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
Blue wildebeest appear long, stiff, thick, and jet black, the same colour as the tail and face. While the manes of the western and eastern white-bearded wildebeest are lank, those of the Nyassaland wildebeest and common wildebeest stick up. Scent glands, which secrete a clear oil, are present in the fore feet and are larger in males than females. In terms of skull length, the smallest subspecies of the blue wildebeest is the western white-bearded wildebeest. It is also the darkest subspecies; the eastern white-bearded wildebeest is the lightest race. Both subspecies possess a creamy white beard, whereas the beard is black