Blue Wildebeest

The common wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus), also known as gnu because of the noise they make, is a large antelope species found throughout many of Africa's national parks. There are five subspecies of wildebeest, with the blue wildebeest (C. t. taurinus) being found in southern Africa, south of the Zambezi River. There is another species of wildebeest, the black wildebeest (Connochaetes gnou) that is found mainly in South Africa. All the photos here are of the blue wildebeest. A group of wildebeest is called a confusion and is sometimes also referred to as an implausibility. Both male and female wildebeest have horns.

The common wildebeest is listed as Least Concern in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (2016) with a current population trend that is stable.

It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty; the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living.

Sir David Attenborough, British broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and writer