2025 Program Recap
From a historic bongo repatriation to Kenya to expanded parrot breeding programs, Red-browed Amazon recovery, and field conservation across Africa, the Caribbean, and South America; 2025 was a year of extraordinary reach and lasting impact.
FLAGSHIP ACHIEVEMENT
Historic Mountain Bongo Repatriation
EAST AFRICA · FEBRUARY 23, 2025
17 Bongo Returned to Kenya
On February 23rd, 17 critically endangered mountain bongo antelope departed Palm Beach International Airport aboard a Mountain-Bongo-branded DHL Boeing 767, traveling 7,146 nautical miles to Nairobi. From there, Kenya Wildlife Service transported them 250 kilometers by road to a newly constructed 20-acre sanctuary on the northeastern slopes of Mt. Kenya, the Marania sanctuary, governed by the newly established Meru Bongo and Rhino Conservation Trust (MBRCT).
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RSCF, serving as an institutional trustee of MBRCT, carefully selected 12 females and five males from its large breeding herds. All animals received standard vaccinations and a pioneering recombinant-DNA Theileria parva vaccine, developed specifically for this project by the Infectious Diseases Laboratory at the University of Georgia in collaboration with the International Livestock Research Institute in Nairobi.
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The complex, multi-stakeholder shipment engaged RSCF, Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, Tusk, DHL, and the Kenya Wildlife Service, and was supported by Meru County Government, Kenya Forest Service, and multiple community forest associations. Three US animal-care experts, including a wildlife veterinarian, accompanied the animals throughout their journey.
"There is simply no higher calling for humanity than to protect what remains of nature. The mountain bongo's story of decline and recovery has been entirely on our watch, and the species' future lies with all of us."
— Dr. Paul Reillo, RSCF Founder & President
"Conservation is not the responsibility of a single entity, organization or government. Rather it is a shared duty requiring the involvement of all — demanding innovation, resources, and above all a collective will to act."
— Rebecca Miano, Kenya Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife
As Covered By International Media
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BBC News — February 2025
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Mongabay — Mountain bongo antelope fly from Florida to Kenya
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Discover Wildlife — Mountain bongos: Florida to Kenya
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DHL Express Press Release — Official transport partnership announcement
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LinkedIn Pulse — Historic Homecoming: Mountain Bongos Return
FLORIDA FACILITY
Here at Home — RSCF Loxahatchee
Red-browed Amazon Recovery
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North America's only captive breeding group of Amazona rhodocorytha
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Nine new offspring in 2025, all parent-reared
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12–14 breeding pairs now naturally incubating and rearing chicks
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Active collaboration with ICMBio, IBAMA, and Lymington Foundation (Brazil)
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Next step: repatriation of breeding-age birds to Alagoas, Brazil
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Contributed husbandry, studbook, and captive-population data to Brazil's national recovery plan
Mountain Bongo Repatriation
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In the US: RSCF maintains a thriving population of mountain bongo numbering +70.
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February 2025: Seventeen bongo antelope repatriated and released into the newly established Marania Sanctuary, Mt. Kenya.
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Expanding engagement with private zoological facilities to co-manage the Florida bongo herd
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Decades of Leadership: Since 1994, RSCF has led efforts to return bongo to the wild through breeding, research, and international cooperation.
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Continued coordinating Florida-based bongo management with the Micanopy Zoological Preserve
Pygmy Marmosets & Lion Tamarins
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Pygmy marmoset breeding expanded in 2025 to help recover the dwindling North American captive population
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Multiple family groups maintained, including senescent animals, same-sex social groups, and breeding pairs
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Ongoing challenge: male sex-ratio bias in the population
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Unwavering commitment to Golden-headed Lion Tamarins (Leontopithecus chrysomelas) in close coordination with population managers
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All population data shared with AZA-sanctioned management plans and studbooks
Tropical Conservation Institute
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Ongoing collaboration with Florida International University under SEAS/CASE since 2014
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TCI trains graduate-level and post-graduate conservation practitioners for tropical and sub-tropical work
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Leverages FIU's broad portfolio in tropical/sub-tropical research, education, and outreach
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See tci.fiu.edu
FIELD CONSERVATION
International Field Projects
​Dominica
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A Kalinago graduate student, mentored by Dr. Reillo as external academic advisor, completed his M.Phil. at the University of the West Indies in 2025, producing the most comprehensive post-hurricane-Maria population assessment for both Amazona imperialis and A. arausiaca. Parrot monitoring continues with RSCF and local NGO support.
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St. Vincent & the Grenadines
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RSCF concluded a sub-award agreement between SVG Forestry and UNDP under the Ridge-to-Reef program, procuring and shipping critical aviary renovation supplies and field equipment. Outreach and capacity-building activities directed through regional NGO Birds Caribbean.
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Tanzania
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Dr. Anna Estes (RSCF Research Associate) continues the long-term Greater Serengeti Ecosystem Elephant Project, researching elephant movement and distribution, genetic connectivity, long-term vegetation change, and human-elephant conflict across northern Tanzania.
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Wildlife Trafficking Response
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Consulted with ICMBio and international labs on circovirus affecting captive and released Spix's macaws
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Mountain Bongo Recovery Program
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ntegrating captive breeding, sanctuary development, repatriation, and wild-population monitoring and protection. RSCF serves as an institutional trustee of the Meru Bongo and Rhino Conservation Trust and provides ongoing technical and veterinary support at the Marania sanctuary on Mt. Kenya.​​
OUTREACH & IMPACT
Media & Storytelling
The 2025 Bongo Story Went Global
The historic 2025 repatriation generated extensive international press coverage, social media reach, and broadcast features , bringing mountain bongo conservation to audiences around the world. RSCF's materials, photography, and documentary footage were featured across national and international platforms.
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​RSCF's programs and field materials are also regularly featured in popular print, broadcast, and online science media, and staff contribute to technical peer-reviewed journals and popular science publications.
INFRASTRUCTURE
Our U.S. Facility at a Glance
30 Acres. World-Class Capability.
The Conservatory in Loxahatchee serves as RSCF's international headquarters: a captive-propagation center, research complex, and training hub for visiting scientists, veterinarians, students, and interns from around the world.
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Infrastructure is designed for long-term, sustainable operations for diverse endangered species in South Florida's subtropical climate, with hurricane-resistant construction throughout.
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A shared digital radiography system , the Sound Eklin 1109G portable unit, housed at the Rainforest Clinic, provides x-ray services at no cost to all local wildlife nonprofits.
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16 interconnected hoofstock paddocks with 8-ft. gates
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1-acre bongo corral system with hydraulic Tamer squeeze chute
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44 aviary flights including 15 walk-in landscaped enclosures
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16 additional free-flight aviaries and primate enclosures
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Hurricane-resistant veterinary clinic, surgery & quarantine (1,200 sq. ft.)
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5 hurricane-proof bunkers; 3 small-animal breeding spaces
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Two reverse-osmosis water purification systems
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7,000 sq. ft. lab, meeting, and staff-support space
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Full workshop: tractor, ATVs, bushhog, specialty fencing tools
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Multiple backup power generators — stationary and portable