They have a thin мคหe running along their back.
![](https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/320px-BongoP2.jpg)
The two sub-species are the Lowland bongo (the Western bongo) and the Mountain bongo (the Eastern bongo).
![](https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/595px-bongo-28857049261jpg.jpg)
A bongo has white marks on its cheeks, a white stripe between its eyes and nose, with a white crescent on its chest.
![](https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/800px-Eastern_Bongo_at_Edinburgh_Zoo.jpg)
Its legs have black white bands and its long tail ends in a tuft.
![](https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/800px-Mountain_bongo_mount_kenya.jpg)
It has large ears and its tongue is long and prehensile. The horns spiral into one or one-and-half twists, with males’ horns being longer with more of a twist.
![](https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1024px-Eastern_Bongo_at_Jacksonville_Zoo.jpg)
– Distribution –Bongos are mainly to be found in the lowland forests of Zaire and West Africa to southern Sudan.
![](https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Lowlandbongorangemap.png)
There are small populations in the highland forests of Kenya and also in the Congo.
![](https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/800px-Bongo_skeleton_at_MAV-USP.jpg)
They prefer areas of forest with random clearings providing fresh, green vegetation at a low level.
![](https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1024px-Mountain_Bongo_1.jpg)
An ideal habitat for bongos in East Africa are mass bamboo die-offs.
![](https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1092px-bongo-001jpg.jpg)
– Habits and Lifestyle –The bongo is highly nocturnal and seldom seen by people, being shy and elusive.
![](https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200px-bongo4jpg.jpg)
They disappear almost immediately into the forest when they feel threatened.
![](https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200px-bongo-22476161322jpg.jpg)
Males live a solitary life and will only meet up with other bongos for mating purposes.
![](https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/antwerp-zoo-9691133235jpg.jpg)
Females often group together for protection in herds of up to 50 females and their young.
![](https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/antelope-3078919872jpg.jpg)
Bongos can communicate by means of a variety of calls, including moos, grunts, snorts, and bleating as warning signals or as distress calls.
![](https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200px-tragelaphus-eurycerus-isaacijpg.jpg)
– Diet and Nutrition –The bongo is herbivorous (folivorous, graminivorous), eating plant matter only.
![](https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200px-mountain-bongo-40630741783jpg.jpg)
It eats leaves, roots, grasses, and bark, choosing to feed during the night in order to keep out of the way of its many predators.
![](https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200px-bongo-stretching-33521795596jpg.jpg)
It has a prehensile tongue and uses it to reach the fresh leaves which are higher up and to pull out roots.
![](https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200px-bongo-antelope-honolulu-zoo-18599932990jpg.jpg)
– Mating Habits –Mating is generally between October and January. After a gestation period of about 9 months, the female gives birth to a single calf.
![](https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200px-bongo-33408949352jpg.jpg)
To protect the vulnerable calves from predators, they are born within dense vegetation, where, for about a week they lie silently, their mothers returning regularly to give them milk.
![](https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Baby_Bongo_002.jpg)
When they are strong enough they join a group for better protection.
![](https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Bongo5.jpg)
Calves grow fast, their horns beginning to show after about three or four months.
![](https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Bongo3.jpg)
Weaning is at 6 months but calves generally stay with the herd for longer.
![](https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/bongo-1.jpg)
– Population threats –Destruction, of habitat, poaching, illegal trapping, and being a food source for humans in some areas contribute to the decrease in African bongo populations.
![](https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/bongo1.jpg)
Other major threats are diseases from domestic livestock and predators such as lions and leopards. Pythons and hyenas will kill young bongo calves.
![](https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Bongo_Burger_Zoo.jpg)
– Population number –Estimates of the bongo population are limited in availability.
![](https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/bongo.jpg)
As of 1999, the population of Lowland bongo was suggested to be around 28,000 animals, with populations in the order of a few thousand in West Africa, and tens of thousands in the Central African forest zone. Only about 60% live in protected areas.
![](https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Belgium-Antwerp-Eastern-Bongo-Antelope-Antwerp-Zoo-1440x951-1.jpg)
The current population estimate for the Mountain bongo is only about 100 individuals.
![](https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/bongo-antelope-on-kilimanjaro-safaris-disneys-animal-kingdom.jpg)
Lowland bongo is classified by the IUCN as Near Threatened (NT) while Mountain bongo is Critically Endangered (CR). Both subspecies experience decreasing population trend.
![](https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/jaxzoo-3-5-21-1-2-51009581996jpg.jpg)
– Ecological niche –The browsing behavior of bongos is important in stopping the vegetation of forests from becoming overgrown.
![](https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/cute.jpg)
– Fun Facts –Although between dusk and dawn is generally their most active period, bongos sometimes browse during the day. However, they never depart from the dense vegetation surrounding them.
![](https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/bongo-tragelaphus-eurycerus-5767871109jpg.jpg)
To help cool down when it is hot, bongos wallow in mud and then rub the mud onto a tree to polish their smooth, heavy horns.
![](https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/bongo-profile.jpg)
Bongos may eat burnt wood after a storm, as a rich source of salt and minerals.
![](https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/BongoNEW.jpg)
Bongos are excellent high jumpers but would rather go around or under obstacles.
![](https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/bongo-hunts-1024x682-1.jpg)
The name “bongo” doesn’t come from the drums of the same name but is an African tribal word that probably means “antelope“.
![](https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/jaxzoo-12-3-14-1685-15940453772jpg.jpg)
The bongo is the only type of Tragelaphus in which both males and females have horns.
![](https://worldnewsroom.info/eng/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Tragelaphus_eurycerus_-Marwell_Wildlife_Hampshire_England-8a.jpg)
Native people have the belief that if they touch or eat bongo they will suffer from spasms like epileptic seizures. As a result, bongos in their native ranges have been relatively unharmed.
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