Kenya Welcomes 17 Rare Mountain Bongos in Major Conservation Milestone

Kenya has welcomed 17 rare mountain bongos, a critically endangered species of antelope, from the United States in a significant step for the country’s conservation initiatives.

The antelopes, which are third-generation descendants of bongos originally taken from Kenya in the 1960s, arrived from the Rare Species Conservation Foundation in Florida.

This return of the mountain bongos, whose population has dwindled dramatically from about 500 in the 1970s to fewer than 100 remaining in the wild, is seen as a monumental achievement in Kenya’s ongoing conservation efforts.

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) attributes the decline in numbers to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, disease, illegal activities, and fragmented populations.

Tourism Minister Rebecca Miano described the arrival of the bongos as “emotional and so cool,” emphasizing how this repatriation will benefit both Kenya’s conservation and tourism sectors.

The animals were transported to wildlife sanctuaries in Meru County, located near Mount Kenya, where they will be cared for before being gradually reintroduced into their natural habitat.

“The mountain bongo, a species originally only found in Kenya, has suffered untold grief over the decades, dwindling to alarming proportions,” Miano noted. “Our goal is to grow the population to 700 by 2050.”

The mountain bongo is easily recognizable by its chestnut-red coat and narrow white stripes, making it the largest forest-dwelling antelope in Africa.

Listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), more mountain bongos currently live in captivity than in the wild.

This is not the first time mountain bongos have been returned to Kenya. In 2004, 18 bongos were flown into the country, and the KWS has plans to bring in another group from European zoos in the coming months.

The process of reintroducing these bongos into the wild is complex, with careful monitoring and adaptation phases to help the animals build the necessary immunity to thrive in their natural environment.

Some of the bongos repatriated in 2004 have already successfully integrated into the wild and even started breeding, though others have tragically succumbed to tick-borne diseases.