Black Wildebeest

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Connochaetes gnou

With their long white tails, stiff mane, whiskery muzzles, and curved, forward facing horns the Black Wildebeest looks quite menacing and is easily recognisable. Bulls have a shoulder height of only 1.2m and weigh in at around 160kg, considerably smaller than their closely related cousins, the Blue Wildebeest.

Black Wildebeest (10)

An inhabitant of open grasslands and semi-desert plains, Black Wildebeest subsists on a diet of grass, low shrubs and succulents, and need to drink daily. They have a preference for highlands and mountain plateaus, and are quite resistant to the extreme cold experienced in such habitats, especially during winter.

Black Wildebeest prefer open grasslands
Black Wildebeest herd in the highlands
Midday posture, facing away from the hot sun
Grazing black Wildebeest
Black Wildebeest
Black wildebeest and umbrella thorn
Black wildebeest
Black wildebeest on the trot along Golden Gate’s game viewing circuit
Walking to the battle ground
Black wildebeest
Black Wildebeest
Black Wildebeest
Bewildered Black Wildebeest (photo by Joubert)
Black Wildebeest in humorous pose
Black Wildebeest

Black Wildebeest are gregarious animals, coming together in herds of 6 to 60 made up mostly of cows and calves traversing the territories of bulls in their prime. Bulls unable to hold territories of their own join together in bachelor groups. During the hot summer they are mostly active from early evening to early morning, while they are active for most of the daylight hours in winter. As their open habitat usually offers very little in the form of shade, they spend the hottest hours of the day standing still and facing away from the sun. Black Wildebeest are extremely nervous, taking flight at high speed at the scantest sign of danger, and can be aggressive and unpredictable, especially when cornered, which is why you’ll seldom see them in captivity – as recently as 2013 a farmer and his son were killed when the family was attacked by two black wildebeest.

Black Wildebeest
Black Wildebeest herd
Black Wildebeest are incredibly athletic
Black Wildebeest are incredibly athletic
Black Wildebeest are incredibly athletic
Just look at that tail!
Menacing, territorial Black Wildebeest Bull
Round 1! Black Wildebeest Duel
Black wildebeest herd on a plateau
Black wildebeest calves
Round 1! Black Wildebeest Duel
Round 1! Black Wildebeest Duel
Round 1! Black Wildebeest Duel
The victor and the vanquished
Black Wildebeest
Black Wildebeest
Black Wildebeest
Black Wildebeest
Black Wildebeest
Black wildebeest
Black Wildebeest
Black Wildebeest
Black Wildebeest trio
Black Wildebeest race
Herd of Black Wildebeest
Black Wildebeest
Black Wildebeest
Black Wildebeest

Cows give birth in the herd to single calves between November and January. The calves can keep up with the herd within minutes of being born. Most of the larger predators have been wiped out in the black wildebeest’s range and as such black-backed jackals preying on calves were the biggest predatory threat to them, though recently lion and cheetah have been reintroduced to some reserves where they occur and should re-establish a natural predator-prey balance. Their natural life expectancy is about 16 years.

Black Wildebeest (photo by Joubert)
Black Wildebeest
Black Wildebeest
Black Wildebeest
Black Wildebeest
Black Wildebeest
Black Wildebeest
Black Wildebeest
Black Wildebeest
Black Wildebeest (photo by Joubert)
Black Wildebeest (photo by Joubert)
Black Wildebeest (photo by Joubert)
Black Wildebeest (photo by Joubert)
Black Wildebeest (photo by Joubert)

Black Wildebeest (6)

The Black Wildebeest occurs naturally only in South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. In times past the Black Wildebeest was a migrating species, moving seasonally between the moist highveld grasslands and dry Karoo in incredible numbers, but modern farming practices have made such large scale movements impossible and the species is now confined to fenced farms and reserves. Some of the best places to see them include Chelmsford Nature Reserve, Golden Gate Highlands National Park, Mountain Zebra National Park and Willem Pretorius Game Reserve. By the end of the 19th century indiscriminate hunting had almost driven the species to extinction, but since then concerted conservation efforts have ensured that numbers have been built up to an estimated 18,000 on private land and in state conservation areas, and the IUCN now considers their populations to be safe and increasing. That being said, hybridisation with the closely related Blue Wildebeest is an increasing threat to the genetic purity of the Black Wildebeest.

Black Wildebeest
Black Wildebeest

Black Wildebeest (1)

40 thoughts on “Black Wildebeest”

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  7. MJF Images

    Fascinating animal I didn’t even know about. I wonder if they might introduce them to the Nyika Plateau in Malawi. Sounds like they’d do well there, but I think maybe they’d need natural predators too, some leopards is all that are there I believe.

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    1. de Wets Wild Post author

      I think with an average rainfall of 2000mm / year, they’d find Nyika far too wet for their liking Michael. But here in South Africa, and Namibia, they’ve proven that they can be very easily resettled in suitable habitat, which of course made a huge difference to the recovery of their populations from the brink of extinction.

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  10. iAMsafari.com

    Thanks for introducing me to an almost unknown species Dries. The limitation and destruction of its habitat almost sounds like an Australian story – great to see conservation public and private conservation efforts make the difference.

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      1. iAMsafari.com

        I think we do learn, although sometimes it’s hard to mend what’s broken; luckily there are so many people out there who want to make a difference – whether it’s conservation, education or full-on activism. Hopefully our enthusiasm about the natural environment can make a difference too, if only we learn our kids to appreciate it.

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  17. Pat

    I don’t think I’d want to be within range of those horns, they could skewer one real easy. But what a marvelous creature. That mane is especially showy. 🙂

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  18. colonialist

    Most impressive animals. From what you say, I was lucky to have been treated with indifference after having wandered into the middle of a herd when I had lost my bearings while on walkabout, and was following their tracks in the hopes that they led to a river where I could un-lose myself.

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