Since there is no in situ component for the bongo conservation breeding program. Surprise?!
I just had to create one!
I just had to create one!
Mountain bongo news thread - Kenya
- Thread starter Kifaru Bwana
- Start date
A bit from history: In 2004, US zoos sent 18 (x.x) eastern (mountain) bongo to Kenya to the Mt. Kenya Wildlife Conservancy. Currently, that population stands at 52 (as of 22 February 2021). Nr. 52 is a female calf born to F Lucy.
REMEMBER: the ISB is always somehow 20 or out and overestimates the true number of bongo at the Conservancy. I wonder how this discrepancy can continue to exist ....
REMEMBER: the ISB is always somehow 20 or out and overestimates the true number of bongo at the Conservancy. I wonder how this discrepancy can continue to exist ....
Last year (2020) another historic milestone decision was finally concluded.
The MKWC in tandem with Kenya Wildlife Service and Kenya Forest Service decided to create a breeding station in the forest, the Mawingu Mountain Bongo Sanctuary. A National Bongo Task Force will oversee reintroduction and conservation of the wild an d reintroduced bongo to Ragati, Eburu, Mau and Aberdares Forests.
QUOTE: "The sanctuary represents the next step in the rewilding process for the Mountain Bongo as part of the MKWC Breeding Program and will support the National Bongo Task Force in the reintroduction of the Mountain Bongo to indigenous habitats such as Ragati, Eburu, Mau and Aberdares forests." UNQOUTE
Links
July 2019 - Announcement launch Action Plan for the Mountain Bongo 2019-2023: Kenya Forest Service allocates area for endangered Bongo specie
December 2020 - Download Image for the new Sanctuary MMBS at Mt. Kenya
Facebook
PLEASE NOTE: the number of bongo cited here was still 77 (July 2019) with another estimated 99 wild mountain bongo in the areas of Ragati, Eburu, Mau and Aberdares Forests.
The MKWC in tandem with Kenya Wildlife Service and Kenya Forest Service decided to create a breeding station in the forest, the Mawingu Mountain Bongo Sanctuary. A National Bongo Task Force will oversee reintroduction and conservation of the wild an d reintroduced bongo to Ragati, Eburu, Mau and Aberdares Forests.
QUOTE: "The sanctuary represents the next step in the rewilding process for the Mountain Bongo as part of the MKWC Breeding Program and will support the National Bongo Task Force in the reintroduction of the Mountain Bongo to indigenous habitats such as Ragati, Eburu, Mau and Aberdares forests." UNQOUTE
Links
July 2019 - Announcement launch Action Plan for the Mountain Bongo 2019-2023: Kenya Forest Service allocates area for endangered Bongo specie
December 2020 - Download Image for the new Sanctuary MMBS at Mt. Kenya
PLEASE NOTE: the number of bongo cited here was still 77 (July 2019) with another estimated 99 wild mountain bongo in the areas of Ragati, Eburu, Mau and Aberdares Forests.
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In January 2021 the Mawingu Mountain Bongo Sanctuary was launched in the Mt. Kenya Forest area.
Link:
a) MISSING IN ACTION. News Item from Jan. 21, 2021 in the The Standard Kenya.
(Unfortunately, it keeps going behind a paywall and the original feature article disappears from view).
b) Facebook
Link:
a) MISSING IN ACTION. News Item from Jan. 21, 2021 in the The Standard Kenya.
(Unfortunately, it keeps going behind a paywall and the original feature article disappears from view).
b) Facebook
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Early May 2021, it was announced - rather surprisingly - that 20-25 mountain bongo are expected to arrive from the USA this December 2021. These will be relocated to the
LINK:
Endangered mountain bongo to be flown from US to new sanctuary in Meru
I was having a wild guess here as the AZA has not communicated anything on this project that the Rare Species Conservation Foundation in Loxahatchee (run by illustrious and somewhat visionary Dr. Paul Reillo) will be the facility donating mountain bongo to the project. This seems to be confirmed by the RSCF Media site.
LINK:
https://www.rarespecies.org/media
QUOTE: "rarespec MORE BONGO NEWS! While there is still much work to be done, RSCF is thrilled to be partnered with the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy and looks forward to sending our Bongo to Africa this year! A milestone in the effort to protect this critically endangered flagship species. Such great news! #mountainbongoantelope #lewawildlifeconcervancy #bongorepatriation #FIU #TCI #partnerships #KWS" UNQOUTE
Click on the link and you are here again:
Endangered mountain bongo to be flown from US to new sanctuary in Meru
Inside Kenya a new Meru County Bongo and Black Rhino Conservation Trust has been tasked with the protection of the animals in the new sanctuary in Mucheene and Ntirimiti forests (these areas are part of forests in Mount Kenya). This is a co-joint project between KWS, KFS, Lewa Conservancy and some involvement by the Meru County Tourism board.
