Identification
Body: thickset, hunchback profile. Bright chestnut coat that darkens with age, with 12-14 vertical white stripes that continue in a well-developed dorsal crest. Underparts darker. White crescent in the lower part of the neck. Legs show a characteristic pattern of white markings. Tail tipped by a black tuft. Females smaller and lighter in colour than males. Height at shoulder: 1.2 m. Length: 1.8-2.4 m. Tail: 50-60 cm. Weight: males 300 kg, females 240 kg. The biggest of all forest antelopes, with a general look reminding the bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus) but much larger in size.
Head: thick horns in open spiral, with the tips pale yellow. Present in both sexes, though the female's are thinner and more parallel. Male's horns measure 75 cm on average. Ears very large and broad, with a white margin. Blackish muzzle, with a distinctive white chevron between the eyes. Two big white spots in cheeks.
Distribution and ecology
Inhabits dense mountain woodlands and bamboo forests up to 4000 m. It can be found in Aberdares, Mount Kenya, Mau forest and Cherangani Hills. Many populations surviving today have become isolated in forest patches surrounded by open country. Until few years ago it was a frequent visitor of the salt licks at the Aberdare lodges, specially The Ark, but its population has decreased, possibly due to stalking by lions that have proliferated in excess in this park.
Food
Strict browser. Prefers leaves and sprouts of shrubs and climbing plants, though it also seeks rotten wood, bark and fruits. Stands on hindlegs to reach trees. Uses horns to dig roots and break high branches. Apparently it does not eat bamboo. Its optimal areas for feeding are the forest clearings, where sunlight reaches the ground and favours growth of short vegetation.
Behaviour
Mostly nocturnal, though partly diurnal. Very shy behaviour. It usually lives in pairs or forms family groups of several related cows and their offspring. In occasions it shows in herds of up to 35 individuals. The largest groups are built up some months after the calving season and during the dry season prior to the long rains. These bigger groups may be transient aggregations of smaller and more stable units. Adult bulls are solitary and only join the female groups for mating.
Spotting bongos is a difficult task, since this antelope hides in the forest deep, specially during sunlight hours. It feeds at night and in the temperate hours. It is a usual visitor of mud holes and salt licks. Its body constitution and short legs are suitable for venturing through dense thicket, where it moves fast with its head lowered and the horns extended backward. The bongo is not a springer, it will rather overcome obstacles passing below them. It has an excellent hearing. Though mainly silent, it can emit a sound resembling a bleat and its alert voice is loud and resonant.
The bongo is not a territorial antelope. The Aberdare populations perform small migrations between heights of 2100 and 3100 m: in the dry seasons they climb up to the bamboo forests and the high moorlands, whilst with the onset of rains they migrate down to the cloudy forests.
Their main predators, apart from man, are leopards and hyenas. Python snakes prey on calves. Though the lion is not a traditional enemy of this antelope, excessive proliferation of these big cats in Aberdares seems to be one of the reasons for the decrease in the bongo populations. Its longevity is 12-15 years.
Reproduction
In Aberdares, the birth peak takes place from July to September. After a 9-month gestation, the cow gives birth to one calf that remains concealed in the bush to hide from predators.
Related species
Sitatunga (Tragelaphus spekei): general aspect resembles a bongo, but it is more lightly built, with a coarser coat dark brown in colour, white stripes less conspicuous and greatly elongated hooves. The sitatunga is an aquatic antelope that inhabits preferentially marsh areas. It is rare in Kenya, restricted to Saiwa Swamp national park, Trans Nzoia and the papyrus swamps in Lake Victoria.
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