The contrasting chestnut fur with white stripes and spots helps mountain bongos hide in the dense undergrowth. The picture shows the newly born female cub Rayli. Photo Miroslav Bobek, Prague Zoo
The first male mountain bongo was born at Prague Zoo on August 6th, and then on August 18th; both can now be seen in the enclosure next to the hippopotamus pavilion. These are very rare additions, as the mountain bongo is considered the most beautiful, but also the rarest antelope: in the wild, only around thirty to forty individuals survive in the forests of the Aberdare National Park in central Kenya.
“The breeding of mountain bongos under human care is absolutely essential for their preservation in the wild,” explains Prague Zoo Director Miroslav Bobek. “Individuals raised in zoos have laid the foundation for a population in central Kenya that is gradually getting used to life in the wild. And in the future, it is expected to be further strengthened from European breeding. I am extremely pleased that Prague Zoo is also supporting this project thanks to the activity of its breeders.”
The cubs are born the same color as their parents. They still have to wait for their long spiral horns. Photo Miroslav Bobek, Prague Zoo
The funds earned by Prague Zoo breeders through the organization of experience programs go, for example, to purchase camera traps, which are used to monitor individuals released into large enclosures, or to plant forests in places where the return of mountain bongos is expected in the future.
Prague Zoo has been breeding the rarest forest antelopes since 1988, and the newly born males are the 58th and 59th additions. Their mothers are Dafne and Rayli, Mau’s father.
“None of the females gave birth for the first time, but we still watched the births on cameras to be sure. Both took place without complications. Immediately after giving birth, the females began to dry their young by carefully licking them and guiding them to the udder. The young successfully stood up within an hour and drank colostrum,” describes Lucie Křížová, a long-time breeder of mountain bongos.
The older female cub Dafne curiously explores the enclosure. Photo Miroslav Bobek, Prague Zoo
Those interested can learn more about mountain bongos through unique experience programs. The program Jumping among the Antelopes will also take participants to the breeding grounds. The shorter program Feeding the Bongos runs daily from May to September.
Mountain bongo cubs are usually born weighing around twenty kilograms. Dafne’s cub even weighed four kilograms more. Photo Miroslav Bobek, Prague Zoo