Black wildebeest 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 about at the shoulder, while the height of the females is . The black wildebeest is characterised by its white, long, horse-like tail. It also has a dark brown to black coat and long, dark-coloured hair between its forelegs and under its
Blue wildebeest bovine appearance. The blue wildebeest is susceptible to foot-and-mouth disease, anthrax, sarcoptic mange, and hoof gangrene. The herpesvirus was first isolated from the blue wildebeest in 1960 by veterinary scientist Walter Plowright. Although the causes of death vary from year to year, in one drought in Botswana, young calves and aged females were the most likely to die. On another occasion, an estimated 47% of deaths were caused by disease, 37% were due to predation, and the remainder were the result of accidents. The animal can be host to a number of different parasites. In one study, blue wildebeest were