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About the beasts
Wildebeests hail from Kenya, where an estimated half-million make
a legendary annual migration. We have about thirty at Fossil Rim. You'll find them in the front pasture, an open, grassy
field. They sleep during the middle of the day, especially in summer.
In addition to grazing, they get a morning meal of tasty food pellets. This particular species of wildebeest at Fossil Rim are sometimes called brindled gnu, blue wildebeest, or white-bearded wildebeest.
Calf time
In the wild, all calves are born within a few days of each other.
At Fossil Rim, most likely due to ample food availability and lack
of predators, the calves are born over a period of a few months.
Boys on the side
The main herd, usually found in the front pasture, will ostracize sexually
mature males. These bulls then form their own territory near the next
pasture. Usually at least one female from the main herd will elect to join them. Sometimes the herd bull will also mingle with the outcast
males, but the coalition never lasts more than a day.
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