{"id":21634,"date":"2026-01-13T22:12:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T22:12:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/21634\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T22:12:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T22:12:17","slug":"mount-kenya-wildlife-conservancy-marks-birth-of-100th-mountain-bongo-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/21634\/","title":{"rendered":"Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy marks birth of 100th Mountain Bongo"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Citizen<\/a> By
\n
\n Citizen Reporter
\n <\/a>
\n Published on: January 13, 2026 05:33 (EAT)
\n \"Mount <\/p>\n

The birth of the 100th Mountain Bongo calf is seen as a significant boost to efforts to save the critically endangered species from extinction. | COURTESY<\/p>\n

\"Vocalize <\/p>\n

Audio By Vocalize<\/p>\n

Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy
\n(MKWC) has recorded a major conservation milestone with the birth of its 100th
\nMountain Bongo calf, a development seen as a significant boost to efforts to
\nsave the critically endangered species from extinction.<\/p>\n

The birth, achieved under the conservancy\u2019s
\nBreeding and Rewilding Programme, marks a turning point in the long-running
\nrecovery initiative for the Mountain Bongo, a species once common in the Mount
\nKenya ecosystem but later driven to the brink by habitat loss and poaching.<\/p>\n

Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS)
\nDirector General Prof. Erustus Kanga praised the achievement, describing it as
\nthe result of decades of sustained conservation work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe work undertaken by Mount
\nKenya Wildlife Conservancy is highly commendable and represents a significant
\nstep forward for wildlife conservation in Kenya,\u201d Prof. Kanga said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe birth of the 100th Mountain Bongo reflects more than 20
\nyears of dedication by conservation teams, researchers, veterinarians, and
\nwildlife managers whose efforts in research, monitoring, and breeding have been
\ncritical to the recovery of this critically endangered species.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that KWS would continue to work closely with the conservancy
\non the programme and acknowledged Humphrey Kariuki for his leadership and
\ninvestment in the initiative.<\/p>\n

The Mountain Bongo, identifiable
\nby its chestnut coat and spiralled horns, declined sharply over the decades due
\nto human pressures. <\/p>\n

In response, MKWC partnered with KWS to establish a structured
\nbreeding and rewilding programme aimed at preventing the species\u2019 total loss.<\/p>\n

MKWC Patron and IUCN Patron of
\nNature Humphrey Kariuki said the milestone reflected years of coordinated
\nconservation efforts.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis milestone reflects decades
\nof coordinated breeding, habitat restoration, and community engagement that
\nhave been critical to stabilizing the species,\u201d Kariuki said, adding that the conservancy
\nwas focused on reintroducing \u201ca healthy, self-sustaining population into the
\nwild\u201d and ensuring the Mountain Bongo is no longer endangered.<\/p>\n

The journey to the 100th birth
\nbegan in 2004 with the repatriation of 18 Mountain Bongos from the United
\nStates to Nanyuki, forming the programme\u2019s founding population. <\/p>\n

Another key milestone was reached in 2022 with the opening of
\nthe Mawingu Mountain Bongo Sanctuary, the world\u2019s first dedicated wild
\nsanctuary for the species. <\/p>\n

The sanctuary supports rewilding efforts ahead of planned
\nreintroductions into Mount Kenya, Eburu, and the Aberdares.<\/p>\n

MKWC Head of Conservancy Dr.
\nRobert Aruho said the achievement was both encouraging and demanding.<\/p>\n

\u201cReaching this milestone is both
\na celebration and a challenge. It provides both the momentum and the confidence
\nto continue our work to ensure the survival of this species,\u201d Dr. Aruho said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Citizen Reporter Published on: January 13, 2026 05:33 (EAT) The birth of the 100th Mountain Bongo calf…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21210,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[80,8206,12500,13189],"class_list":{"0":"post-21634","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-kenya","8":"tag-kenya","9":"tag-kws","10":"tag-mount-kenya-wildlife-conservancy","11":"tag-mountain-bongo"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21634"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21634\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}