SOUNDS OF KENYA: Gnu Grunts

Wildebeest crossing the river in our South clan territory

The migration is winding down on the Serena camp side of Mara, but there are still more than enough wildebeest around to mess up my recordings of hyenas! While gnu are great at grazing down the tall grass so that we can see our hyenas better, and pretty good at getting eaten and providing lots of exciting carcass sessions for us to observe, I have ended up with more recordings of gnu grunting than I really needed. Unfortunately, gnu vocalizations are quite a bit less interesting and less varied than hyena vocalizations. Gnu only make one noise, and as far as I can tell they sound exactly the same whether they are grazing peacefully, or having their entrails torn out by hungry hyenas.

The other night at the South clan den, while I was trying to record Slinky and Marten interacting with their cubs, I ended up recording a herd of gnu that were grazing nearby and drowning out the vocalizing moms. Near the end of the clip you can barely hear Slinky groaning into the den to call her cub out of the den over the gnu grunts.

A wildebeest herd from the air