Eastern white-bearded wildebeests, Lake Manyara National Park, Tanzania

Several races of wildebeest (also called gnu) exist. The species that forms the large herds of the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem of Tanzania and Kenya is known as the western white-bearded wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus mearnsi). The brindled or blue race occurs south of the Zambezi River; the eastern white-bearded race inhabits Kenya and Tanzania east of Gregory Rift. The head of the wildebeest is large and box-like and both males and females have curving horns. The front end of the body is heavily built, the hindquarters slender and the legs spindly. The coat is gray and has a black mane and a beard which may be black or white. Wildebeest occupy the plains and acacia savannas of eastern Africa. When there is enough food for wildebeests to remain relatively sedentary, herds form in the typical fashion of social ungulates: bachelor herds and territorial males with a group of females and offspring. The wildebeest's blunt muzzle and wide row of incisors are adapted for large bites of short grasses. Wildebeests are water dependant and grazing, trampling and manuring the grasses on which they feed stimulates new growth as long as the ground has sufficient moisture. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for American Broadcasting Company and traveled to Africa from June 1966 to early August 1966.