Black wildebeest
Black wildebeest act as hosts to a number of external and internal parasites. A study of the animal in Karroid Mountainveld (Eastern Cape Province, South Africa) revealed the presence of all the larval stages of the nasal bot flies "Oestrus variolosus" and "Gedoelstia hässleri". The first instar larvae of "G. hässleri" were found in large numbers on the dura mater of wildebeest calves, specially between June and August, and these later migrated to the nasal passages. Repeated outbreaks of mange (scab) have led to large-scale extinctions. The first study of the protozoa in blue and black wildebeest showed the presence of 23 protozoan species in the rumen, with "Diplodinium bubalidis" and "Ostracodinium damaliscus" common in all the animals.
Oviston Nature Reserve
The Oviston Nature Reserve offers a 16 000 ha of unspoilt wildlife area which hosts aardvark, aardwolf, Southern African wildcat, bat-eared fox, black wildebeest, black-backed jackal, blesbuck, brown hyena, Burchell's zebra, Cape clawless otter, Cape fox, Cape ground squirrel, Cape hare, Cape porcupine, caracal, chacma baboon, duiker, eland, kudu, mountain reedbuck, gemsbuck, red hartebeest, rock dassie (rock hyrax), scrub hare, small-spotted cat, small spotted genet, Smith's red rock hare, southern African hedgehog, spotted-necked otter, springbuck, steenbuck, suricate, vervet monkey, water mongoose and yellow mongoose.