« African Field Notes: The Rhinoceros | Main | African Field Notes: The Giraffe »

February 15, 2006

African Field Notes: The Wildebeest

Both males and female wildebeests have curving horns. You'll often see them grazing along with zebras.

Why? Because one species likes short grass and the other likes long grass. The wildebeest graze on short grass and it can be any type of shortgrass. It feeds on the shortgrass the other animals have trouble eating, this is its evolutionary advantage.

Also, the wildebeest has poor eyesight and an excellent sense of smell and the zebra has good eyesight and relatively poor sense of smell. Together, they have a better chance of detecting predators.

The largest mammal migration in the world is that of the Serengeti wildebeest. Over two million wildebeests migrate twice a year across the Mara River in Maasai lands. Other grazers like Zebra also migrate along with the wildebeests, not to mention predators like the African Lion.


Wildebeest females give birth to a single calf in the middle of the herd, not seeking a secluded place, as do many antelopes. Amazingly, about 80 percent of the females calve within the same 2- to 3-week period, creating a glut for predators and thus enabling more calves to survive the crucial first few weeks.

A calf can stand and run within minutes of birth. It immediately begins to follow its mother and stays close to her to avoid getting lost or preyed upon. Within days, it can run fast enough to keep up with the adult herd. They find strength in numbers: large herds mean smaller chances of being preyed upon. If a calf loses its mother it will follow whatever is closest – a car, a person or occasionally even a predator, but in the latter case, probably not for very long.

Latin Name: Connochaetes taurinus
A Group Is Called: An Implausibility (More At: Critter Collectives)

Check out our Safari South Africa podcast - an audio program and a video that features this animal!

Posted by sorsha at February 15, 2006 9:40 PM