Wildebeest of her own, "Nelly Gnu and Daddy Too". Wildebeest Wildebeests, also called gnus, are antelopes in the genus Connochaetes. They belong to the family Bovidae, which includes antelopes, cattle, goats, sheep, and other even-toed horned ungulates. "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"). Fossil records suggest these two species diverged about one million years ago, resulting in a northern and a southern species. The blue wildebeest remained in its original range and changed very little from the ancestral species, while the black
Black wildebeest of the muscles to use large amounts of oxygen help explain the rapid running speed of the black wildebeest and its high resistance to fatigue. Individuals may live for about 20 years. The black wildebeest is particularly susceptible to anthrax, and rare and widely scattered outbreaks have been recorded and have proved deadly. Ataxia related to myelopathy and low copper concentrations in the liver have also been seen in the black wildebeest. Heartwater ("Ehrlichia ruminantium") is a tick-borne rickettsial disease that affects the black wildebeest, and as the blue wildebeest is fatally affected by rinderpest and foot-and-mouth disease, it is