角马属

角马属有两种，白尾角马和斑纹角马。

外形特征

角马的头粗大而且肩宽，很像水牛；后部纤细，比较像马；颈部有黑色鬣毛。全身有长毛，光滑并有短的斑纹。全身从蓝灰到暗褐色，有黑色的脸、尾巴、胡须和斑纹，颜色也因亚种、性别和季节的不同而有所变化。角马有飘垂的鬃须，长而成簇的尾，雌雄两性都有弯角，雄性的又宽又厚，非常光滑，一般雄性角长55~80cm，雌性角长45~63cm，角马由此得名。雄性角马重200~274kg，高125~145cm，雌性角马重168~233kg，高115~142cm。

分布

角马主要分布于非洲中部和东南部，从肯尼亚南部到南非、从莫桑比克到纳米比亚再到安哥拉南部都有；几乎所有的国家公园都有角马，因为他们对环境的适应能力非常强。在非洲的热带大草原上黑尾角马的数量最多。在肯尼亚，也有胡须白色的角马，称为white-bearded gnu。

角马好群居，雨季结成小群活动；旱季合成大群；雌性组成的群体一般都很小，平均约八只母角马及少年公角马和幼角马。在同一区域通常共有2-25只角马，分几个小群活动。当草源充足时，7英亩的牧场就足够一群角马生活了。它们在清晨和午后活动。

角马主要以草为食，也吃些多汁的植物，寿命约15到20年。

Wildebeest (, WIL-di-beest;, VIL-,), also called gnu (, NOO or, NEW), are antelopes of the genus Connochaetes and native to Eastern and Southern Africa. They belong to the family Bovidae, which includes true antelopes, cattle, goats, sheep, and other even-toed horned ungulates. There are two species of wildebeest: the black wildebeest or white-tailed gnu (C. gnou), and the blue wildebeest or brindled gnu (C. taurinus).

Fossil records suggest these two species diverged about one million years ago, resulting in a northern and a southern species. The blue wildebeest remained in its original range and changed very little from the ancestral species, while the black wildebeest changed more as adaptation to its open grassland habitat in the south. The most obvious ways of telling the two species apart are the differences in their colouring and in the way their horns are oriented.

In East Africa, the blue wildebeest is the most abundant big-game species; some populations perform an annual migration to new grazing grounds, but the black wildebeest is merely nomadic. Breeding in both takes place over a short period of time at the end of the rainy season and the calves are soon active and are able to move with the herd, a fact necessary for their survival. Nevertheless, some fall prey to large carnivores, especially the spotted hyena.

Wildebeest often graze in mixed herds with zebras, which gives heightened awareness of potential predators. They are also alert to the warning signals emitted by other animals such as baboons. Wildebeest are a tourist attraction but compete with domesticated livestock for pasture and are sometimes blamed by farmers for transferring diseases and parasites to their cattle. Illegal hunting does take place but the population trend is fairly stable. Wildebeest can also be found in national parks or on private land. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists both kinds of wildebeest as least-concern species.