Critically endangered mountain bongos return to Kenya: European zoos have sent four mountain bongo bulls to Kenya to help boost genetic diversity on lands managed by the Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy. Aside from zoos, these antelope only live in the high-elevation forests of Kenya. Sought for their beautiful coats and curved horns, bongos number under 100 in the wild due to illegal poaching. In 2024, the conservancy brought 10 mountain bongos to their guarded reserve, which was quickly followed by many births. They aim to host 750 bongos by 2050.

Cameras powered by AI are being used to help identify mountain bongos in the wild. Nick Davis, mammals general manager at Chester Zoo, said:

“The forest antelope, they live in the thick bushes and vegetation, and they’re really difficult to find, often nocturnal. So the use of these AI cameras, they actually recognise mountain bongo from other antelope, but … can potentially also identify individual animals. They have unique strike patterns on their side so with this they can actually really help us get more information about their behaviours, their ranges … .”

At Earth Hope, we collect and share positive environmental news like this, to inspire action. More eco success stories are included here: earthhope.substack.com/…

Video by Brixiv, public domain.