What is the habitat of wildebeest?

What is the habitat of wildebeest?

Habitat and Range Their habitat comprises the grassy plains and open woodlands of central, southern, and eastern Africa, particularly the Serengeti in Tanzania and Kenya. They travel in large herds and are active day and night, grazing constantly.

Where do most wildebeest live?

Wildebeest typically inhabit the Serengeti plains of southeastern Africa. For most of their lives, wildebeest graze in the grassy savannas and open woodlands of the plains, which straddle the nations of Tanzania and Kenya.

What are the habitat requirements for wildebeest?

They prefer the dense bushlands, open grasslands and woodland floodplains of the southern savanna. Wildebeests are strictly grazers, preferring sweet, stocky grasses. This grass often grows in areas that have seen recent fire, as tall, coarse brush is burnt, permitting room for new vegetation to grow.

How do wildebeest survive in the savanna?

This animal prefers to live in the savannahs of Acacia. The grass grows quickly due to the moisture of the soil and is great for finding abundant grass to eat while grazing. Though wildebeest normally live with each other, they are also known to temporarily live with the zebras they encounter in the plains.

What is wildebeest migration?

What is the Great Wildebeest Migration? arrow_drop_down. The Great Wildebeest Migration is the largest animal migration in the world. Every year, more than 2 million animals (wildebeest, zebra, and gazelle) migrate in a clockwise direction across the ecosystems of the Serengeti (Tanzania) and the Masai Mara (Kenya).

What plants do wildebeest eat?

Wildebeest are grazing herbivores that feed upon grass and succulent plants. Massive herds will migrate for hundreds of kilometres in search of fresh grass which only grows after the seasonal rainfalls.

How do wildebeest know where to migrate?

It is unclear how the wildebeest know which way to go, but it is generally believed that their journey is dictated primarily by their response to the weather; they follow the rains and the growth of new grass.

How do wildebeest adapt to their environment?

The wildebeest’s feeding apparatus—a wide muzzle, a broad row of incisors, and flexible lips—is well adapted for taking big bites of short grass. And in overall build the wildebeest has evolved to survive the rigors of migration and evade predators.

Where can I see the wildebeest migration?

There are many different points to observe this mass movement of the wildebeest and all the drama it entails, but we’d recommend the flash-points of the Mara River, the plains of the Masai Mara National Park, and the Ndutu Plains of Tanzania’s Serengeti.

Where does the wildebeest migration start?

Serengeti
The journey for the key players in the Great Migration, the roughly two million wildebeest, starts in the south of the Serengeti, with the birth of half a million calves between January and March. A favourite season for many of the seasoned Serengeti guides: the air during these months is full of new life and action.

Where does the wildebeest migration start and end?

The Great Wildebeest Migration After calving in the southern part of Tanzania’s Serengeti near the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, the animals journey through the Serengeti up and around in a clockwise direction towards the Masai Mara in Kenya, before returning once again near the end of the year.

What is a behavioral adaptation of a wildebeest?

When wildebeest are young, they stay close to Page 10 their mothers. They are not solitary creatures. They will warn others when danger is near, using groaning calls, and then run in a stampede in order to get away, or scare their predators. These are the structural and behavioural adaptations they need to survive.

What kind of habitat does a wildebeest live in?

The wildebeests preferred habitats are grasslands and savannas. Wildebeest are grazing herbivores that feed upon grass and succulent plants. Massive herds will migrate for hundreds of kilometres in search of fresh grass which only grows after the seasonal rainfalls.

Why are there so many wildebeest in Africa?

There are two known species of wildebeest, both of which are native to Africa. The changing African seasons mean the wildebeest must migrate south in the winter, so the wildebeest can continue to graze on grass. Thousands of wildebeest all tend to migrate at once creating a wildebeest stampede.

What kind of wildebeest live in the Serengeti?

The species forming the large herds of the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem of Kenya and Tanzania is known as the western white-bearded wildebeest, while the eastern white-bearded races inhabit Kenya and Tanzania east of the Gregory Rift. The brindled, or blue, race occurs south of the Zambezi River.

How big does a blue wildebeest get to be?

Blue wildebeests can reach 8 feetin length, stand 4.5 feet tall at the shoulders and weigh up to 600 pounds. Both males and females grow horns. Their habitat comprises the grassy plains and open woodlands of central, southern, and eastern Africa, particularly the Serengeti in Tanzania and Kenya.