On Sunday, 23rd February 2025, Kenya received a consignment of 17 mountain bongos (12 females and 5 males) from the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation in Florida, USA. The antelopes are the third generation of descendants of mountain bongos taken from Kenya in the 1970s. Mountain bongos are a rare type of antelope subspecies found in Kenyan forests.

According to the Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife in Kenya, Ms Rebecca Miano, the bongos will form a founder population at the Marania and Mucheene Sanctuary in Meru County, where they will be nurtured and protected before being re-introduced gradually into their natural habitats.

The CS further added, noting that the return of the mountain bongos wasn’t just an impactful milestone in conservation; it was a symbol of hope and renewal for Kenya’s biodiversity as the initiative demonstrated what the country could achieve when working together, across borders, disciplines and communities.

The first repatriation of mountain bongos took place in 2004 when 18 bongos were flown into the country.

In 2022, the head of conservancy at Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy (MKWC) told a certain local TV station that some of the repatriated mountain bongos were successfully integrated into the wild, while others died due to tick-borne maladies.

According to the KWS director-general, Erastus Kanga, the country expects another batch of mountain bongos from various zoos in Europe in the next three months. Kenya plans to grow the mountain bongo population to 700 in 2050.