These odd looking antelope were almost exterminated by white settlers, who viewed them as pests, and also valued their tails which were used as fly swats. No truly wild white-tailed gnus survive today – all are descended from captive individuals, and those in their native habitat are kept on game farms. We are the third zoo in the UK to currently hold this species. Our Male arrived from Newquay Zoo and the Female from Marwell Wildlife Park. They were both born in 2010. We celebrated the arrival of their baby who was born in April 2015.
Scientific Name:
Connochaetes gnou
Status:
Least concern
Size:
1.5 to 2.4 metres
Weight:
120 to 275kg
Life Span in Wild:
20 years
Habitat:
Open Plains Grasslands
Diet:
Herbivore
Grasses, bushes and shrubs
East and South Africa
Lions, Cheetahs, Hyenas, Leopards, African Wild Dogs
Diurnal. Lives in large mixed sex herds
Previously, the main threat to this species was hunting pressure and habitat loss. However, now that the species has recovered and numbers are increasing, the only significant threat is the problem of hybridization with the Common Wildebeest
