By Alana Bailey
Blue wildebeest and impala graze together at Kwaggspan in the Kruger National Park.
Ten fun facts about blue wildebeest:
• They are closely related to cattle, goats and sheep.
• Blue and black wildebeest are the largest of all antelopes. Blue wildebeest may weigh from 118 to 270 kilograms.
• Both bulls and cows have horns, which grow to about 45 to 78 centimetres in length.
• Male blue wildebeest can bellow so loudly that the sound can be heard up to 2 kilometres away.
• Their gestation period is eight to eight and a half months.
• Calves weigh approximately 20 to 22 kilograms at birth.
• They learn to walk within minutes of birth.
• Calves are weaned at the age of six to nine months.
• Blue wildebeest can live up to 20 years.
• When predators threaten them, blue wildebeest will stand together protectively, bellow warnings and even try to chase the predators away.
By the way, not far from the beginning of the video, one can see an impala ram with a broken horn. Most likely he broke the horn earlier in a fight with another ram.
The footage was posted by Katie and André of Two-V Productions on their You Tube channel. We thank them for their great videos. Please subscribe to their YouTube channel and follow their Facebook page. Books in their Op Vlerke series can be ordered from AfriForum Uitgewers and should be available in the shops in the rest camps of the Kruger National Park soon. Please note that the books are published in Afrikaans only.
