturity:
Female breeds in second or third year
Weight: Male 250 kg (551 lb)
Female 180 kg (397 lb)
Longevity:
One captive 21 years 5 months
Western white-bearded wildebeest
Eastern white-bearded wildebeest
the Kenya/Tanzania border. All races are
huntable across most range states, with
the exception of Kenya.
Conservation standing
All races occur in substantial numbers
and are considered secure. The western
white-bearded numbers fluctuate but are
usually >1 million individuals and there
are well over 100,000 southern blue.
Lowest numbers are the restricted range
Cookson’s with about 12,000.
Johnston’s wildebeest
Cookson’s wildebeest
Blue wildebeest
Blue wildebeest historical
Right front, 100 mm (3.9”) Right back, 100 mm (3.9”)
Habitats
Open grassland savanna and savanna
woodland.
Description
Five races are recognised, but all differ
in the detail. All characterised by
relatively light hindquarters, heavier
forequarters with hump-like appearance
of shoulders. Longish head terminating
in a broad snout, black mane down neck
to shoulders, and long black tail. Both
sexes carry horns, those of cows lighter,
that form boss (horns not joined) and
grow outwards, turn sharply up and then
inwards (shallow W). The southern blue
has black throat mane, Cookson’s which
overall is more brownish also with black
throat mane, Johnston’s, or Nyasa, has a
white chevron between the eyes, and the
western and eastern white-bearded on
either side of the Great Rift Valley have
white to off-white throat fringes.
Distribution
Only the southern blue has a wide
distribution, Cookson’s is only found
in Zambia’s Luangwa Valley, Johnston’s
straddling the Tanzania/Mozambique
border and the white-bearded’s along
Behaviour
Most herds rarely number more than
30 animals, but much larger migratory
groupings come together seasonally, such
as in the Serengeti/Mara. Even in these
vast gatherings integrity of the small
herds is generally maintained. Territorial
bulls defend a zone around their cows,
even when on the move; land as such
is not defended. A territorial bull may
control between 2 – 150 cows with their
accompanying young but cows may
move through the “territories” of more
than one bull and be mated by several.
Outside the rut cow herds move freely
and are not herded by the bulls. Bachelor
herds circulating around the edge of the
main herd/s during the rut, but at other
times mix freely. Mainly day active.
Shot placement
Food
Grass-eaters.
Rifles and Ammunition
Suggested Calibre: .308 - 9,3 mm.
Bullet: Expanding bullet designed for penetration.
Sights: Medium-range variable scope.
Hunting Conditions: Expect medium-range shots in
mixed cover.
175
Blue Wildebeest/ Brindled Gnu
Johnston’s, or Nyasa, Wildebeest
Cookson’s Wildebeest
White-bearded Wildebeest
White-bearded Wildebeest in Maasai-Mara, Kenya
Photo: G.& M. von Hasseln
Cookson’s Wildebeest showing browner legs; Luangwa Valley
A fine White-bearded Wildebeest shot in northern Tanzania
174
Game Animals of the World
Cows and calves of Blue Wildebeest in uMkuze, KwaZulu-Natal