Africa is the land of mystery, magic, and unimaginable natural wonder. Out of all the sensations Africa has, wildlife is the most sensuous. While visiting the continent, you can meet various animals and
wildebeests are one of the common out of them.
Wildebeests are well known for the iconic migration they take part in every year. During the end of the rainy season every year there are 1.5 million wildebeests participate in the largest and longest migration of the planet well known as
Great Wildebeest Migration. Out of 2 species,
Blue Wildebeests of Africa migrate in the largest herds in this incredible journey.
As many travelers are fascinated about the wildebeest migration of Africa they tend to know more about Blue wildebeest and as well the differences between other wildebeests species. Let’s explore some interesting facts about these endemic African species.
Blue Wildebeest Vs Black Wildebeest
2 species of wildebeest can be seen in Africa; the blue wildebeest and black wildebeest. Wildebeests are found only in some specific spots on earth. You can only witness them in southern and eastern Africa. They prefer Savannah to live however the can be spotted in dense bush, open woodland, and flood plains.
The prime difference between black and blue wildebeest is black wildebeests are territorial while blue wildebeests are migratory. Black wildebeest acquire territories up to 0.4 square miles of land and lives within their acquired territory.
The blue wildebeests are migratory species and they travel all around the year in search of food and water. The great migration occurs by the Blue Wildebeests, is the largest animal migration on earth. To witness this iconic show thousands of visitors come to Tanzania and Kenya every year during the migration season.
Physical Appearance-
The
African Wildebeests are one of the
largest African antelope species on the land. Out of the two subspecies blue wildebeests stronger with a bit high weight. The blue wildebeests weigh up to 260 to 595 lbs. They are around 4 feet in length. Blue wildebeests or well known as common wildebeest have dark vertical stripes on the shoulders and back.
The black wildebeests are also known as white-tailed gnu. They weigh around 242 to 346lbs. They are lengthy in comparison to blue wildebeests, they can reach up to 6.5 feet in length. They are mostly dark brown and some are black too.
Both male and female wildebeests of both species grow horns up to 18 to 31cm long.
Blue Wildebeest Diet:-
The blue wildebeests are
herbivores and they mainly feast upon fresh green lowland grasses. When they found it hard to found grass or during the low seasons when green grass is not available they tend to eat leaves. They constantly keep searching for food and water. Wildebeests can’t survive more than 3 days without water.
Blue Wildebeest Migration:-
During the end of the rainy season in the plains of Serengeti, the vegetation gets thinner. Hence, the blue wildebeests start an incredible journey in search of fresh grass fields and water. In the search, they travel up to 300 miles that start around May or June across Serengeti. The gnus have an incredible sense that let them know where the rain is about to come. So they start the journey and reach at Masai Mara in Kenya to graze upon the fresh grasses.
There are 1.5 million wildebeests take part in this journey. They start running together at the same time in the largest herds. During the journey, blue wildebeests stop during January and February as it is the calving season and there are around 8,000 wildebeest’s calves born every day during these 2 months. The greatest hurdle of the journey is the Mara River was the Nile crocodiles wait with open mouth to hunt these giant antelopes. However, they do cross the river to complete this cycle of the journey.
The blue wildebeests and their migration journey are incredible. Following the rule of nature, the blue wildebeests along with the mass of other herbivores travel in massive herds. Witnessing this journey can be truly incredible. Connect with us @
https://carnivoressafaris.co.tz/ to plan a life-time trip for witnessing this great migration on earth.
