Daily Zoo Animal: #7, Wildebeest

White-bearded Wildebeest Connochaetes taurinus

Also known as the brindled gnu or the blue wildebeest, the subspecies C. t. albojubatis has a conspicuous white beard. Wildebeests are unusual looking animals, generally grouped with the much more graceful antelopes and gazelles, but lately taxonomically placed in subfamily Alcelaphinae with the likewise bulky hartebeests. They are grazers who move across Eastern and Southern Africa in mind-boggling numbers. Nature show fans recognize them as the poor bastards that the lion always gets (or do they?).

Pictured is an adult and an as-yet unnamed three week old baby. Wildebeests can join the herd shortly after birth. A day after hitting the ground the baby is following its mother across the grasslands.

The strange orientation of this photo is due to my avoidance of showing cage structures. Limiting myself to those animals which can be photographed without visible bars or fences is the primary challenge of this project. USDA regulations state that the animal must be behind an enclosure and that the public must be behind a barrier. ( Read more... )

On this day in 365 Urban Species: harbor seal.