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
Wildebeest (ride) at the Golden Ticket Awards, which are presented annually by "Amusement Today" magazine. "Wildebeest" was also awarded the Golden Ticket Award for "Best Waterpark Ride" in 2010 and 2011. On August 13, 2009, Holiday World & Splashin' Safari announced "Wildebeest", a ProSlide HydroMagnetic Rocket that was to be built to the north of "Bahari Wave Pool". Unique to "Wildebeest" was its use of a conveyor belt to transport riders uphill from ground level. This allowed riders unable to climb stairs to ride, unlike all other water coasters at the time. Another unique feature of "Wildebeest" was its length. When completed,