English: Brindled Gnu; French: Gnou bleu; Afrikaans: Blouwildebees; Damara: goab; Herero: Otjimburu; Iswana: Kgokong; Kikuyu: Ng’aati; Kiswahili: Nyumba ya montu; Kung: !ghi, !kau, Ié, gléé, gqei; Kwanyama: Omhuulu; Lozi: Kokonu; Maasai: o inkat; Ndorobo: Engaita; Ovambo: Shimburu; Shangan: Hongonyi; Shona: Ngongoni, Mvumba; Sindebele: Nkonkoni; Sotho: Imbuduno; Tswana: Pudamo; Xhosa: Inkonkoni; Zulu: Inkonkoni, Ugembekazi
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Former distribution: From Kenya south to the Cape Province.
Present distribution: Southern Kenya, northern and southern Tanzania, south-western Zambia, Mozambique, southern Malawi, south-west Zimbabwe, Botswana, southern and south-eastern Angola, northern and central Namibia, South Africa: Transvaal, Natal, Orange Free State.
Behaviour: See Weißschwanzgnu
Population status: Stable, except in Malawi, endangered or extinct; in South Africa extinct in the wild, reintroduced to the national parks and game reserves.
Brief notes:
Body weight: 240-290 kg
Head and body length: 200-240 cm
Tail length: 70-100 cm
Shoulder height: 125-145 cm
Gestation period: 8-8 1/2 months
Maximum age: 18 years (20 years in captivity)
Trophy: Record SCI (Connochaetes t. taurinus): 99 6/8 score, 1985 RSA, ALBERT A. CHERAMIE; average 70 score. RW’s: 33 7/8″, 1982 RSA, Dr. L.C.F. TALJAARD; average 28 1/2″. CIC: 174.80 points, 1980 Zambia, Zambia Safaris; average 155 points.
Subspecies: 5
1. Blue Wildebeest Connochaetes t. taurinus Southern Zimbabwe, Botswana, southern Angola, Namibia and in South Africa: northern and northeastern Transvaal, Umfolozi and Hluhluwe Game Reserve in Natal, and in north-western coastal parts of the Cape province. Stable.
2. Eastern White-bearded Wildebeest Connochaetes t. albojubatus Southern Kenya, eastern Uganda and northern Tanzania. Stable. Trophy: Record SCI: 88 7/8 score, 1984 Tanzania, KURT J. ZIEGLER; average 70 score. RW’s: 32″, East Africa, I.T. SMITH.
3. Western White-bearded Wildebeest Connochaetes t. mearnsi North-west Tanzania and southern Kenya to Lake Victoria. Stable. Trophy: See C.t. albojubatus
4. Johnston’s Wildebeest Connochaetes t. johnstoni Southern Tanzania, southern Malawi, Mozambique north of the Zambesi river. In Malawi extinct; stable in the other areas. Trophy: Record SCI: 90 1/8 score, 1984 Tanzania, JOSEPH T. JUCKEL; average 64 score. RW’s: 33 1/8″, 1984 Tanzania, DON MCGUIRT; average 24″.
5. Cookson’s Wildebeest Connochaetes t. cooksoni Eastern Zambia, Luangwa Valley. Stable. Trophy: Record SCI: 98 score, 1984 Zambia, Luangwa Valley, Dial Dunkin; average 70 score. RW’s: See C.t. taurinus
Remarks: In 1910 a breeding herd was introduced into Askania Nova, USSR; but they could never be domesticated. Brindled Gnus are found again today in big herds of 100 000 and more in game reserves such as Etosha Pan in Namibia. The populations in Angola may be endangered, if not yet extinct, due to the war in the area.
