Black Wildebeest (Connochaetes gnou)
More dark brown than black, but from a distance the Black Wildebeest does look black. A long, white, horse-like tail contrasts with the body colour. Somewhat bizarre in appearance: shoulders are higher than the rump and it has a large, broad-snouted head. The face is covered in brush-like tuft of hairs which points outwards and there is long hair on the throat and chest between the forelegs. An erect mane runs from the top of the neck to the shoulders.
Shoulder height: 1,2 m
Mass: 100 – 180 kg
Horns; average length: 52 cm. The cow’s horns are thinner and less robust than those of the bull. They bend steeply downward, forward and upward; in mature bulls the horn base forms a boss over the top of the head.
