Animals: Bad Gnu

Big Nick, the 800-lb. blue gnu in Detroit’s zoological park, is a bad actor. He has killed one of his mates, two of their calves. Last week Big Nick was in another bad humor: his new mate had just presented him with another calf. Gus Mott, 63-year-old farmer turned zookeeper, feared Big Nick less than he feared the big ostrich hen that lived in the next pen. One day last week the ostrich turned on Keeper Mott, raised her horny foot to strike. Keeper Mott ran, vaulted the wall, landed on hands & knees in the gnus’ enclosure. With a snort of rage, Big Nick charged his prostrate keeper, trampled him, gored him with short, sharp horns. One John Downey, visitor at the zoo, heard Keeper Mott’s screams, picked up rocks and an iron bar, fought the blue gnu through the bars until the man could be dragged out.

Next day Keeper Mott died of his wounds. He was the second zookeeper killed at work this month. Last fortnight, Sunshine, the Russian brown bear in Cleveland’s zoo, slew Keeper Thomas Earl (TIME, July 18). For his crime. Sunshine was shot to death. Because blue gnus are rare & costly, murderous Big Nick was not killed, but sentenced to isolation for life.

All good & bad gnus come from South Africa. They are also called wildebeests. The white tailed gnu is called a black wildebeest. Members of the antelope family (in which the U. S. antelope is not included), gnus do not know that their nearest U. S. kin is the wily mountain goat.