STORY: 17 rare mountain bongos repatriated to Kenya
SHOOTING TIME: Feb. 24, 2025
DATELINE: Feb. 28, 2025
LENGTH: 00:06:25
LOCATION: Nairobi
CATEGORY: ENVIRONMENT

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the arrival of the bongos 
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): REBECCA MIANO, Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary, Kenya
3. various of the arrival of the bongos
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): REBECCA MIANO, Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary, Kenya
5. various of KWS officials packing the bongos
6. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): ERUSTUS KANGA, KWS Director General

STORYLINE:

Kenya on Sunday received 17 mountain bongos from the United States, a development hailed as a major milestone in the efforts to restore the rare antelope population in Kenya, their only native homeland.

"These 17 bongos will form a founder population at the Marania and Mucheene sanctuary in Meru County, where they will be nurtured, protected and gradually reintroduced into their natural habitats," said Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano, who welcomed the bongos in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): REBECCA MIANO, Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary, Kenya
"This moment by all means marks a significant milestone in our collective efforts to conserve and even restore one of the world's most endangered species. It testifies to the potency of cross-border collaboration in matters universal to humankind and matters universal to biodiversity."

The rare mountain bongos, a national treasure among Kenya's wildlife species and a unique symbol of Kenya's rich biodiversity, arrived from the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation in Florida, having been taken away in the 1960s.

The 17 antelopes are a third generation of the critically endangered mountain bongos in Florida.

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): REBECCA MIANO, Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary, Kenya
"This initiative is not just saving a species. Far from it, in a sense, it is about restoring ecosystems, empowering communities, and safeguarding our natural heritage for future generations and from generation to generation."

She said the repatriation is part of the National Recovery and Action Plan for the Mountain Bongo, which aims to increase the population to 750 individuals over the next 50 years.

Once thriving in the highland forests of Kenya, the population of mountain bongos has declined drastically over the past five decades due to habitat loss, poaching, and disease, according to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS).

Today, fewer than 100 mountain bongos remain in the wild, making this repatriation effort a critical step toward their survival, the KWS said.

The 17 bongos, 12 females and 5 males, will form a founder population at the Marania and Mucheene sanctuary in Meru County in eastern Kenya. The sanctuary, established through a partnership between the KWS, the Rhino Conservation Trust and local communities, will serve as a breeding and rewilding center, with the ultimate goal of reintroducing the bongos into their natural habitats.

KWS Director General Erustus Kanga said the repatriation of these mountain bongos is a reminder of the importance of conservation and the need for collective action.

He said the bongos will be placed in an isolation facility at the Marania and Mucheene sanctuary for at least three months, during which they will undergo acclimatization.

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): ERUSTUS KANGA, KWS Director General
"(It's) extremely exciting to us because, number one, we are bringing back the biodiversity or the species that are critically endangered that had been taken out. Then, number two, we are looking at creating jobs to the local community members that are going to be employed in that conservancy. And number three, we are going to be growing livelihood of the people that are going to be employed in the tourism sector. So we are looking at having the mountain bongo population growing back into this country in about 2050. We are expecting that we shall be having at least a minimum of 750 individuals of the mountain bongo back in this country. And that is a key iconic attraction for tourists."

Technical experts from the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation will remain on-site to provide guidance and support during this critical phase, Kanga said.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Nairobi.
(XHTV)