Black wildebeest

Description

The black wildebeest or white-tailed wildebeest (Connochaetes gnou) is a species of artiodactyl mammal of the Bovidae family.It is one of the two existing species of the genus Connochaetes,being of slightly smaller size than the other species,the blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus).The black wildebeest is an endemic species of southern Africa,where it was almost completely exterminated.Historically,this species was widely and abundantly distributed by its original habitat,but its number was drastically reduced.In the year 1900,the black wildebeest was brought to the brink of extinction by hunting and disease.The remaining troops,who had been kept in farms,multiplied so well in protected areas that,in 1975,some 3500 white-tailed wildebeest were already living in South Africa again.It has been successfully reintroduced into private areas and nature reserves in Lesotho,Swaziland,South Africa and Namibia.This species is also raised in some zoos.These animals weigh about 150 kg,and reach a height of 120 cm to the cross.The head has a large snout and very wide and hairy nostrils.The neck has a long mane.The tail is white,long and populated,similar to that of a horse.Both the males and the females have similar horns,whose bulging bases almost touch the crown.the horns are first curved downwards and forwards,and with the tips almost perpendicularly bent upwards.The pelvic region clearly protrudes from the hip.The soft fur is dark brown.On the back of the nose there are brushes with stiff hairs.From the neck to the cross appears an erect white and black mane.A black beard hangs from the chest.