A herd of 17 Mountain Bongo antelopes recently got ‘special delivery’ treatment on their way from a conservatory in Florida to new homes in Kenya, where they will, it’s hoped, spark repopulation in their homeland.
DHL Express, partnered with Tusk, a charity dedicated to accelerating the impact of Africa-driven conservation, handled the transportation from the Rare Species Conservatory in Florida to the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya. Bred in Florida, the Bongos are on the verge of extinction with fewer than 100 left in the wild due to poaching, forest degradation and habitat fragmentation.
The Bongos were transported in custom-built crates, along with 6 tons of feed, a veterinarian and 2 Bongo specialists. They were released into a 20-acre sanctuary run by the Kenya Forest Service. The herd will remain in the paddocks there to safely breed. Their offspring will then slowly be reintroduced into Mount Kenya’s forest ecosystem, from which they have been absent for over 40 years.
