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 Nature rates the blue wildebeest as being of least concern. However, the numbers of the eastern white-bearded wildebeest ("C. t. albojubatus") have seen a steep decline to a current level of probably 6,000 to 8,000 animals, and this is causing some concern. As one of the major herbivores of southern and eastern Africa, the blue wildebeest plays an important role in the ecosystem, and is a main prey item for large predators such as the lion. It is one of the animals that draws tourists to the area to observe big game, and as such, it is of major economic