gnu

gnu (n) or wildebeest (wĭl`dəbēst'), large African antelope, genus Connochaetes. Its heavy head and humped shoulders resemble those of a buffalo, while the compact hindquarters are like those of a horse. The gnu has a beard, a short, erect mane, and a long, flowing tail. Members of both sexes have large horns that curve down, outward, and up. Gnus are grazing animals and live in herds on open grassland. They constantly move in an effort to locate new pastures. The sight of a gnu migration, with its distinctive style of movement, is perhaps the most impressive group event in the animal kingdom. There are two species. The brindled gnu, or blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus), is a large, fierce-looking animal of S and E Africa. It stands 4 1-2 ft (135 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs about 500 lb (225 kg); its coat is bluish-gray mottled with brown on the sides. The tail, mane, and beard are black. In the northern variety of this species (called the white-bearded gnu), which ranges as far N as Kenya, the beard is white. The brindled gnu lives in herds of 20 to several thousand individuals, often led by one or several old females and often found grazing with herds of zebra. Gnus are swift runners and herds engage in elaborate evasive maneuvers when threatened; their chief predator is the lion. They graze in the morning and evening, resting during the heat of the day; they often travel long distances in search of water. The white-tailed gnu, or black wildebeest (C. gnou), is a somewhat smaller animal once abundant in S Africa. It is now probably extinct in the wild, but is protected in parks and reserves, where its numbers are increasing. Gnu is the San (Bushman) term for these animals; wildebeest is Afrikaans. Gnus are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Artiodactyla, family Bovidae.

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gnu

 or wildebeest

White-bearded gnu (Connochaetes taurinus albojubatus)

(credit: Leonard Lee Rue III)

Either of two species of African antelope (genus Connochaetes). The gnu stands higher at the shoulder than at the rump, reaching a shoulder height of 3–4 ft (1–1.3 m). The southern African form, the white-tailed gnu, or black wildebeest, is dark brown with long black tufts on the snout, chin, throat, and chest, and a black mane and flowing white tail. Today it exists only in national parks and preserves. The brindled gnu, or blue wildebeest, is reasonably abundant over much of central and South Africa. It is silvery gray with dark vertical bands on the sides and has a black mane, tail, and face, whitish cheeks, and a tuft of dark hair on chin and throat. Both sexes of both species have horns. Gnu live in often large, constantly moving herds and graze on the grasses and scrub of open plains.

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(GNU's Not Unix) A Unix-like operating system developed by the free software movement starting in 1984. In 1992, the almost-complete GNU system was combined with the Linux kernel, producing the GNU/Linux system. The GNU Project developed many of the core programs in GNU, but also included available free software such as the X Window System and TeX. See GNU Project, GNU/Linux, Free Software Foundation, free software and Linux.

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(body, project)

GNU - /g*noo/ 1. A recursive acronym: "GNU's Not Unix!". The Free Software Foundation's project to provide a freely distributable replacement for Unix. The GNU Manifesto was published in the March 1985 issue of Dr. Dobb's Journal but the GNU project started a year and a half earlier when Richard Stallman was trying to get funding to work on his freely distributable editor, Emacs. Emacs and the GNU C compiler, gcc, two tools designed for this project, have become very popular. GNU software is available from many GNU archive sites. See also Hurd. 2. John Gilmore.