LINK:
Endangered mountain bongo to be flown from US to new sanctuary in Meru
I was having a wild guess here as the AZA has not communicated anything on this project that the Rare Species Conservation Foundation in Loxahatchee (run by illustrious and somewhat visionary Dr. Paul Reillo) will be the facility donating mountain bongo to the project. This seems to be confirmed by the RSCF Media site.
LINK:
https://www.rarespecies.org/media
QUOTE: "rarespec MORE BONGO NEWS! While there is still much work to be done, RSCF is thrilled to be partnered with the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy and looks forward to sending our Bongo to Africa this year! A milestone in the effort to protect this critically endangered flagship species. Such great news! #mountainbongoantelope #lewawildlifeconcervancy #bongorepatriation #FIU #TCI #partnerships #KWS" UNQOUTE
Click on the link and you are here again:
Endangered mountain bongo to be flown from US to new sanctuary in Meru
Inside Kenya a new Meru County Bongo and Black Rhino Conservation Trust has been tasked with the protection of the animals in the new sanctuary in Mucheene and Ntirimiti forests (these areas are part of forests in Mount Kenya). This is a co-joint project between KWS, KFS, Lewa Conservancy and some involvement by the Meru County Tourism board.
Karen McGovern
Member
Hello! If anyone has any questions about the next phase of the Bongo Repatriation Project please contact us (Rare Species Conservatory Foundation) at info@rarespecies.org. Working with Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, KWS, KFS and others, we look forward to returning more bongo from our US facility to Kenya.
Karen McGovern
Member
Great news regarding the upcoming repatriation of Mountain Bongo Antelope from the US to Kenya!
This week, the Meru Bongo & Rhino Conservation Trust (MBRCT) received the final output of the Environmental & Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), marking a milestone in the first phase of a project that aims to reintroduce Mountain Bongo in Mount Kenya’s Marania and Mucheine Forests.
________
The MBRTC is a multi-stakeholder body – steered by the County Government of Meru, Kenya Wildlife Service, Kenya Forest Service, Marania-NTIMAKA and Mucheine-KAMULU Community Forest Associations and Lewa Wildlife Conservancy. The founder population will be repatriated from the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation in Florida to the sanctuary in Mt.Kenya, where they will be reared to a sustainable population that could be introduced back into the wild.
________
This broad partnership, and the move to establish a sanctuary into a landscape conserved and managed by communities, fulfills conservation stakeholders’ commitment to public-private-community partnerships so as to achieve meaningful and sustainable environmental, social and economic impact.
________
On the clip:
Mr. Maingi Mugambi - CEC, Tourism, County Government of Meru.
Mr. Titus Murungi - Chief Officer, Tourism, County Government of Meru.
Mr. John Kinoti - Chairman MBRCT/ Community Development Manager, Lewa.
___________
Meru County Government
Kenya Wildlife Service
Kenya Forest Service
_____________
This week, the Meru Bongo & Rhino Conservation Trust (MBRCT) received the final output of the Environmental & Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), marking a milestone in the first phase of a project that aims to reintroduce Mountain Bongo in Mount Kenya’s Marania and Mucheine Forests.
________
The MBRTC is a multi-stakeholder body – steered by the County Government of Meru, Kenya Wildlife Service, Kenya Forest Service, Marania-NTIMAKA and Mucheine-KAMULU Community Forest Associations and Lewa Wildlife Conservancy. The founder population will be repatriated from the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation in Florida to the sanctuary in Mt.Kenya, where they will be reared to a sustainable population that could be introduced back into the wild.
________
This broad partnership, and the move to establish a sanctuary into a landscape conserved and managed by communities, fulfills conservation stakeholders’ commitment to public-private-community partnerships so as to achieve meaningful and sustainable environmental, social and economic impact.
________
On the clip:
Mr. Maingi Mugambi - CEC, Tourism, County Government of Meru.
Mr. Titus Murungi - Chief Officer, Tourism, County Government of Meru.
Mr. John Kinoti - Chairman MBRCT/ Community Development Manager, Lewa.
