
Blue Wildebeest
The Blue Wildebeest is a large antelope. They range the open plains, bushveld and dry woodlands of Southern and East Africa. The largest population is in the Serengeti, numbering over one million animals. Blue Wildebeests are found in open and bush-covered savanna in south and east Africa, thriving in areas that are neither too wet nor too arid. They can be found in places that vary from overgrazed areas with dense bush to open woodland floodplains. Wildebeests prefer the bushveld and grasslands of the southern savanna.Large herds numbering into the thousands may be observed on the Tanzanian Serengeti equatorial plain, and in Zambia in Liuwa Plain National Park, in their annual migration.
The female reaches sexual maturity at age three, and the male at age four. The gestation period is approximately 8,5 months, with calves able to stand within seven minutes and run with the herd in less than two hours from birth. To escape predation calves remain close to the mother for a significant time, and in fact may suckle for up to one year.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Wildebeest - 21.04.2010
Blue Wildebeests
Compared with other Antelopes, like Klipspringer or Springbok, the Blue Wildebeests are of a remarkable heavy build.