Conservationists unite to save the Mountain Bongo in Mount Kenya

By Eastern Correspondent

Conservation stakeholders have come together to save the Mountain Bongo, a species of antelope that is endangered and exposed to becoming extinct.

Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in partnership with other conservation partners created the Meru Bongo and Rhino Conservation Trust, an organization whose vision and mandate is to initiate and execute strategies for saving the stripped mammal.

The Conservancy is offering technical and financial support on top of support from the Kenya Forest Service, Kenya Wildlife Service, Community Forest Associations, and other stakeholders.
In a recent event, the Meru Bongo and Rhino Conservation Trust and the County Government of Meru teamed up to initiate a Mountain Bongo and Rhino sanctuary in a section of Mount Kenya forest in Meru County.

The groundbreaking of the construction of the Sanctuary in Ntirimiti, Kisima Ward was graced by the Meru County Governor Kawira Mwangaza who is also the patron of the trust, and the Kenya Forest Service Chief Conservator Julius Kamau, the Mt Kenya Community Forest Association and other stakeholders.

Speaking at the event, governor Mwangaza revealed that in the near future, Meru will be home to 25 bongos that will be brought to the sanctuary from Florida in the United States of America.

‘Currently, Meru’s Bongo population has almost been eradicated due to hunting and other human activities. With their re-introduction in Meru County, the region will get to the global map in conservation activities that are being carried out for the current and future generations Governor Kawira said

This sanctuary which will sit on 250 acres of land in the initial stage will enable the reproduction and redeeming of this species which is vital to the management of the ecosystem in Mount Kenya that is favorable to the endangered mountain Bongo and the Rhino.

Speaking to The Eastern Newspaper recently, the Trust Chairman Mr. John Kinoti said that the national government through the Kenya wildlife service issued the trust with a special user license to establish the Mountain Bongo and Rhino Sanctuary in the eastern conservation area.

‘The Meru Bongo and Rhino Conservation Trust are entrusted with the implementation of the project in collaboration with other stakeholders who include; the Meru County Government, Kenya Forest Service, Kenya Wildlife Service, Community Forest Associations, Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, Rare Species Conservatory Foundation, and Florida International University’s Tropical Conservation Institute’ Kinoti said.

According to the Wilder Institute; Mountain Bongo is a Critically Endangered antelope found only in the alpine forests of Kenya. These forests are not only important for local livelihoods but are also critical water catchment areas for Kenya, known as the water towers of Kenya. Conserving mountain bongo protects the incredible diversity of organisms that share the forest and the water supply of much of Kenya.

The institute further reveals that; Less than 60 of these elusive antelope remain in the wild, and can only be found in four isolated groups at Mount Kenya, Eburu Forest, the Aberdares, and Mau Complex. The mountain bongo population declined due to habitat loss, hunting, and disease.

Lewa Wildlife Conservancy which is one of the sponsors says the initiative will be carried out in stages, with Bongos introduced into the sanctuary during the first phase and Black rhinos introduced in the second. The returned Bongos will be placed in spacious, specially built, fence-protected enclosures where they will be closely observed to ensure their acclimation. The new sanctuary enables Bongo groups to breed and thrive, providing future generations to be re-wilded into Mt Kenya’s forest ecosystem.

This project demonstrates the first effort in several decades of a public-private partnership of its kind in Kenya aimed to re-introduce a wildlife species that had gone extinct within the northern slopes of the Mt. Kenya Forest.