Blue wildebeest hunting in South Africa

Blue Wildebeest is known as the “Poor Man’s Buffalo”, due to its looks and brute strength. When wounded, it has been known to attack hunters. They have long dark manes and a beard, silver-grey bodies with darkish vertical bands on their front quarters earning them their alternative name of Brindled Gnu. The Golden and Kings Wildebeest, a bred colour variant of this species is now available for hunting. Historically they only occurred in the low altitude bushveld but have now been introduced throughout the country, even in the high altitude central grasslands known as the Highveld. They carry a disease fatal to cattle which requires that all owners take the necessary veterinary precautions; in most cases this means the construction of a high fence to keep the animals separate from one another. Not only is it a commonly hunted trophy animal available throughout the country, the Blue Wildebeest is popular with meat hunters. Their meat is not highly rated but pound for pound, weight and value wise they are a good buy and make good biltong (a type of jerky). Classified as a species of least concern by the IUCN, no special hunting permits are required.