Why do zebras and wildebeests travel together?
The herd of zebra joins the wildebeest migration as they are great in looking at any threat. The wildebeest have a good sense of hearing and smell that helps both to protect from the predator and searching in food. The zebra has a great eye sight to see any threat.
How do wildebeest and zebras travel together?
Each animal travels a thousand kilometres during migration. Wildebeests and zebras need each other during the migration: wildebeests are good at finding water sources and zebras know the way of the migration. Wildebeests and zebras can travel together peacefully because they both eat a different part of the same grass.
What animal is a wildebeest related to?
Gnus, or wildebeests, are large African antelopes. Gnus (pronounced like “news”) are closely related to cattle, goats and sheep. These animals look like thin, muscular cows with large, sloping backs, curved horns and striped bodies. They also have manes and bushy beards.
What do vast herds of wildebeest and zebras require to survive?
Both live in great numbers on East Africa’s vast plains, where dramatic wet and dry seasons cause a bounty of grass at sometimes, and a dearth of good grazing at others. To survive, both the zebra and the wildebeest must migrate to find food.
Why do wildebeests migrate?
Why do the animals migrate? What the animals are in essence doing is following the rains in search of lush new grass. Taking advantage of the strongly seasonal conditions, the wildebeest are spending the wet season on the plains in the south-east, and the dry season in the woodlands of the north-west.
Why do wildebeests form large groups when they migrate *?
The Great Migration in November and December In the early months of the new year, the grasses in the deep south of the Serengeti are lush with rain. This draws the herds of wildebeest and hundreds of thousands of zebra and other plains animals.
How do wildebeests migrate?
Wildebeest migrate on a loop path through Tanzania and Kenya following the seasonal rains even when that involves passing through dangerous territory. Wildebeest, also called gnus, are members of the antelope family. More than 1.5 million wildebeest migrate in an enormous loop every year.
What type of habitat do the wildebeest and zebras live in?
savannah
Zebras and wildebeest group together in open savannah environments with high chances of predation. This grouping strategy reduces predation risk because larger groups decrease each individual’s chance of being hunted, and predators are more easily seen in open areas.
Are zebras herbivores?
Zebras are herbivores and feed mostly by grazing on grasses, although they also might browse a bit on the leaves and stems of bushes. They graze for many hours each day, using their strong front teeth to clip off the tips of the grass. The exception is the Grevy’s zebra.
How many wildebeests are in a herd?
Throughout the mating season, breeding clusters of around 150 wildebeest form from within the bigger herds. In these groupings, five or six of the most dominant bulls create and guard territories that cows amble through. Bulls make a show of bucking and cantering around their lands.
Do lions eat wildebeests?
Lions prefer to hunt zebra and wildebeest; these animals are slower and easier to catch than gazelles and small antelopes. The actual hunt is an organised event, some lionesses lying in wait, downwind of the herd they have targeted.
How are zebras and wildebeest alike and different?
Both zebra and wildebeest have their unique eating pattern as they eat the same grass but different part. The zebra and the wildebeest love to graze in open grasslands and open savannah grasslands. One of the interesting facts about great wildebeest migration is the wildebeest and the zebra dependent on each other for the food and water.
Why are zebras important to the great wildebeest migration?
As the zebras graze they essentially act as a lawnmower, cropping the grass and making it palatable for the wildebeest to consume. Crocodiles can wait a year for their meal.
How many zebras and wildebeest die each year?
The migration causes death of around 2, 50,000 wildebeests and 32,000 zebras every year. One of the most interesting facts about great wildebeest migration is the trustworthy friendship between zebra and wildebeest. The great migration is also an annual migration of zebras, wildebeests, antelopes and other herbivores.
Why are zebras and wildebeest Best Buddies in the open?
Another reason is that Zebras and Wildebeests love the open African savannas – in comparison to Kudus or other antelopes that prefer the thicker bush. Being out in the open obviously makes these two antelope species very vulnerable – therefore they are teaming up and are best buddies. Spot Zebras and Gnus on your Safari in Madikwe