Description
It has a muscular, front-heavy appearance, with a distinctive robust muzzle; it strides with relatively slender legs and moves gracefully and quietly most of the time, belying the reputation for stampeding in herds; however, the stampeding characteristic may sometimes be observed.
Probably the most conspicuous feature of the blue wildebeest are the large horns shaped like parentheses, extending outward to the side and then curving up and inward. In the male, the horns can attain a total span of almost 90 cm, while the females' horn width is about half the size of the males'. These cow-like horns of both sexes are somewhat broad at the base and are without ridges. However, as further sexual dimorphism, the male horns have a boss-like structure joining the two horns. The male is larger than the female. It is one of the largest species of antelope. The blue wildebeest can stand 118 to 145 cm (46 to 57 in) high at the shoulder. The head-and-body length can range from 150 to 250 cm (59 to 98 in) and the tail length ranges from 56 to 100 cm (22 to 39 in). Body mass is typically from 120 to 275 kg (260 to 610 lb). The record-sized female and male weighed 260 kg (570 lb) and 290 kg (640 lb), respectively.
Young blue wildebeest are born tawny brown, and begin to take on their adult colouration at age 9 weeks. The adults' hues actually vary from a deep slate or bluish gray all the way to light gray or even grayish-brown. The dorsal coat and flanks are slightly lighter in hue than the ventral hide and underparts. Dark brown vertical bands of slightly longer hair mark the neck and forequarters, and from a distance lend a perception of skin wrinkling. The manes of both sexes appear long, stiff, thick and jet black, a colour assumed by the tail and face, as well. Sexual dichromism is exhibited by the males displaying decidedly darker colouration than the females. All features and markings of this species are bilaterally symmetrical for both sexes.
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