Blue wildebeest
Amazing fact
Blue wildebeest follow migrating herds using scents from glands on their feet.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
Blue wildebeest follow migrating herds using scents from glands on their feet.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Blue wildebeest
- Scientific name
- Connochaetes taurinus
- Japanese name
- オグロヌー
- Group
- Land mammals
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Artiodactyla
- Family
- Bovidae
- Genus
- Connochaetes
It lives on the savannas and plains of eastern and southern Africa.
It has broad shoulders and cow-like horns, with dark vertical stripes on its shoulders and back.
It grazes on grass, and when food runs short, huge migrating herds travel long distances to find it.
How the Blue wildebeest lives
They feed during the day and also on moonlit nights. When grass is sparse, they may eat leaves from shrubs and trees. Herds usually consist of females and their calves. They may rub their nose and neck against other wildebeest.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity WebBasic data
- Weight
- 118–270 kg
- Active
- By day and by night
- Diet
- Grasses and leaves of shrubs and trees
- Range
- Eastern and southern Africa
Where the Blue wildebeest has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- オグロヌー
- 简体中文
- 斑纹角马
- 繁體中文
- 斑紋牛羚
- 한국어
- 검은꼬리누
- Español
- Ñu común
- Français
- Gnou bleu
- Deutsch
- Streifengnu
- Português (Brasil)
- Gnu-azul
- Italiano
- Gnu striato
- हिन्दी
- नीला विल्डबीस्ट
- العربية
- النُّو الأزرق
- Tiếng Việt
- Linh dương đầu bò
- Русский
- Голубой гну
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web — Connochaetes taurinusChecked: 2026-11-03
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
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