Two black wildebeest, a female named Orana and a male named Roony, arrived this summer as part of a breeding programme to increase the UK’s population. The pair arrived from Newquay Zoo, which is the only other collection in the UK to hold the species.

At 1.2m and 158.76kg, black wildebeest, or white-tailed gnu, are smaller than the more familiar blue wildebeest which, in their thousands, migrate across the Serengeti every year. Black wildebeest mainly live on the grasslands and arid shrublands in south Africa, whilst the blue wildebeest prefer the bush-covered savanna in east Africa.

Look out for Orana and Roony opposite the ring tailed coatis.

8 October 2009