___________
Meru County Government
Kenya Wildlife Service
Kenya Forest Service
_____________
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Haliaeetus
Well-Known Member
The Kenyan authorities are reintroducing Bongos from a captive breeding program, in one of the last places where they live in the wild in Eastern Africa.
Kenya launches program to save rare forest antelopes from extinction - Global Times
Kenya launches program to save rare forest antelopes from extinction - Global Times
Tuesday March 8, 2022 was an historic day for the Mawingu Mountain Bongo Sanctuary on Mt. Kenya with 1.1 mountain bongo released into the 314ha reserve. The next day another 2.1 bongo were released constuting the first full group of mountain bongo to live on the reserve in a halfway house situation.
Eventually, they and their progeny will be released from their fenced sanctuary into 2 forest blocks on the Mt. Kenya protected area (and possibly other forested mountain ranges in the central arc mountains in Kenya. The plan is to transfer another 5 mountain bongo here in another six months and every 6 months thereafter another group of 5.
This project has been 18 years in the making from preparation and the original 2004 imports (F0 generation) to the Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy in Nanyuki. The 18 original imports have multiplied to 63 individuals (F1/F2 generations) in February 2022 (Facebook comments). The 5 (3.2) mountain bongo now sent to Mawingu MBS came from the Mount Kenya WC.
The first releases will be around 2024/2025 of progeny (effectively F2/F3 generation) born to these mountain bongo. The KWS mountain bongo program foresees 750 indivdiuals by 2050 in the wild. The current wild population is estimated at 90-100 individuals across an estimated 4 separate populations (Aberdares, Eburu, Maasai Mau, SW Mau). The single largest population remaining is in the Aberdares and another signficant one is in the Maasai Mau Forests. It is reported the Mt. Kenya mountain bongo have since (almost) completely disappeared (this has only been 8 years since ...).
SOURCE: Saving the iconic bongo: Kenya rewilds rare forest antelopes
Further sources will be added later by yours truly!
Individuals wild populations - old estimates:
Aberdare Mountains (<50); Mt Kenya (10-15); Eburu Forest (ca 10); Maasai Mau Forest Complex (20+; new Bongo groups discovered May 2013); and SW Mau Forest (<10).
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Pantheraman
Well-Known Member
"
Five mountain bongos have been released into a sanctuary in Kenya, a milestone in the fight for the animals’ survival with fewer than 100 left in the wild
Considered critically endangered, the chestnut-coloured mountain bongo is one of the largest forest antelopes and native to the equatorial forests of Mount Kenya, Eburu, Mau and Aberdares. IUCN predicts their numbers will probably continue to decline without direct action. A recent wildlife census in Kenya counted just 96 mountain bongos in the wild.
Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy (MKWC) and Kenya Wildlife Service and Kenya Forest Service have been leading a breeding and rewilding programme for the last 20 years."
And because we suppor zoos: "Eighteen mountain bongos (four male and 14 female) were repatriated from 14 zoos across the US to MKWC in Nanyuki, near Mount Kenya. The five animals released on Wednesday into the 314-hectare (776-acre) Mawingu mountain bongo sanctuary are descendants of the US herd." (So as far as I'm concerned, anyone who says zoos don't contribute to conservation can shut up.)
"The subspecies once roamed in large numbers but has suffered unprecedented population decline since the 1950s due to poaching, the wildlife trade, predation and disease, in particular, a rinderpest outbreak in the 1980s.
Dr Robert Aruho, head of veterinary services at MKWC, said: “The real work now begins. We must ensure that the animals released can thrive and survive in the sanctuary and, eventually, the wild.
“This is the culmination of dedicated conservation work that has spanned almost two decades. It marks the single most significant step towards the survival of the mountain bongo in history.”
The pristine sanctuary consists of a natural forest that provides an extensive range to continue releasing the mountain bongos in preparation for their survival in the wild. The government’s long-term vision is to achieve a population of 750 in Kenya by 2050.
Every year, 10 mountain bongos will be released into the sanctuary in groups of five every six months. It is estimated that by 2025, the sanctuary will have 50 to 70 fully rewilded mountain bongos.
Hope for Kenya’s mountain bongos as five released into sanctuary
Five mountain bongos have been released into a sanctuary in Kenya, a milestone in the fight for the animals’ survival with fewer than 100 left in the wild
Considered critically endangered, the chestnut-coloured mountain bongo is one of the largest forest antelopes and native to the equatorial forests of Mount Kenya, Eburu, Mau and Aberdares. IUCN predicts their numbers will probably continue to decline without direct action. A recent wildlife census in Kenya counted just 96 mountain bongos in the wild.
Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy (MKWC) and Kenya Wildlife Service and Kenya Forest Service have been leading a breeding and rewilding programme for the last 20 years."
And because we suppor zoos: "Eighteen mountain bongos (four male and 14 female) were repatriated from 14 zoos across the US to MKWC in Nanyuki, near Mount Kenya. The five animals released on Wednesday into the 314-hectare (776-acre) Mawingu mountain bongo sanctuary are descendants of the US herd." (So as far as I'm concerned, anyone who says zoos don't contribute to conservation can shut up.)
"The subspecies once roamed in large numbers but has suffered unprecedented population decline since the 1950s due to poaching, the wildlife trade, predation and disease, in particular, a rinderpest outbreak in the 1980s.
Dr Robert Aruho, head of veterinary services at MKWC, said: “The real work now begins. We must ensure that the animals released can thrive and survive in the sanctuary and, eventually, the wild.
“This is the culmination of dedicated conservation work that has spanned almost two decades. It marks the single most significant step towards the survival of the mountain bongo in history.”
The pristine sanctuary consists of a natural forest that provides an extensive range to continue releasing the mountain bongos in preparation for their survival in the wild. The government’s long-term vision is to achieve a population of 750 in Kenya by 2050.
Every year, 10 mountain bongos will be released into the sanctuary in groups of five every six months. It is estimated that by 2025, the sanctuary will have 50 to 70 fully rewilded mountain bongos.
Hope for Kenya’s mountain bongos as five released into sanctuary
Karen McGovern
Member
The new Meru Bongo Rhino Sanctuary and Trust are moving forward! Soon RSCF will be sending bongo from our US facility to Kenya. Partners include Lewa Wildlfie Conservancy, KWS, KFS, and the Meru County government. An exciting time for mountain bongo recovery efforts!
CONSERVATION OF ENDAGERED MOUNTAIN BONGO THROUGH PUBLIC PRIVATE PEOPLE PARTNERSHIP
CONSERVATION OF ENDAGERED MOUNTAIN BONGO THROUGH PUBLIC PRIVATE PEOPLE PARTNERSHIP
The second initative to bring back Mountain bongo to Kenya is going ahead soon. The Rare Species Conservatory with its President Paul Reillo is set to export 25 Mountain bongo back to Kenya. They will be part of the Meru Bongo and Rhino project on Mount Kenya and eventually repopulate 2 protected forest areas on Mount Kenya. It is co administrered between Kenya Wildlife Service, Meru County Council, Kenya Forest Service.
SOURCE:
This effort is quite separate from the earlier import to the Mount Kenya Game Farm in Nanyuki. The Mount Kenya Conservancy (cooperative project between KWS, MKC and others) has set up the Mawingu Bongo sanctuary on the Mount Kenya slopes. That population has seen at least 10 Mountain bongo reintroduced to the Mawingu Sanctuary till date and they have bred already since 2022 (several wild borns so I am told).
SOURCE:
This effort is quite separate from the earlier import to the Mount Kenya Game Farm in Nanyuki. The Mount Kenya Conservancy (cooperative project between KWS, MKC and others) has set up the Mawingu Bongo sanctuary on the Mount Kenya slopes. That population has seen at least 10 Mountain bongo reintroduced to the Mawingu Sanctuary till date and they have bred already since 2022 (several wild borns so I am told).
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Today has been another monumental day for the recovery efforts of the eastern mountain bongo!
Som good 2 decades since the first return back of 18 eastern mountain bongo airlifted to the Mount Kenya Game Farm in 2004 an additional 17 eastern mountain bongo have been imported from the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation to the Meru Bongo and Black Rhino Conservation Trust (MBBR-CT) on Mount Kenya. This has been a monumental achievement for both the Kenya Wildlife Service, the Kenya Forestry Commission and the RSCF.
Source:
Kenya receives 17 mountain bongo antelopes from the US
Som good 2 decades since the first return back of 18 eastern mountain bongo airlifted to the Mount Kenya Game Farm in 2004 an additional 17 eastern mountain bongo have been imported from the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation to the Meru Bongo and Black Rhino Conservation Trust (MBBR-CT) on Mount Kenya. This has been a monumental achievement for both the Kenya Wildlife Service, the Kenya Forestry Commission and the RSCF.
Source:
Kenya receives 17 mountain bongo antelopes from the US