Connochaetes albojubatus (Thomas, 1892)

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2011, Bovidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 2 Hoofed Mammals, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 444-779 : 664

165.

Eastern White-bearded Wildebeest

Connochaetes albojubatus

French: Gnou a barbe blanche / German: WeiRbartgnu / Spanish: Nu barbiblanco oriental

Taxonomy. Connochaetes taurinus albojubatus Thomas, 1892 ,

Athi Plains, Kenya.

Formerly considered a subspecies of C. taurinus . Monotypic.

Distribution. S Kenya (Athi-Kapiti Plains), S into Tanzania and W to the N shores of Lake Tanganyika.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 195 cm,tail 60 cm, ear 22 cm, hindfoot 56 cm; weight 275 kg. The horns are not strongly downcurved, and when a skull is placed on a flat surface, the minimum distance to the downward curve of the horns is 6 cm. The general body color is pale grayish, frequently darker on the foreparts; the “brindled”striping is subdued. The beard and throat fringe are creamy white with black hairs intermixed, although very occasionally individuals with all-black fringes are seen. The mane does not stand erect,as in the southern African wildebeest species, but hangs limp.

Habitat. In Amboseli National Park, the Eastern White-bearded Wildebeest lives in alkaline, seasonally flooded grasslands with swamps and wooded bushland. Farther north, the population that moves between the Nairobi National Park and the Athi-Kapiti Plains lives on more productive grasslands.

Food and Feeding. This speciesis a grazer; in Amboseli National Park it concentrates on Cynodon dactylon, which it uses with great efficiency. On the less arid Athi-Kapiti Plains, however, 63% (in the wet season) and 57% (in the dry season) of the diet is made up in approximately equal proportions of Themeda triandra, Digitaria macroblephara, and Pennisetum mezianum, its diet overlapping by 80% or more with the diets of sympatric Kongoni ( Alcelaphus cokii) and with cattle. In the dry season Cynodon composes 6-12% of the diet, considerably more than cattle and usually more than A. cok.

Breeding. There is no specific information available for this species, but probably like that of the Serengeti White-bearded Wildebeest (C. mearnsi).

Activity patterns. There are three main migrations: from Nairobi National Park in the dry season to the Athi-Kapiti Plains in the wet season; from Amboseli National Park in the dry season south across the Tanzanian border to the Rift Valley between Lakes Netron and Magadi in the wet season; and from Tarangire and Lake Manyara in the dry season eastwards to the Simanjiro Plains in the wet season.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. The area available to the Eastern White-bearded Wildebeest in the Amboseli Basin is reduced at the peak of the dry season, and at that time wildebeest are somewhat restricted by domestic cattle, with which they compete, so they are concentrated on grasslands dominated by Cynodon and in swamp vegetation. By the end of the dry season, over half the males and over 80% of the females are judged to be in poor condition.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List (under C. taurinus ). In Tanzania, there are certainly some 24,000 in Tarangire National Park, as well as some hundreds in the Lake Manyara region, and the migratory Amboseli population of about 8000 moves back and forth across the border with Kenya. Within Kenya, a population of up to 20,000 migrates between Nairobi National Park and the Athi-Kapiti Plains.

Bibliography. Andere (1981), Ego et al. (2003), Estes (1969), Hillman et al. (1988), Kingdon (1982), Rodgers & Swai 1988), Roosevelt & Heller (1914).

Figures

162. Black Wildebeest (Connochaetes gnou), 163. Blue Wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus), 164. Johnston’s Wildebeest (Connochaetes johnstoni), 165. Eastern White-bearded Wildebeest (Connochaetes albojubatus), 166. Serengeti White-bearded Wildebeest (Connochaetes mearnsi)

Distribution. S Kenya (Athi-Kapiti Plains), S into Tanzania and W to the N shores of Lake Tanganyika.