Kenya just promised its rarest antelope a future: 50% more mountain bongos by 2030

In Nanyuki, at the foot of Mount Kenya, conservation leaders, scientists and communities gathered for Africa Species Day to launch the second edition of Kenya's National Recovery and Action Plan for the Mountain Bongo — an antelope found only in Kenya and classified as Critically Endangered, with just 66 to 100 left in the wild, down from around 500 in the 1970s. The plan targets 50% population growth by 2030 and a self-sustaining 750 wild animals by 2075. It builds on two decades of breeding work: the Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy manages over 100 animals, the Mawingu sanctuary prepares captive-bred bongos for the wild, and bongos repatriated from Europe and the US are strengthening genetic diversity. ‘When we save the bongo, we save the forests. When we save the forests, we save ourselves,’ says the Kenya Wildlife Service.