The natural populations of black wildebeest, endemic in the southern part of Africa, were almost completely exterminated in the 19th century, due to their reputation as pests and the value of their hides and meat, but the species has been reintroduced widely from captive specimens, both in private areas and nature reserves throughout most of Lesotho, Eswatini, and South Africa.

The animal is placed in the genus Connochaetes and family Bovidae and was first described by German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zimmermann in 1780.

[2] The generic name Connochaetes derives from the Greek words κόννος, kónnos, "beard", and χαίτη, khaítē, "flowing hair", "mane".

[5] The common name "gnu" is also said to have originated from the Hottentot name t'gnu, which refers to the repeated calls of "ge-nu" by the bull in the mating season.

[9] Features necessary for defending a territory, such as the horns and broad-based skull of the modern black wildebeest, have been found in their fossil ancestors.

[8] The earliest known fossil remains are in sedimentary rock in Cornelia in the Free State and date back about 800,000 years.

A study of these hybrid animals at Spioenkop Dam Nature Reserve in South Africa revealed that many had disadvantageous abnormalities relating to their teeth, horns, and the wormian bones in the skull.

[15] Its bright-white colour gives this animal the vernacular name of "white-tailed gnu",[16] and also distinguishes it from the blue wildebeest, which has a black tail.

A peak in the content of all these haemological parameters occurs at the age of 2–3 months, after which the readings gradually decline, reaching their lowest values in the oldest individuals.

[20] The presence of fast-twitch fibres and the ability of the muscles to use large amounts of oxygen help explain the rapid running speed of the black wildebeest and its high resistance to fatigue.

[14] The black wildebeest is particularly susceptible to anthrax, and rare and widely scattered outbreaks have been recorded and have proved deadly.

A study of the animal in Karroid Mountainveld (Eastern Cape Province, South Africa) revealed the presence of all the larval stages of the nasal bot flies Oestrus variolosus and Gedoelstia hässleri.

The first-instar larvae of G. hässleri were found in large numbers on the dura mater of wildebeest calves, specially between June and August, and these later migrated to the nasal passages.

[2] The first study of the protozoa in blue and black wildebeest showed the presence of 23 protozoan species in the rumen, with Diplodinium bubalidis and Ostracodinium damaliscus common in all the animals.

[26] Black wildebeest are mainly active during the early morning and late afternoon, preferring to rest during the hottest part of the day.

The number of females per herd is variable, generally ranging from 14 to 32,[14] but is highest in the densest populations[2] and also increases with forage density.

These include urinating, scraping, pawing, and rolling on the ground and thumping it with his horns - all of which demonstrate his prowess to other bulls.

This is usually followed by movements such as standing in a reverse-parallel position, in which one male urinates and the opponent smells and performs flehmen, after which they may reverse the procedure.

They never made such extensive migrations as the blue wildebeest, but at one time, they crossed the Drakensberg Range, moving eastwards in autumn, searching for good pastures.

[1] In a study of the feeding activities of a number of female black wildebeest living in a shadeless habitat, they fed mostly at night.

In spite of regional variations, around 80% of the females give birth to their calves within a period of 2–3 weeks after the onset of the rainy season - from mid-November to the end of December.

By the end of the fourth week, the four incisors have fully emerged and about the same time, two knob-like structures, the horn buds, appear on the head.

Its historical range included South Africa, Eswatini, and Lesotho, but in the latter two countries, it was hunted to extinction in the 19th century.

[1] The black wildebeest inhabits open plains, grasslands, and karoo shrublands in both steep, mountainous regions and lower, undulating hills.

In the past, black wildebeest occurred on temperate grasslands in highveld during the dry winter season and the arid karoo region during the rains.

However, as a result of massive hunting of the animal for its hide, they vanished from their historical range, and are now largely limited to game farms and protected reserves in southern Africa.

[1][11] The black wildebeest was once very numerous and was present in Southern Africa in vast herds, but by the end of the 19th century, it had nearly been hunted to extinction and fewer than 600 animals remained.

The population is now trending upward (particularly on private land) and for this reason the International Union for Conservation of Nature, in its Red List of Threatened Species, rates the black wildebeest as being of least concern Its introduction into Namibia has been a success and numbers have increased substantially there from 150 in 1982 to 7,000 in 1992.

Now, they are economically important for human beings, as they are a major tourist attraction, and provide animal products such as leather and meat.

Wild individuals can be competitors of commercial livestock and can transmit fatal diseases such as rinderpest, and cause epidemics among animals, particularly domestic cattle.