Wildebeest
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225883190
2008-07-15T21:11:58Z
Oobopshark
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/* Behavior */
{{Redirect|Gnu|the operating system|GNU}}{{otheruses6|GNU (disambiguation)|Wildebeest (disambiguation)}}
{{Taxobox
| name = Wildebeest
| image = Black-wildebeest-aka-gnu.jpg
| image_width = 260px
| image_caption = [[Blue Wildebeest]]
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]
| subphylum = [[Vertebrate|Vertebrata]]
| classis = [[Mammal]]ia
| ordo = [[Even-toed ungulate|Artiodactyla]]
| familia = [[Bovidae]]
| genus = '''''Connochaetes'''''
| genus_authority = [[Martin Lichtenstein|Lichtenstein]], 1812
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = ''[[Connochaetes gnou]]''<br>''[[Connochaetes taurinus]]''
}}
The '''wildebeest''' (plural, '''''wildebeest''''' or '''''wildebeests'''''), also called the '''gnu''' ({{pronEng|ˈnuː}} or {{IPA|/ˈnjuː/}}), is an [[antelope]] of the [[genus]] ''Connochaetes''. It is a hooved ([[ungulate]]) mammal. It looks like a mixture of features between a cow and a horse.
''Connochaetes'' includes two species, both native to [[Africa]]: the [[Black Wildebeest]], or white-tailed gnu (''C. gnou''), and the [[Blue Wildebeest]], or brindled gnu (''C. taurinus''). Gnus belong to the family ''[[Bovidae]]'', which includes antelopes, cattle, goats, and other even-toed horned ungulates.
Wildebeest grow to 3 [[foot (unit of length)|ft]] 9 [[inch|in]]–4 ft 7 in (1.15–1.4 [[metre]]s) at the shoulder and weigh 330–550 [[pound (mass)|pounds]] (150–250 [[kilogram]]s). They inhabit the plains and open woodlands of [[Africa]], especially the [[Serengeti]]. Wildebeest can live more than 20 years.
==Behavior==
The principal food source of wildebeests is [[grass]]es. The seasonal nature of the African grasslands forces wildebeest to migrate. The main migration is in May, when around 1.5 million animals move from the plains to the woods; they return in November as summer rains water the plains.
[[Image:Wilderbeest.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Herd of wildebeest]]
The name wildebeest finds its origin in the Dutch and [[Afrikaans]] words ''wild'' and ''beest'', which mean "wild animal" and "beest" in Afrikaans means "cattle" (or "steer"). Although the name is derived from the [[Dutch language]], the name "wildebeest" doesn't officially exist in the Dutch language; the Dutch name for wildebeest is ''gnoe'' (where the Dutch "g" is pronounced {{IPA|[x]}}, as in ''[[loch]]'').
[[Image:Ngorongoro Wildebeest.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Wildebeest in the [[Ngorongoro]]]]
[[Afrikaner]]s (Afrikaans-speaking South Africans) may have started using the name ''wildebeest'' for the animal as they had no other name for it when it was first encountered. "Gnu" is from a [[Khoikhoi]] language (which pronounced the [g]), likely an [[Onomatopoeia|imitation]] of the grunting noise that a wildebeest makes.
==See also==
*[[Catoblepas]] (a legendary creature based on the wildebeest)
*[[The Great Space Coaster]] (children's show that featured newscaster Gary Gnu)
*[[White-bearded Wildebeest]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
* [http://www.bartleby.com/65/gn/gnu.html ''The Columbia Encyclopedia'']
==External links==
* [http://www.sunsafaris.com/serengeti-migration-route.html Serengeti Wildebeest Migration Route]
<gallery>
Image:Wildebeest_(White Bearded).jpg|White bearded wildebeest at the Wildlife Ranch in [[San Antonio, TX]]
Image:Wildebeest.jpg|A grazing wildebeest
Image:WildebeestMigration.jpg|The wildebeest migration in the Serengeti
Image:Wildebeest portrait.jpg|White bearded wildebeest, [[Ngorongoro Crater]], Tanzania.
</gallery>
{{Artiodactyla|R.2}}
[[Category:Alcelaphinae]]
[[Category:Mammals of Africa]]
[[Category:Fauna of South Africa]]
[[Category:Fauna of East Africa]]
[[Category:Mammals of Kenya]]
[[Category:Fauna of Tanzania]]
[[Category:Fauna of Angola]]
[[Category:Fauna of Zambia]]
[[Category:Fauna of Namibia]]
[[Category:Megafauna of Africa]]
[[bg:Гну]]
[[ca:Nyu]]
[[da:Gnu]]
[[de:Gnus]]
[[eo:Gnuo]]
[[es:Connochaetes]]
[[fi:Gnut]]
[[fr:Gnou]]
[[gl:Ñu]]
[[he:גנו (בעל חיים)]]
[[ia:Gnu]]
[[io:Gnuo]]
[[it:Connochaetes]]
[[ja:ヌー]]
[[nl:Gnoes]]
[[nn:Gnu]]
[[no:Gnuer]]
[[pt:Gnu]]
[[ru:Гну]]
[[sr:Гну]]
[[sv:Gnuer]]
[[tr:Afrika antilopu]]
[[zh:角馬]]