This campaign has now closed
The critically endangered mountain bongo is on the brink of extinction. Lewa, as part of the Meru Bongo & Rhino Conservation Trust (MBRCT), is repatriating 25 mountain bongos to a sanctuary in Mt. Kenya, enabling the gradual restoration of this flagship species across their historical range.
Categories
Beneficiaries
Situation
The mountain bongo population has seen catastrophic decline over the past 40 years, a reduction attributed to heavy poaching and habitat loss to illegal logging, charcoal burning and livestock grazing. The global biodiversity extinction crisis demands innovative and practical approaches to species conservation. With the last mountain bongo on Mt. Kenya disappearing a few years ago, natural recovery of this iconic species cannot be achieved without sustained introduction of captive-bred animals.
Solution
In an effort to save this critically endangered antelope, Lewa and six global stakeholders have formed the MBRCT, which has been working together to repatriate 25 mountain bongos from Florida to a phased sanctuary in the Mt. Kenya Forest. This founding population will play an instrumental role in the future of the species, with their calves being sustainably rewilded and released into expanded areas, thereby enabling the gradual restoration of mountain bongo to their native home on Mt. Kenya.
