Wildebeest The wildebeest ( , , plural wildebeest, wildebai, or wildebeests, wildebeesties (juv)), also called the gnu ( ) is an antelope of the genus "Connochaetes". "Wildebeest" is Dutch for "wild beast" or "wild cattle" in Afrikaans ("bees" "cattle"), while "Connochaetes" derives from the Greek words κόννος, "kónnos", "beard", and χαίτη, "khaítē", "flowing hair", "mane". Some sources claim the name "gnu" originates from the Khoikhoi name for these animals, "t'gnu". Others contend the name and its pronunciation in English go back to the word "!nu:" used for the black wildebeest by the San people. The wildebeest, genus "Connochaetes", is placed under
Black wildebeest in loose groups, usually walking in single file when moving about. They are often accompanied by cattle egrets, which pick out and consume the insects hidden in their coats or disturbed by their movements. Before the arrival of Europeans in the area, wildebeest roamed widely, probably in relation to the arrival of the rains and the availability of good forage. They never made such extensive migrations as the blue wildebeest, but at one time, they crossed the Drakensberg Range, moving eastwards in autumn, searching for good pastures. Then they returned to the highvelds in the spring and moved towards the