1. Copyright RZSS

2. The Eastern or Mountain Bongo
Found only in Kenya, the Eastern or mountain bongo is
critically endangered. The mountain bongo is the
largest and heaviest of all forest antelopes.
There are around 500 mountain bongo in zoos or parks
around the world but in the wild there are only about
150 remaining.
Along with other wild animals, many bongo were killed
for consumption as bush meat. Habitat loss has also
contributed to the decline in numbers of the mountain
bongo.

3. The Eastern or Mountain Bongo
DNA Monitoring and analysis
The few remaining mountain bongo in the wild must be watched carefully. Scientists also need to analyse the bongo DNA.  DNA sampling is very expensive but it allows us to work out the sex, age, and relationship of one animal to another.
Work is underway to test the DNA of the remaining bongo populations and work so far suggests that inbreeding is a problem with these populations.  .

4. The Eastern or Mountain Bongo
Animal conservation must consider the
genetic diversity of the bongo.
Animal populations with low genetic diversity
are less able to adapt to changes in their environment.
The isolation of the remaining bongo population means that genetic material is lost each generation. The remaining wild bongo populations are losing 8% of their total genetic diversity every 10 years.
Zoo breeding programmes can reduce
this loss by around 2%.