Blue wildebeest
This species of wildebeest seems to have evolved around 2.5 million years ago. The black wildebeest is believed to have diverged from the blue wildebeest to become a distinct species around a million years ago, in the mid- to late Pleistocene. Fossil evidence suggests that blue wildebeest were quite common in the Cradle of Humankind in the past. Apart from eastern Africa, fossils are commonly found in Elandsfontein, Cornelia, and Florisbad.
Black wildebeest
The black wildebeest inhabits open plains, grasslands, and Karoo shrublands in both steep mountainous regions and lower undulating hills. The altitudes in these areas vary from . The herds are often migratory or nomadic, otherwise they may have regular home ranges of . Female herds roam in home ranges around in size. In the past, black wildebeest occurred in the highveld temperate grasslands during the dry winter season and the arid Karoo region during the rains. However, as a result of massive hunting of the animal for its hide, they vanished from their historical range, and are now largely limited to game farms and protected reserves in Southern Africa. In most reserves, the black wildebeest shares its habitat with the blesbok and the springbok.