Bongo Repatriation Project

The mountain bongo repatriation project grew from efforts that began in 1967, when the Mount Kenya Game Ranch was founded by William Holden, Julian McKeand, and Don and Iris Hunt. In 1970, as the bongo population declined, the ranch and the Kenya government captured a nucleus breeding group of bongo, and from 1970 to 1980 this group was sent to various zoos in the United States. In 1982, the William Holden Wildlife Foundation was founded by Stephanie Powers and Don and Iris Hunt, and with a small population of bongo living at the ranch, they began educating Kenyans about the need to preserve the mountain bongo. In 1994, the remains of what was thought to be the last known wild bongo on Mount Kenya were discovered. By 1995, the U.S. population of bongo had bred successfully and grown into the hundreds. In 1996, Directors Dr Estes and Dr Reillo of the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation developed the concept of returning bongo to Kenya. On January 28, 2004, the project became reality when an Air Transport International DC-8 freighter left the White Oak Conservation Center in Florida with 18 crated bongo, aged 13 months to 4 years old, including 4 males, 14 females, and an expecting female, after 3 months in quarantine. They arrived in Nairobi on January 29 and were transported by truck to the Mount Kenya Game Ranch, where on January 30 they were released into a special enclosure separate from the 18 African bongos already there. On February 5, 2004, the first baby of the American herd was born and named Miss Kenya, and the Mount Kenya Game Ranch also changed its name to Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy. In August 2004, a second calf, Tumani, meaning Hope, was born. By December 2004, officials reported that Miss Kenya, Tumani, and the rest of the American herd had adjusted well to their natural environment. In February 2005, heavy rains and marauding elephants delayed completion of the fence around the 100 acre natural forest where both herds were to be released. In April 2006, officials announced that the herds had been mixed and were doing well, with 4 more calves born and several more females pregnant. The first and second generations born would remain in the preserve, while the third, fourth, or fifth generations were planned for release into the wild with transponders for monitoring, and future plans called for sending more bongo to Kenya to strengthen the herd’s genetic diversity.

Cape May Court House, New Jersey · United States