# How many Wildebeest herds are there ?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-wildebeest-herds-are-there/468252>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 16, 2008, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-wildebeest-herds-are-there/468252 "2008-10-16T19:37:53Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Cat\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/96bed5/32.png) [@Cat\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Jones)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-wildebeest-herds-are-there/468252/1 "2008-10-16T19:37:53Z")

</div>

Essentially this, are there lots of small herds of these guys running round Africa or just one big gang of them ?  
I’ve just been watching the BBC’s [Big Cat Diary](http://www.bbc.co.uk/bigcat/index.shtml) - they mention that _the_ Wildebeest migration is going through the Masai Mara reserve before “moving back to the Serengeti”. I also remember a documentary from a few years ago called “Superherd” which seemed to suggest that all the Wildebeest migrate en masse. Am I understanding correctly ? There really is just one big herd constantly on the move ?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ctnguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@ctnguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ctnguy)\
**Post date:** [October 17, 2008, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-wildebeest-herds-are-there/468252/2 "2008-10-17T09:05:08Z")

</div>

The Serengeti has a particularly large herd, but it’s not the only one. [Wiki has some information](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Wildebeest#Range_and_habitat) about wildebeest range.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Cat\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/96bed5/32.png) [@Cat\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Jones)\
**Post date:** [October 17, 2008, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-wildebeest-herds-are-there/468252/3 "2008-10-17T18:14:56Z")

</div>

OK, thanks - I didn’t really think it could be just the one “superherd” - your comment about the Serengeti put me onto [this site](http://www.naturalhighsafaris.com/knowledge/naturalhistory/thewildebeestmigration.html) which has given me a clearer view.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\
**Post date:** [October 17, 2008, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-wildebeest-herds-are-there/468252/4 "2008-10-17T18:56:04Z")

</div>

The African savannahs are not dissimilar to open source progrm technology. Most of the time, GNU units move freely across the Creative Commons in small clusters. But when it comes time for a mass migration, they are compressed together for efficiency and security. 🙂

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Cat\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/96bed5/32.png) [@Cat\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Jones)\
**Post date:** [October 18, 2008, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-wildebeest-herds-are-there/468252/5 "2008-10-18T08:35:50Z")

</div>

Cool !