Blue Wildebeest in North Africa?

[Pictus]

I realize this is a 'nature' question, but it contains historic inquiry as well, and since it was quite buried under the many kitten dilemmas and dog quibbles, I decided to post it here, in case anyone knowledgeable on the subject could lend resolution or advice.

Presently, Blue Wildebeest are only located within southern and eastern Africa. I need to know if they and/or their subspecies ever occurred in North Africa below the Sahara, and if so, when. I found this from a site regarding vanishing antelope, but I'm not sure if it's genuine:

"A century ago the Blue Wildebeest were the dominant herbivores in acacia savannah plains and ranged the entire continent except for deserts, forests and high mountains. Today there are none north of the Sahara. The Serengeti and south Sudan have the remaining massive herds that indicate their former abundance."

Thanks for any help.

[Pictus]

For those who grant interest, or may one day require answers as well, I found this from a PDF file:

"Lake Chad was, at one time larger in area than the Caspian Sea and is referred to as MegaChad during the period 10,000-8,000 years ago. The tsetse zone extended about 500 km further north than its present boundary, almost reaching the 18th parallel. Most of the present-day desert was grassland and the mammalian fauna was similar to the present fauna in East Africa. Elephants, Giraffes, Hippos, Rhinoceroses, and Wildebeest were only some of the large mammals which existed in the region at this time."

They did not distinguish the species of Wildebeest.

[jno]

10,000 years ago I wouldn't bet that the species was the same as now anyway - the climate and the landscape have changed, so has animal life. Unless someone conveniently left a polychrome cave painting, how would anyone now know if they were blue? I'm not sure there is such a splace as 'North Africa below the Sahara' either - North Africa usually means just those countries north of the desert/south of the Mediterranean. Below the Sahara is usually thought of as central Africa; but this was possibly more savanna than jungle once upon a time, like the landscape that is now seen in East Africa

[Pictus]

There is a place such as �North Africa below the Sahara� � the residual portions of territory prior to central Africa (the Sahel region for example). I stated �below the Sahara� for the simple fact that I doubt the Sahara itself could sustain massive herds of Wildebeest (at least not in the era I�m targeting � mid/late Holocene) and many who read �central Africa� think of the immediate vicinity of the equator. Evolution is not a foreign concept to me, I was already aware of the past climates/ecosystems of Africa, as the quote above slightly indicated. I sighted Blue Wildebeest because that is the race I am researching at the moment, and I did not provide an exact time frame because ANY information on their past range will be helpful. There is a way to determine differences between Wildebeest Species using fossils in the same manner that one might tell the remains of an adolescent Panthera Leo from those of a mature Panthera Pardus. There actually are cave paintings dating back approximately 10,000 years (which is a very short amount of time on the scale of progression), and the wild fauna shows scant if any change. (I say �scant change� for the simple logic that these are primitive pictorials, and cannot be used to site any exact differences.) Giraffes look like Giraffes, Wildebeest look like Wildebeest, Lions look like Lions etc. This says little for internal modifications or external pelt contrasts that may enter conflict with the layouts of modern beasts. Wildebeest had adopted their present forms approximately 1 million years ago. My objective however, is not to prove creatures were the same 10,000 years ago as they are today. The evolution of each animal is not entirely synchronized and cataloging the exact evolution for each would be a lengthy task to achieve. This question is still open for anyone with information. Thank you for your input all the same Jno, I thought this inquiry would be ignored all together.