Wildebeest "The Great Space Coaster" (newscaster Gary Gnu), and "The Lion King" (the wildebeest stampede that resulted in Mufasa's death). Michael Flanders wrote a humorous song called "The Gnu", which was very popular when he performed it, with Donald Swann, in a revue called "At the Drop of a Hat", which opened in London on 31 December 1956. The wildebeest is the mascot of the GNU Project and GNU operating system. In the "Llama Llama" picture-book series by Anna Dewdney, an anthropomorphized wildebeest named Nelly Gnu is the main character, Llama Llama's best friend, and is also featured in a title
Black wildebeest a success and numbers have increased substantially there from 150 in 1982 to 7,000 in 1992. The black wildebeest is depicted on the coat of arms of the Province of Natal in South Africa. Over the years, the South African authorities have issued stamps displaying the animal and the South African Mint has struck a 5-rand coin with a prancing black wildebeest. Though they are not present in their natural habitat in such large numbers today, black wildebeest were at one time the main herbivores in the ecosystem and a main prey item for large predators such as the lion.