The Origin of the SERETSE Wildebeest – Molopo strain
Eighteen years ago, we saw a different color Wildebeest on our property in the Molopo area, close to Bray. This turned out to be a Seretse wildebeest. At first we called them “Copper” Wildebeest because of the dark red/brown color of the body and the lighter yellow color of the mane, beard, tail and face hair. The Molopo area gets its name from the Molopo River that forms the southern boundary between Botswana and South Africa. The Molopo area stretches about 70 km south of the Molopo River into South Africa and 70km north of the river into Botswana and is about 300km from East to West. The Molopo area is rich in wildlife and the natural home to Wildebeest. Seretse wildebeest occurred naturally here in the Molopo area and we left them in the herds on our property, together with the normal looking Blue Wildebeest. The Seretse wildebeest started multiplying in the herds through natural breeding on an extensive natural wildlife system and without human intervention. Today we have herds of Seretse wildebeest and are conserving them because of the rare color. Seretse means Mudd in the Tswana language, which describes the dark brown color of the Body of the animal.
