The following is a program description detailing RSCF's efforts to return the endangered bongo antelope (Boocerous eurycerus isaaci) to the mountains of Kenya. This landmark event took place in January 2004. Click on the links below for more in-depth information.

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On 29 January 2004, at 8:00 p.m., an Air Transport International DC-8 freighter touched down in Nairobi carrying 18 mountain bongo antelope and two tons of antelope feed, consummating RSCF's 10-year campaign to repatriate bongo from the U.S. to Kenya.

After 90 days of rigorous quarantine and veterinary testing at the White Oak Conservation Center in Yulee, FL, the 4 males and 14 females were crated at 4:00 a.m. on 28 January and packed for what would become a 44-hour journey ending at the Mt. Kenya Wildlife Conservancy, situated at the foothills of the Mt. Kenya World Heritage Site. The animals were given a long-acting sedative to facilitate shipment, as their trip would entail a drive to Jacksonville airport for loading, then a short hop to Atlanta for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service inspection, then a long flight to Rome for refueling, then onto Nairobi for offloading, capped by a 3 ½ -hour drive by lorry to Mt. Kenya.

The animals arrived at the Wildlife Conservancy at 3:30 a.m. on 30 January in perfect condition, after which the bongo team and staff at the ranch waited until sunrise to release the animals into fenced enclosures that strikingly resembled some of their captive environments back in the U.S.

The mountain bongo repatriation project represents a rare milestone in wildlife conservation, aiming to restore a critically endangered flagship species to self-sustaining levels in the wild from captive U.S. zoo stock. The repatriated bongos are founders for a long-term breeding effort at the Mt. Kenya Wildlife Conservancy whose descendants will be gradually acclimated to the wild over future generations. Ultimately, the program seeks to restore a sustainable wild population within the Mt. Kenya World Heritage Site via close coordination with the Kenya Wildlife Service.

Repatriation of Mountain Bongo Antelope to Kenya.

Kenya's mountain bongo (Boocercus eurycerus isaaci) is a flagship species for one of the world's richest forest ecosystems. Due to poaching, habitat destruction and lion predation, the wild stocks of this species are believed to be close to extinction in their original habitats. In Mt. Kenya World Heritage Site (WHS), the bongo antelope has not been seen for over 9 years. This initiative seeks to return the mountain bongo to its country of origin by repatriating individuals from the captive population kept in American zoological institutions. The Mountain Bongo project aims to establish an in situ captive breeding program in a natural setting in Mt. Kenya WHS, as the first phase of several conservation steps required to reintroduce mountain bongos to the wild. The project will also help build the capacity of national conservation partners in captive breeding and reintroduction programs. The media attention this project is likely to attract will strengthen public awareness on WHS importance and will be key to current mobilization efforts to expand and enhance conservation and community livelihood initiatives in and around Mt. Kenya. The Repatriation of the Mountain Bongo Antelope project is a strategic, targeted and timely initiative that brings together UN organizations, the Kenyan Government, and local, national and international non-governmental organizations.
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Bongo Airlift

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Bongo are released and acclimate to their new African home.

Click here for October 2005 Field Program information.
Click here for April 2006 Field Program information.
Click here for June 2006 Field Program information.
Click here for additional field research 2006

The bongo project is as unprecedented in its achievements as in its organizational partnerships. Conceived by RSCF directors Dr. Estes and Dr. Reillo in the early 1990's, the bongo repatriation project links RSCF with:

On behalf of the entire bongo team, RSCF extends its heart-felt thanks to the following:

To the Kenya Government, Kenya Wildlife Service, and the people of Kenya, for enthusiastically supporting the repatriation effort, and for your warm hospitality and collegiality. A special thanks to Dr. Elizabeth Wambwa, chief veterinarian for KWS, and to Mr. Bongo Woodley, chief park warden for Mt. Kenya National Park-we cherish your friendship, and your passionate dedication to wildlife. RSCF and its partners look forward to a long, prosperous relationship on behalf of Kenya's people, wildlife, and wild places.