Black wildebeest wildebeest can also affect human beings negatively. Wild individuals can be competitors of commercial livestock, and can transmit fatal diseases such as rinderpest, and cause epidemics among animals, particularly domestic cattle. They can also spread ticks, lungworms, tapeworms, flies, and paramphistome flukes. Black wildebeest The black wildebeest or white-tailed gnu ("Connochaetes gnou") is one of the two closely related wildebeest species. It is a member of the genus "Connochaetes" and family Bovidae. It was first described in 1780 by Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zimmermann. The black wildebeest is typically in head-and-body length, and the typical weight is . Males stand
Blue wildebeest Cradle of Humankind in the past. Apart from eastern Africa, fossils are commonly found in Elandsfontein, Cornelia, and Florisbad. The blue wildebeest exhibits sexual dimorphism, with males being larger and darker than females. The blue wildebeest is typically in head-and-body length. The average height of the species is . While males weigh up to , females seldom exceed . A characteristic feature is the long, black tail, which is around in length. All features and markings of this species are bilaterally symmetrical for both sexes. The average life span is 20 years in the wild, and 21 years in captivity.