{"id":16179,"date":"2025-05-29T14:33:14","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T13:33:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/explorersagainstextinction.co.uk\/blog\/?p=16179"},"modified":"2025-06-19T12:03:52","modified_gmt":"2025-06-19T11:03:52","slug":"discovering-the-mountain-bongo-kenyas-hidden-forest-antelope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/explorersagainstextinction.co.uk\/blog\/discovering-the-mountain-bongo-kenyas-hidden-forest-antelope\/","title":{"rendered":"Discovering the Mountain Bongo \u2013 Kenya\u2019s Hidden Forest Antelope"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We\u2019ve come across bongos before through our work in Dzanga Sangha, Central African Republic, but we hadn\u2019t realised a distinct critically endangered<\/strong> subspecies still clings on in East Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So we were fascinated to learn that our long-standing conservation partner, Mara Elephant Project (MEP)<\/strong>, has just expanded their remit to include this very species, taking the Bongo Surveillance Project (BSP)<\/strong> under their wing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Founded in 2003 by conservationist Mike Prettejohn<\/strong>, BSP is the only organisation in the world dedicated to protecting the last wild mountain bongos<\/strong>. Once widespread in Kenya\u2019s highland forests, the species has been driven to the brink by poaching and habitat loss<\/strong>. Today, just a handful remain in fragmented forest strongholds like the Mau Forest Complex<\/strong> and Aberdare National Park<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BSP rangers\u2014just eight in total<\/strong>\u2014work alongside the Kenya Wildlife Service and other agencies to patrol these vital habitats. Their work includes de-snaring<\/strong>, habitat monitoring, and deploying camera traps and DNA analysis from dung samples to keep tabs on the population. The results are cautiously hopeful: there\u2019s evidence of breeding<\/strong>, but the species\u2019 future remains far from secure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the forest, BSP also runs community education programmes<\/strong>, reaching tens of thousands of people, including schoolchildren living near bongo habitats. Their message is clear: the fate of this striking antelope is deeply connected to the health of Kenya\u2019s forests\u2014and to the people who live alongside them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a deeply personal project for MEP CEO Marc Goss<\/strong>, who spent his gap year tracking bongos in the Aberdares. That experience sparked his career in conservation, and now, years later, MEP is supporting BSP through a time of growth and transformation. That support includes training, equipment, and technology<\/strong>\u2014including integrating BSP into MEP\u2019s EarthRanger system for real-time tracking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ll be following their progress – conservation isn\u2019t just about saving the species we all know, it\u2019s about shining a light on the ones we\u2019ve almost forgotten too.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Images: MEP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve come across bongos before through our work in Dzanga Sangha, Central African Republic, but we hadn\u2019t realised a distinct critically endangered subspecies still clings on in East Africa. 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