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Wildebeests
Wildebeests
Herd of dem Beests
Physical characteristics
Hair color

Black and brown

Eye color

Brown and red

Distinctions

   Hooves
   Horns
   Long ears and muzzles

Sociocultural characteristics
Habitat

Savanna

Dominions

Pride Lands

Diet

Grass

Predators

Hyenas

Banzai: I'm so hungry! I gotta have a wildebeest!
Shenzi: Stay. Put.
Banzai: Well...can't I just pick off one of the little sick ones?
Shenzi: No! We wait for the signal from Scar.
Banzai and Shenzi[src]

Wildebeests are a species of animal native to the Pride Lands. They feed on grass.

History[]

The Lion King[]

Lion-king-disneyscreencaps com-3833

A stampede of wildebeests races down the gorge

Wildebeest are first seen in the song, "Circle of Life" heading towards Simba's ceremonial presentation.

Later in the film, while Scar has Simba placed near some shade on top of a gorge and tells him to "work on his little roar," Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed are near a wildebeest herd awaiting for Scar's signal to release the herd into the gorge, which was part of Scar's plot to kill Mufasa. Shenzi, Banzai and Ed attack an ill wildebeest upon Scar's signal, thus triggering the stampede (Banzai, being the hungry one that he is, was about to kill one prematurely, until Shenzi stopped him and told him to await Scar's signal shortly before Scar arrived).

Meanwhile, Simba practices his roar on a small lizard, which scares it off, and notices a massive wildebeest stampede hurtling towards him. The wildebeest stampede chases Simba deeper and deeper into the gorge, while Zazu and Mufasa take notice of the wildebeest stampede and Scar informs them that Simba is in the stampede. The two lions run towards the stampede and see Simba dangling on a dead tree and crying for help. Mufasa saves Simba in time, and places him near a ledge while Mufasa struggles to save himself.

Luckily, Mufasa jumps from the stampede onto a cliff and climbs up. On top of the cliff, Mufasa requests Scar's help, but Scar latches his paws onto his older brother's paws and releases them sending Mufasa to die in the stampede. Watching the final moments of his father, Simba climbs down the cliff and searches for his father. Simba later hears an approaching wildebeest (the same one that accidentally got tripped during the stampede and survived) which he leads him to locate his father's corpse.

Finally, some wildebeest are also later seen after the Pride Lands are revived when Simba becomes the king.

The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa[]

Herman

Herman, an unattractive wildebeest

Wildebeests make occasional appearances in the series. The most notable gnu is Herman, who makes his first and only appearance in the episode "Beauty and the Wildebeest". He is shown to have a romantic interest on a beautiful gazelle named Lara, who loves him back. When Lara's friends make fun of him for his ugliness, Herman leaves and has Rafiki give him a makeover.

When Lara is impressed by Herman's new look, Mel, a muscular gazelle, gets jealous and calls for a fight. Herman puts his head in the water and turns back to normal, making Mel run away from him. Lara then reveals to Herman that she is truly ugly and the two become in love.

Other wildebeests are seen in "Cooked Goose", "Once Upon a Timon", and "No-Good Samaritan".

The Lion King II: Simba's Pride[]

A mother wildebeest is seen during "We Are One," assisting her calf on how to walk. The young calf eventually begins to sprint and run, but its mother prevents her calf from running too far. Some wildebeest later briefly appear when King Simba exiles Kovu, driving him away from the Pride Lands along with the rest of the animals. They are also seen during Simba's nightmare in the stampede that took place in the first film.

The Lion King 1½[]

Pumbaa: Shall we run for our lives?
Timon: Oh, yes, let's.
Pumbaa and Timon

When Timon and Pumbaa choose the gorge as their dream home, Timon complains about the gorge's searing heat, and the two friends notice a wildebeest stampede race down from the gorge. The two friends decide to run away, and eventually during the stampede, they land on top of a wildebeest until Timon notices the wildebeest is heading towards a cliff. The wildebeest halts at the edge, and Timon and Pumbaa fall into a river (which they notice later on leads to a waterfall), while a wildebeest herd is seen in the background grazing in the grass.

The Lion Guard[]

Eye of the Beholder[]

Wildebeests are seen running amok through the dust storm caused by Janja and his clan.

Battle for the Pride Lands[]

The wildebeest stampede is briefly shown as Scar sings "When I Led the Guard".

Janja's New Crew[]

Wildebeests are briefly shown with the Lion Guard after a big rain storm.

Other roles[]

The Hakuna Matata Magazine Series[]

All Mud and Motor Mouth[]

Because of a terrible drought that shakes the savanna, wildebeests and other grazers vacate the grasslands in search of food elsewhere.

Gallery[]

Click here to view the rest of the gallery.
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