The Wildebeest

Designed by Committee?

Our guide, Maino, told us the joke is that the wildebeest was designed by committee – using leftover parts from the buffalo for the horns, the face of the topi, and the legs of the cow. And the gnu (another name for wildebeest) must have stepped out of line when brains were passed out.

This is a topi – see the similarity in the faces and body?

Wildebeests have no social structure and no leadership. They hang out in large groups unless one of them gets lost somehow, in which case they are usually easy pickings for lions or other cats.

If you have seen the National Geographic photos of animal migrations in the Serengeti and Mara, it is probably of the wildebeest – they number in the millions moving between those two areas twice a year. We didn’t see that, but we did see them crossing a river, which gives an idea how they travel.

First, a small group apparently decides that the grass is greener on the other side of the stream. But none of them have the guts to make the first move. So they edge toward the water but some of the vanguard hesitates and heads back up the slope. The group mills around for a while.

Eventually someone is brave enough to make the move. It might be a zebra or impala – no matter, the wildebeest will follow anything.

In fairness, sometimes there are good reasons to be cautious.

Crocodiles loooooove to pick off wildebeest. When the animals wade across in large groups it improves each individual’s chances of survival.

Once the frontrunners get going, the herd stampedes until something spooks them and then the process starts all over again.

Plentiful in number, low on the food chain, part of the reason the Masai Mara is so bountiful for predators.