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
Blue wildebeest in southern and eastern Africa, thriving in areas that are neither too wet nor too arid. Three African populations of blue wildebeest take part in a long-distance migration, timed to coincide with the annual pattern of rainfall and grass growth on the volcanic soil short-grass plains where they can find the nutrient-rich forage necessary for lactation and calf growth. The blue wildebeest is native to Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Today, it is extinct in Malawi, but has been successfully reintroduced in Namibia. The southern limit of the blue wildebeest range is the Orange