How big does a Black wildebeest get? Here is an overview over the average adult age:
A grown Black wildebeest (Connochaetes gnou) reaches an average size of 1.82 meter (6′ 0″).
When born, they have an average size of 0 cm (0′ 0″). During their lifetime of about 20 years, they grow from 10.94 kg (24.12 lbs) to 156.55 kg (345.13 lbs). A Black wildebeest has 1 babies at once. The Black wildebeest (genus: Connochaetes) is a member of the family Bovidae.
As a reference: Humans reach an average body size of 1.65m (5′ 5″) while carrying 62 kg (137 lbs). A human woman is pregnant for 280 days (40 weeks) and on average become 75 years old.
The black wildebeest or white-tailed gnu (Connochaetes gnou) is one of the two closely related wildebeest species. It is a member of the genus Connochaetes and family Bovidae. It was first described in 1780 by Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zimmermann. The black wildebeest is typically 170–220 cm (67–87 in) in head-and-body length, and the typical weight is 110–180 kg (240–400 lb). Males stand about 111–121 cm (44–48 in) at the shoulder, while the height of the females is 106–116 cm (42–46 in). The black wildebeest is characterised by its white, long, horse-like tail. It also has a dark brown to black coat and long, dark-coloured hair between its forelegs and under its belly.The black wildebeest is an herbivore, and almost the whole diet consists of grasses. Water is an essential requirement. The three distinct social groups are the female herds, the bachelor herds, and the territorial bulls. They are fast runners and communicate using a variety of visual and vocal communications. The primary breeding season for the black wildebeest is from February to April. A single calf is usually born after a gestational period of about 8 and a half months. The calf remains with its mother until her next calf is born a year later. The black wildebeest inhabits open plains, grasslands, and Karoo shrublands.The natural populations of black wildebeest, endemic in the southern part of Africa, were almost completely exterminated in the 19th century, due to their reputation as pests and the value of their hides and meat. However, the species has been reintroduced widely from captive specimens, both in private areas and nature reserves throughout most of Lesotho, Swaziland, and South Africa. The species has also been introduced outside its natural range in Namibia and Kenya.
Animals of the same family as a Black wildebeest
We found other animals of the Bovidae family:
- Chinkara bringing 18.91 kilos (41.69 lbs) to the scale
- Sitatunga with a size of 1.52 meter (5′ 0″)
- Grant’s gazelle with a size of 1.53 meter (5′ 1″)
- West Caucasian tur with 1 babies per litter
- Grant’s gazelle with a size of 1.53 meter (5′ 1″)
- Harvey’s duiker bringing 14.5 kilos (31.97 lbs) to the scale
- Mountain nyala with a size of 2.25 meter (7′ 5″)
- Red-fronted gazelle with a size of 88.5 cm (2′ 11″)
- Peters’s duiker with a size of 1.02 meter (3′ 4″)
- Suni with a size of 59.9 cm (2′ 0″)
Animals with the same size as a Black wildebeest
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Black wildebeest:
- Javan rusa with a size of 1.63 meter (5′ 5″)
- South Andean deer with a size of 1.55 meter (5′ 2″)
- Asian black bear with a size of 1.51 meter (5′ 0″)
- Nyala with a size of 1.94 meter (6′ 5″)
- Dama gazelle with a size of 1.46 meter (4′ 10″)
- Dama gazelle with a size of 1.46 meter (4′ 10″)
- Blue wildebeest with a size of 2.01 meter (6′ 8″)
- Dall’s porpoise with a size of 1.97 meter (6′ 6″)
- Argali with a size of 1.59 meter (5′ 3″)
- Harbour porpoise with a size of 1.53 meter (5′ 1″)
Animals with the same litter size as a Black wildebeest
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (1) as a Black wildebeest:
- White-bellied yellow bat
- Fraternal myotis
- Nilgai
- Springbok
- Quokka
- Tailed tailless bat
- Agile gibbon
- Mountain cuscus
- Naked-rumped tomb bat
- Pallas’s long-tongued bat
Animals with the same life expectancy as a Black wildebeest
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Black wildebeest:
- Northern elephant seal with an average maximal age of 20.25 years
- Roe deer with an average maximal age of 17 years
- Jentink’s duiker with an average maximal age of 17.5 years
- Asian palm civet with an average maximal age of 22.42 years
- Common pipistrelle with an average maximal age of 16.67 years
- Brown fur seal with an average maximal age of 21 years
- Greater mouse-eared bat with an average maximal age of 22 years
- Himalayan goral with an average maximal age of 17.58 years
- Brown hyena with an average maximal age of 17 years
- Black-fronted duiker with an average maximal age of 19.67 years
Animals with the same weight as a Black wildebeest
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Connochaetes gnou:
- Lichtenstein’s hartebeest with a weight of 168.7 kilos (371.92 lbs)
- Asinus with a weight of 172.5 kilos (380.3 lbs)
- Lion with a weight of 158.75 kilos (349.98 lbs)
- Dusky dolphin with a weight of 127.25 kilos (280.54 lbs)
- Red hartebeest with a weight of 176.12 kilos (388.28 lbs)
- Barasingha with a weight of 171.22 kilos (377.48 lbs)
- Thorold’s deer with a weight of 161.68 kilos (356.44 lbs)
- Siberian ibex with a weight of 130 kilos (286.6 lbs)
- Lichtenstein’s hartebeest with a weight of 168 kilos (370.38 lbs)
- Bluebuck with a weight of 150 kilos (330.69 lbs)