Home > Wildebeest

The wildebeest (from Dutch "wild animal"), also called gnu (pronounced "noo," or "nyoo"), is a large hooved ( ungulate) mammal of the genus Connochaetes, which includes two species, both native to Africa: the Black Wildebeest (C. gnou), and the Blue & White-bearded Wildebeest or Blue Wildebeest (C. taurinus). The gnus belongs to the family Bovidae, which includes antelopes, cattle, goats, and other even-toed horned ungulates.

Wildebeest grow to 1.15–1.4 metres (3'9"–4'7") at the shoulder and weigh between 150 and 250 kilograms. (330 and 550 pounds) They inhabit the plains and open woodlands of southern Africa, especially the Serengeti. Wildebeest can live for more than 20 years.

The principal foodstuff of wildebeest are grasses. The seasonal nature of the African grasslands forces wildebeest to make annual migrations. The main migration is in May, when more than a million animals move from the plains to the woods; they return in November as summer rains water the plains.

The cows will calve in summer, on the plains. The calves are able to walk within minutes, and after a few days they are able to keep up with the rest of the herd. After calving the breeding season begins. Dominant bulls defend territories marked with feces and substances produced by glands on the hooves. Subordinate males form bachelor herds.

Wildebeest are an important part of the plains ecosystemIn ecology, an ecosystem is a community of organisms (plant, animal and other living organisms also referred as biocenose) together with their environment (or biotope), functioning as a unit. The term ecosystem first appeared in a 1935 publication by the. Their dung fertilizes the ground and their eating and trampling encourage new growth. They are also an important food source for predatorThis snapping turtle is trying to make a mealof a Canada goose, but the goose is too wary. A predator is an animal or other organism that hunts and kills other organisms for food in an act called predation . Most predators are carnivores. Some predators as such as lionThe Lion Panthera leo is a mammal of the family Felidae. The male lion, who is easily recognized by his mane, may weigh up to 250 kg (550 lb). Females are much smaller, weighing up to only 180 kg (400 lb). In the wild lions live for around 10 14 years, whs and hyenaCrocuta Hyaena Parahyaena Proteles Hyenas (or Hyaenas are moderately large terrestrial carnivores native to Africa and Asia, and members of the family Hyaenidae . Although hyenas look rather like large dogs, they make up a separate biological family whichs.

Also an insult in the Portuguese languagePortuguese portugues is a Romance language predominantly spoken in Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, and East Timor. With more than 200 million native speakers, Portuguese is one of the few languages spoken in such widely-distributed parts.

The erroneous (but common) pronunciation 'g-noo' is largely due to the comic song 'A G-nu' by Michael Flanders and Donald SwannFlanders and Swann were British actor and singer Michael Flanders and composer and linguist Donald Swann who joined forces to write and perform comic songs in the two-man revues At The Drop Of A Hat and At The Drop Of Another Hat''. Flanders and Swann att, in which all words starting with n have a g prepended: 'I'm a g-nu, I'm a g-nu, the g-nicest work of g-nature in the zoo.'