Scientific name: Connochaetes taurinus

Swahili name [1]: Nyumbu

IUCN status: Least Concern 

 

Threats and impacts:

Agriculture and human development are major threats to wildebeest by reducing their available habitats and increasing negative human-wildlife interactions [2]. Hunting is a smaller threat, but still reduces wildebeest numbers by around 40,000 per year [3]. Interference with their migration patterns has the potential to reduce their numbers further as they are not able to support the larger population when non-migratory [4].

 

Conservation [5]:

Though the population is considered stable, several subpopulations remain entirely dependent on management regimes, particularly the migratory wildebeest population of the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem, which accounts for some 70% of total population numbers. Efforts need to be taken to protect migratory corridors and habitat outside of currently protected areas. Management of only the park areas may not be sufficient to prevent population decline. 

​

​

[1] http://www.kenyalogy.com/eng/fauna/wild.html

[2] Bolger, D. T., Newmark, W. D., Morrison, T. A., & Doak, D. F. (2008). The need for integrative approaches to understand and conserve migratory ungulates. Ecology Letters, 11(1), 63–77. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2007.01109.x

[3] Harris, G., Thirgood, S., Hopcraft, J., Cromsigt, J., & Berger, J. (2009). Global decline in aggregated migrations of large terrestrial mammals. Endangered Species Research, 7(1),55–76. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00173

[4] Bedelian, C. (2014). Saving the Great Migrations: declining wildebeest in East Africa? Environmental Development, 9,101–109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envdev.2013.12.004

[5] IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group 2016. Connochaetes taurinus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T5229A50185086. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T5229A50185086.en. Downloaded on 14 August 2019.

​

​

Photo credit: Joey So