Two endangered species being returned to Mount Kenya Reserve: Travel Weekly
The critically endangered mountain bongo antelope and the black rhino will soon return to the Mount Kenya Forest Reserve as part of a groundbreaking public-private conservation initiative.
Over the years, the wild mountain bongo population in Mount Kenya declined drastically due to habitat degradation, forest fragmentation, poaching and other human impacts. The Meru Bongo and Rhino Conservation Trust, in partnership with the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation, will now transfer the mountain bongo from the foundation’s facility in Florida to a newly built wildlife sanctuary in the Mount Kenya Forest Reserve.
Sanctuary for the bongo antelope
The returned bongos will be placed in spacious, specially built fence-protected enclosures where they will be closely observed to ensure their acclimation. The new sanctuary enables Bongo groups to breed and thrive, providing future generations to be rewilded into Mount Kenya’s forest ecosystem. The initiative aims not only to restore the mountain bongo population, but also to engage local communities in ecotourism and ecofriendly sustainable agriculture and leverage protection for biodiversity across the Mount Kenya ecosystem.
In a second phase, black rhinos will also be reintroduced to Mount Kenya. They will be transferred from the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya, which features a large, healthy population of black rhinos.
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This project demonstrates the first public-private partnership of its kind in many decades in Kenya aimed to reintroduce a wildlife species that had gone extinct on the northern slope of the Mount Kenya Forest. It brings together key stakeholders with the highest level of experience and expertise in wildlife conservation to join hands with the local communities to bring back and protect rare species for the benefit of conservation and economic development.
Mount Kenya is the second-tallest mountain in Africa and a World Heritage Site. It is a popular destination for mountain climbing, camping and caving with the mountain’s rugged glacier-clad peaks providing the perfect backdrop. There are seven routes up the mountain, which has three peaks. Most tourists climb to Point Lenana which at 4985m is the third highest peak. AfricanMecca Safaris and Brilliant Africa are operators that organize trips to Mount Kenya.
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