In the wild there are perhaps only some 150 individuals remaining. It has been completely extirpated (removed) from Uganda and now the remaining few populations are scattered around the mountainous regions of central Kenya. The subspecies is classified as critically endangered by the IUCN (2010).

The threats faced by mountain bongos are many and varied. The central Kenyan highlands they inhabit; Mount Kenya, the Aberdares, the Mau forest, Eburu forest, are experiencing a human population explosion, lying close to cities such as Nairobi, Kericho and Narok. This has given rise to a proliferation of illegal and destructive activity within the forest reserves ranging from logging and charcoal production to active poaching with snares and dogs. Along with many other species in the region, the mountain bongo is hunted as "bush meat" to feed a growing human population.

Habitat loss and degradation is a serious problem in these regions and is having environmental consequences far beyond the range of the bongo, which includes increased droughts and drying of natural water sources. The Afromontane (mountain forest) ecosystem the bongo inhabits forms a significant water catchment zone (acting like a giant sponge), collecting and storing rainwater which feeds many of East Africa's river and wetland ecosystems. A stark example of this can be seen in this recent news report. When Afromontane (mountain forest) ecosystems are degraded, mountain bongos are historically one of the first organisms to disappear. The bongo may therefore be useful as an indicator of ecosystem health which is important for many species including humans.

The growth of human settlement and agriculture has resulted in bongo habitat fragmentation, effectively isolating the remaining bongo populations on separate mountain ranges unable to interact or, importantly, interbreed. A vital part of our work involves attempting to study the genetic health, or genetic diversity, of the remaining wild bongo, by collecting faecal (droppings) samples for genetic analysis. Such analyses will hopefully be able to show how genetically healthy the remaining individuals are.

There are around 500 or more mountain bongo in captivity around the world, and these are managed under several different captive breeding programmes, such as the European Endangered species Programme (or EEP). A global studbook for the bongo is managed to bring together and monitor these breeding programmes so that sound choices can be made to preserve genetic health of the captive population for the future. However, only once the genetic diversity of the remaining wild and captive bongos is known, may it be possible to supplement current populations with captive bred individuals (known as augmentation) and even create new breeding populations. This also depends on securing suitable, safe habitat and until we understand more about the basic ecology of the bongo to identify such habitat, even this is a challenge. It is vital that we can answer these questions before any release of captive bongos can be considered.

The work of local communities and organizations such as the Bongo Surveillance Project and our partners is therefore crucial to increasing our understanding of mountain bongos; their ecology and habitat requirements, the threats they face and the conservation strategies needed in order to successfully stop this beautiful and ecologically important antelope from becoming extinct in the wild.

Literature Cited

European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (2008). EAZA Antelope and Giraffe Taxon Advisory Group EEPs. In: European Breeding Programmes. Available: http://www.eaza.net/EEP/3antelope.html. Downloaded on 08 October 2008.

IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group (2008). Tragelaphus eurycerus ssp. isaaci. In: IUCN 2009. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.2. Available: www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 17 February 2010.

Kingdon, J. (1997). The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals. A&C Black Publishers Ltd, UK. ISBN: 978-0-7136-6513-0.

Nowak, R. M. et al. (1999). Walker's Mammals of the World (6th Edition). Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.

Prettejohn, M. (2008). On the trail of the Mountain Bongo. SWARA 31(Jan-Mar 2008).

Spinage, C. M. (1986). The Natural History of Antelopes. Croon Helm Publishers Ltd: Kent, U.K. ISBN: 0-7099-4441-1

Thomas, O. (1902). On the East-African representatives of the bongo and its generic position. Annals and Magazine of Natural History Series 7, No. 10: 309-310.