The Bongo is also known as the Western Bongo or The Lowland Bongo, The Eastern Bongo or The Mountain Bongo. They fall under the Antelope family, and can be found in forest areas of Africa, they are one of the biggest forest antelope in Africa. There are more of these animals in captivity than there are in the wild. They are further clarified into two subspecies, they are known as the Western or Eastern bongo. You will only find these in the wild in Africa.

They inhabit Tropical Jungle areas and over grown areas, where the population is low. The Western Bongos population stretches through the western half of Africa,  ranging from Angola through the Republic of Congo, up through Sudan and wide spread west from there. The only places you will find the Eastern Bongo are Liberia, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone. Togo and Sudan. These were as wide spread as the Western Bongo at one stage. But you have to remember that there are more Bongos in captivity than there are in the whole of Africa, regardless the Bongos differences.

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Description of the Bongo

The Bongos body is a chestnut brown or auburn colour, with the neck, legs and chest a darker colour, it could even be black. The reason for this is its camouflage, as the sun shines through the overgrowth it reflects the light and it is easier for the Bongo to go un-noticed. The stripes on its body is to give the illusion that they are the grass. From a distance they are unrecognizable by their prey and are passed off as swaying grasses, or branches. They have 10-15 vertical stripes on their bodys from  their necks to their rump, the lines on either side never match up, this is what distinguishes one from another like a finger print.

Bongos have two large horns that grow towards their backs, both the male and females have these. They grow in a spiral formation, as they grow they twist. The males horns are bigger and wider than the females and tend to grow in any direction, while the females are a lot slimmer and grow parallel to each other. The length of these horns are between 30-40 inches long. The horns are made from the same material as our finger and toe nails called keratin, our hair is also made from this substance. As they run these horns act as a shield from low branches and anything else that they might encounter running through the thick forests.

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Behaviour of the Bongo

Like other forest antelope they are seldom seen in large groups, the males known as the bull is a solitary animal and likes to be on its own. The females on the other hand will stay with their young as they grow up, the young females tend to stay together in small groups with their mother until they have reached sexual maturity. The young males leave the herd to find a mate, they may join up with a wandering elder Bongo, they stay away from Bongos their same size and age as not to cause conflict. When they do meet they puff up their necks and roll their horns in a circular fashion, very rarely these animals fight and when they do it is never serious. They bang heads when they do fight, then they figure out that it hurts the both of them equally so they just stop and continue pacing forwards and backwards rolling their heads.

Bongo’s are mostly nocturnal but are known to wander around in the daytime too. They can be seen foraging at dawn and dusk. Bongos have different warning signals, because they are timid animals and are prey to the other animals in the jungle such as a tiger or leopard. When they are alerted by the presence of a thread they freeze still, all of them. They use their ears to determine how big the threat is and where its coming from, they will call to surrounding Bongos as they take off running. They are more adapted to weaving through trees and over growth than most of their hunters, because of their horns they can cut through ditches and bushes with ease and at great speeds. Usually the Bongo gets away because of this ability.

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The Diet of the Bongo

Bongos are herbivores they eat trees, plants, bark, leaves, fruits, grasses, roots, cereals, bushes and vines. Their diet also requires salt, witch is hard to find with the fresh waters that drop in the forests. Bongos will travel miles in the search for salt, they have also been known to eat charcoal from burning trees, from lightning strikes and bush fires. They do this to extract the salt from the burnt timber. Bongos rely on a constant supply of water and dense areas of food. Bongos are restricted of where they can go by the amount of food they eat, the more food there is with drinking water the more likely you are to see a Bongo in the wild. 

Reprodcution of the Bongo

The gestation period is about nine and a half months long, they only have one calf every birth and never have twins. The young Bongo stays drinking its mothers milk for six months before it trys any solid foods. Sexual maturity is reached at the age of two, it is two and a half years for the males. The both sexes are of the same build and weight. Males may differ slightly in height by a couple of inches and weight by no more than 30kgs.

All the Bongos in captivity came from Kenya, remember there are more in captiviy now than there are in the whole of Africa. The reason for their drop in numbers is because they have been hunted for their hyde and meat and the value of their horns. The Lowland Bongos are not considered endangered but the eastern species is under sever pressure.

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