The Gnu’s horns are alike in both species and may be known at a glance
by their hook-like curves. They pass outwards and downwards and then
suddenly curve upwards and forwards. They resemble those of buffaloes
and perhaps most closely those of the American bison. They are never
very large, and always black. They are of fibrous structure and of
large girth at their bases, emulating those of the buffaloes. The Gnu
in some of its features resembles a little horse, possessing a mane
and having its face, tail, and hindquarters much like those of a pony.
It has, however, a cleft hoof and a beard which, as well as its horns,
distinguish it from the horse family.
One of the gnus has a brindled neck and forequarters, pale streaks on
a dark ground, and a black and tufted tail; another has a white tail
covered with long hair from its base, and shows no brindling. The
latter has an almost straight back, whilst the former stands higher in
its forequarters like the bison. The horns of the brindled black-tailed
gnu do not pass forwards nearly so much as those of the other.
All the Gnus are South African and would appear to bear the same
relation to the buffaloes of that continent that the North American
bison does to the American buffalo.
They are active but rather awkward animals, and their self-important
airs are sometimes amusing.