About animals | Wildebeest | The wildebeest is actually a subspecies of the antelope,
despite it's bull-like appearance. There are two known species of
wildebeest, both of which are native to Africa. The changing African
seasons mean the wildebeest must migrate south in the winter, so the
wildebeest can continue to graze on grass. Thousands of wildebeest all
tend to migrate at once creating a wildebeest stampede.
The wildebeest is a primary source of prey for many large African mammals,
that often pick out the weaker wildebeest from the outside of the
herd. Wildebeest generally grow to around 1.5 tall but are relatively
defenceless against dominant, carnivorous predators such as lions and
crocodiles . The wildebeest are able to sense thunderstorms that are up
to 30 miles away and the wildebeest follow these rains across Africa in
what is commonly known as the great migration. The wildebeest trek
around 30 miles everyday and approximately 1,000 miles a year as the
wildebeest follow the rains in order to find the best grass.
When the baby wildebeest are
born, they are often able to stand within a matter of minutes and
these young wildebeest are soon able to run around and soon learn about
the importance of protection in numbers. When the wildebeest are
migrating around the African continent, the young wildebeest always
stay very close to the mother wildebeest as it is easy for the young
wildebeest to get lost when there are so many wildebeest travelling
together or be preyed upon by watching predators.
Wildebeest inhabit large
plains on the African savanna where there is plenty of food for the
wildebeest to eat. Wildebeest are herbivorous animals and graze on
grasses, leaves and shoots. Wildebeest live together in large herds in
order to protect each other as on their own, wildebeest are defenceless
and therefore vulnerable in the African wilderness. When danger is
spotted, the wildebeest warn each using groaning calls and then run
together creating a stampede, both to escape approaching predators and
also to intimidate them.