The wildebeest is a type of antelope and is the most numerous of fifteen antelope species inhabiting the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem. All are [G 41 / ruminants] and belong to the same family as [I 002 / buffalo], cows, and goats.
Millions of years of evolution have brought the family [G 04 / Bovidae] diversity in body size, form, adaptations and numbers unmatched by any other family of ruminants. As with other ruminants, evolution has endowed the wildebeest with an array of mechanisms and behaviors for escaping its predators, locating food, and maximizing nutrition from an exclusively [G 22 / herbivorous] diet.
[L2 201 / Peak rut] and [L2 202 / peak birth] are defense mechanisms which minimize the loss of newborns to predators. The time of day births occur, speed at which newborns develop running skills and the cow's ability to interrupt birth all enhance survival at the animal's most vulnerable time.
The wildebeest's natural instinct to move in [L2 203 / herds provides anonymity] and, therefore, security. It also relies on its [L2 204 / keen senses] to detect predators as well as locate feeding sites. The wildebeest is well adapted to cover great distances with [L2 205 / speed] and [L2 206 / efficiency and is adaptable] to changing conditions - all essential to finding adequate food and water daily. Its complex [L2 207 / N002 / digestive system], consisting of a four-chambered stomach, maximizes nutrient absorption and enables the animal to chew and digest while watching for predators.
The [L2 208 / physical makeup] of the wildebeest could come from several animals. But the ungainly appearance of this species of antelope is misleading. The wildebeest is well suited for life on the wide [G 43 / savannahs] of East Africa where it has seasonally grazed for a million years.
