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Gnu or Wildebeest Scientific Name: Connochaetes
taurinus is a grazer which weighs about 500 pounds and has a
gestation period of 8 months .Several races of wildebeest (also called gnu)
exist. The species that forms the large herds of the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem
of Tanzania and Kenya is known as the western white-bearded wildebeest (C.
t. mearnsi). The brindled or blue race occurs south of the Zambezi River.
The eastern white-bearded race inhabits Kenya and Tanzania east of Gregory
Rift.
The head of the wildebeest is large and box-like and both males
and females have curving horns. The front end of the body is heavily built, the
hindquarters slender and the legs spindly. The coat is gray and has a black
mane and a beard which may be black or white. Wildebeests are continually on
the move as they seek favorable supplies of grass and water.
The famous Serengeti population of wildebeest is a very large
nomadic group. These animals make a migratory circle of 500 to 1,000 miles each
year, beginning right after the calving season in January and February on the south-eastern
Serengeti plains, moving west toward Lake Victoria, then turning north into the Masai Mara. They are relentless in their advance and many are injured, lost
(especially calves) or killed. By the end of the dry season, the wildebeest
have almost exhausted the grazing lands and return south to the Serengeti
plains as the rains begin.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.
A calf eats its first grass at about 10 days, although it is still
suckled for at least 6 months. Even after weaning, many remain with the mother
until the next year's calf is born. At that time the young males are driven
away, but the females often remain in the same groups as their mothers. Their
biggest predators are lions, cheetahs, leopards, hunting dogs, hyena, and
crocodile among other cats.
JBA-Masai mara safaris
