Eastern bongos, also known as mountain bongos, are among the most endangered antelopes in the world. The European Zoo Association and its partners are fighting against the disappearance of this bongo subspecies. Bongo bulls bred in zoos, including FITZ, who was born in Frankfurt, are currently being prepared for their journey to Kenya at the Safari Park Dvůr Králové in the Czech Republic. The animals are part of a breeding and reintroduction programme in cooperation with the Kenya Wildlife Service and the Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy.

© Detlef Möbius

Östliche Bongos are almost extinct in the wild. In Mount Kenya National Park, an ancestral habitat of the antelope, there are currently no bongos left in the wild. Together with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and the Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy (MKWC), the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums (EAZA) is working on an elaborate breeding and reintroduction programme with the aim of one day reintroducing bongos to Mount Kenya National Park. The MKWC is located on the edge of the national park. There are currently 100 bongos living in a managed population in human care. Four bulls from Europe are to be integrated into the breeding programme there after a familiarisation period to refresh the gene pool.

„I am proud that the Frankfurt-born FITZ is part of this important international species conservation project. The Bongo return to Kenya shows that the so-called One Plan Approach of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is working. This aims to bring together all relevant stakeholders - governments, zoos, nature conservation organisations, scientists - and to campaign for the conservation of biodiversity. In this case, with the aim of ensuring that bongos can roam Mount Kenya National Park again, says Dr Ina Hartwig, Head of the Department of Culture and Science.

The EAZA and its member zoos coordinate the breeding of the endangered bongo subspecies. The EAZA Ex-situ Programme (EEP) comprises a healthy and genetically robust population of 172 animals in 46 European zoos. Frankfurt Zoo has been keeping „urban bongos since 1970. The first calf born in Europe was born in Frankfurt in 1973 – there have been a total of 29“, explains zoo director Dr Christina Geiger. „Östliche Bongos are already extinct in the wild in some places. So time is running out and it is therefore great that many partners have joined forces at an early stage to join forces against the complete extinction of these impressive animals. This gives us the chance to take the next step and reintroduce the animals to their native habitat," says Geiger.

A total of five European bongo bulls were selected for the programme according to strict criteria, including age and genetics. The preparations for the breeding programme are extensive and complex. For example, each animal has already undergone extensive veterinary examinations in its zoo of origin.

The bongos' journey to Africa leads via the Safari Park Dvůr Králové in the Czech Republic. On 20 March, the time had come for the three-year-old Frankfurt bongo FITZ. Four more bulls came to Dvůr Králové from Zoo Berlin and zoos in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Denmark. The Safari Park has many years of experience in transporting large ungulates to Africa. After the prescribed quarantine period, the four most suitable bulls are selected and examined again before travelling on to Kenya.

„The return of the bongos to Kenya is the result of years of careful planning under the EAZA programme“according to the EAZA Executive Office, „It is an excellent example of how well-managed ex situ populations can usefully support in situ species conservation. The conservation of the population increases genetic variability where it is most needed, while at the same time maintaining a stable and sustainable zoopopulation.

On arrival in Nairobi, the bongos are received by the KWS, a state organisation whose tasks include the operation of Kenya's national parks.

Dr Erustus Kanga, Director General of KWS said: "This project demonstrates Kenya's commitment to the reintroduction and conservation of endangered species. The recovery was made possible through close collaboration with the EAZA Ex-situ Programme and other conservation partners, supported by scientific population management and sustainable habitat protection. The aim is to re-establish stable, self-sustaining populations of the mountain bongo. As an endemic species in Kenya, the successful recovery of the population is a high priority as part of the KWS's comprehensive agenda to reintroduce species and protect biodiversity.“

On arrival at the MKWC, a private facility supported by the state, the animals can first acclimatise before being gradually integrated into the established breeding programme

Dr Robert Aruho, Head of MKWC, says: "The bulls are an important part of our restoration programme. Having reached the milestone of 100 Östliche bongos in the Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy, we are now focussing on sustainable population growth with the long-term goal of building a population of at least 750 animals by 2050. The introduction of these genetically valuable bulls will strengthen our breeding structure and play an essential role in building a resilient bongo population in the Kenyan forests.

The offspring of the four bongo bulls will then be gradually released into the wild. The enclosures become larger and larger, human care is reduced and the animals are no longer fed. At some point, the gates will be opened and they will be back: free-roaming bongos in Mount Kenya National Park.

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