What evolutionary specialization defined the lineage leading to the immense migratory herds of *C. taurinus*?
Answer
Specialist in massive-scale resource tracking
The ancestral lineage that resulted in the Blue Wildebeest became specialized in exploiting the vast, newly opened tracts of grassland habitat that emerged due to climate change. This specialization manifested as an ability to track resources across immense distances, forming the basis of the modern Great Migration. This capacity for continent-spanning treks—a necessity driven by the need to follow ephemeral grass abundance as plains dried—cemented their evolutionary success in this large-scale environment. This is contrasted with the Black Wildebeest lineage, which specialized in persistence within a more constrained geographic area.
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