The wildebeest's appearance has been described many different ways over the years. Probably the most apt, however, is the old description of the wildebeest as "having the forequarters of an ox, the hindquarters of an antelope and the tail of a horse."
The blue wildebeest, Connochaetes taurinus, is named for its slate gray coloring with a tinge of brown. In some light the color can be interpreted as bluish gray. It has also been called the brindled [G 20 / gnu] because of a series of dark-colored bars extending from the neck to the middle of the body, giving a [G 05 / brindled] appearance.
The subspecies of [G 11 / Connochaetes taurinus], which populates the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem in great numbers, is Connochaetes taurinus albojubatus. It is distinguished from Connochaetes taurinus by its white, instead of black, beard and slightly lighter overall color. Its common name is the white bearded brindled wildebeest.
Body hair is short and smooth except for a long, course mane and a long beard which extends from the chin to the base of the neck. Humped shoulders slope to a more lighter built hindquarters. The front hooves are larger and tend to wear to rounded tips reflecting more weight carried in the front than the rear.
Its legs are long and slender ending in two hoof-encased toes on each leg. This feature gives it the [L3 202 / classification] of an "even-toed" ungulate in contrast to zebra which, as an "odd-toed" ungulate, has one encased toe at the end of each leg.
The young wildebeest is fawn-colored with a black face and a single dark band down its back. It begins to take on adult coloring after six weeks. Calves grow quickly, averaging 150 pounds after five months and 220 pounds at 10 months.
An adult stands 50-57 inches tall at the shoulder and ranges from 72-96 inches from the head to the base of the tail. It weights between 360-580 pounds with males being larger and heavier than females.
Both sexes have hollow horns which curve up into a crescent shape, but the female's horns are smaller and lighter than the male's. The head is long with a flattened, hairless muzzle. Its eyes bulge and the pupils are elongated.
