Black wildebeest
Connochaetes gnou (Zimmermann, 1780)
The black wildebeest (Connochaetes gnou), also called the white-tailed gnu, is a mammal in the family Bovidae, subfamily Antilopinae and tribe Alcelaphini. It is a large, terrestrial, diurnal herbivore with an adult body mass of 180 kg.
Quick facts about the black wildebeest
The IUCN Red List assesses the black wildebeest as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 132.2 kg – 180 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- 1.7 m – 2.2 msrc for Length
- Height
- 1.06 m – 1.21 msrc for Height
- Lifespan
- 20 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 21.8 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- grassland, shrublandsrc for Habitat
- Gestation
- 244 days – 259 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 2.09 years – 3 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the black wildebeest?
Photos of the black wildebeest
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the black wildebeest live?
Not recorded
What is the black wildebeest?
The black wildebeest or white-tailed gnu (Connochaetes gnou) is one of the two closely related wildebeest species. It is a member of the genus Connochaetes and family Bovidae. It was first described in 1780 by Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zimmermann. The black wildebeest is typically 1.7–2.2 m (5 ft 7 in – 7 ft 3 in) in head-and-body length, and the typical weight is 110–180 kg (240–400 lb). Males stand about 1.11–1.21 m (3 ft 8 in – 4 ft 0 in) at the shoulder, while the height of the females is 1.06–1.16 m (3 ft 6 in – 3 ft 10 in). The black wildebeest is characterised by its white, long, horse-like tail. It also has a dark brown to black coat and long, dark-coloured hair between its forelegs and under its belly.
The black wildebeest is an herbivore, and almost the whole diet consists of grasses. Water is an essential requirement. The three distinct social groups are the female herds, the bachelor herds, and the territorial bulls. They are fast runners and communicate using a variety of visual and vocal communications. The primary breeding season for the black wildebeest is from February to April. A single calf is usually born after a gestational period of about 8.5 months. The calf remains with its mother until her next calf is born a year later. The black wildebeest inhabits open plains, grasslands, and karoo shrublands.
The natural populations of black wildebeest, endemic in the southern part of Africa, were almost completely exterminated in the 19th century, due to their reputation as pests and the value of their hides and meat, but the species has been reintroduced widely from captive specimens, both in private areas and nature reserves throughout most of Lesotho, Eswatini, and South Africa. The species has also been introduced outside its natural range in Namibia and Kenya.
From the Wikipedia article “Black wildebeest” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black_wildebeest&oldid=1382889034), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the black wildebeest endangered?
The black wildebeest is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the black wildebeest classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderArtiodactyla
- familyBovidae
- genusConnochaetes
- SpeciesConnochaetes gnou (Zimmermann, 1780)
Synonyms Antilope gnou, Connochaetes gnou
Other names and names in other languages (10)
- White-tailed gnuEnglish
- White-tailed gnuEnglish
- SwartwildebeesAfrikaans
- GnuGerman
- MmamononwaneSouthern Sotho
- IngongoniSwati
- MbutumaTsonga
- KhongoniVenda
- InguXhosa
- InkonkoniZulu
Relatives of the black wildebeest
Other species in the same genus Connochaetes.
Blue wildebeest
Connochaetes taurinus
Eastern white-bearded wildebeest
Connochaetes albojubatus
Johnston's wildebeest
Connochaetes johnstoni
Serengeti white-bearded wildebeest
Connochaetes mearnsi
CompareBlack wildebeest vs Blue wildebeestBlack wildebeest vs Eastern white-bearded wildebeestBlack wildebeest vs Johnston's wildebeestBlack wildebeest vs Serengeti white-bearded wildebeest
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the black wildebeest?
The black wildebeest is a mammal in the family Bovidae, order Artiodactyla. It belongs to the subfamily Antilopinae and the tribe Alcelaphini.
How heavy is a black wildebeest?
An adult black wildebeest has a body mass of 180 kg, which places it in the large size class.
What does the black wildebeest eat?
The black wildebeest is a herbivore. It is terrestrial and active during the day.
How long does a black wildebeest live?
The black wildebeest has a lifespan of 20 years, with values up to 21.8 years reported by our sources.
How many young does a black wildebeest have?
The black wildebeest has 1 young per litter, after a gestation period of 258.7 days.
When does the black wildebeest reach sexual maturity?
It reaches sexual maturity at 2.5 years, with reported values from 2.1 to 3.0 years.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
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CreatureData. (2026). Black wildebeest (Connochaetes gnou). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-wildebeest
“Black wildebeest (Connochaetes gnou).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-wildebeest.
@misc{black_wildebeest_2026,
title = {Black wildebeest (Connochaetes gnou)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-wildebeest},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}