WILDEBEEST 



CONNOCHCETES ALBOJUBATUS 

 Swahili : Nyumbu. Masai : O-engat. 



OF the genus Gnu, the white-bearded 

 species or wildebeest, as it is called 

 locally, is the only kind that occurs in 

 large quantities in East Africa ; that 

 is to say, having heard from one or two people 

 that the white-tailed gnu has been seen by them, 

 I won't take my oath about it. At any rate, the 

 latter are protected and so are no use from a 

 shooting point of view. 



The gnu is in colour slaty-black, with darker 

 brindle markings on its fore quarters and on the 

 base of its neck. These are rather due, I think, 

 besides its colouring, to the hair on these mark- 

 ings not lying dov/n in the same way as on the rest 

 of its body. The cow is marked in the same way. 

 In certain lights in the sun, the animal has the 

 appearance of looking quite a whitey-grey colour, 

 and then seems to be a huge brute. The hair on 

 the bridge of its nose is blacker than on the rest 

 of its body. The tail has a black tuft on the 

 end. It is in shape not unlike the North- 



139 



