The Gnu is also know as a wildebeest {wil'-duh-beest}. It is an antelope with down-curving horns who lives on the grassy plains of central and southern Africa. A gnu's body length is up to 6.5 feet, with a shoulder height of about 4.5 feet. Gnu's weigh up to 600 pounds. Both male and female gnu's have horns, manes and beards. The black wildebeest is almost extinct. The blue wildebeest can still be found in herds numbering in the thousands.