The blue wildebeest is a cattle relative living and grazing in herds in eastern and southern Africa.
It has broad shoulders, dark vertical stripes on the shoulders and back, and horns curving outward.
During the breeding season, many male blue wildebeest in the Serengeti call, exposing females to a chorus. Mating and the birth of calves are concentrated into short periods in this population. Sound provides one cue linking reproduction within the herd.
A study published in 2018 tested responses to recorded male rutting calls in wild-caught females maintained in enclosures at Grumeti, Tanzania. For three weeks beginning in May 2003, five females heard male calls, while five were isolated from male stimuli. Researchers followed pre-ovulatory intervals through hormones measured in faeces. Females hearing calls had shorter and less variable intervals. The team then modelled mating and calving dates from these physiological results. Predictions based on the playback group closely matched independent field records of concentrated calving. The experiment supports a role for male calls in aligning female reproductive timing.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
A 2024 genomic study found that migratory blue wildebeest populations generally had higher genetic diversity and lower inbreeding than nearby populations whose migrations had been disrupted. The researchers emphasized keeping migration routes intact and considering them in protected-area design, management and plans for new infrastructure. Their comparison of populations in eastern and southern Africa supports protecting connectivity to conserve genetic variation.