Chester Zoo: Conservationists celebrate birth of rare calf

Conservationists are celebrating after the ‘precious’ female was born to parents Nolliag and Noti after a nine and half-month-long pregnancy.

Named Navari by zookeepers, the new youngster is only the second mountain bongo – the world’s largest forest-dwelling antelope – to be born at the zoo in the last 15 years.

The mountain bongo is listed as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Now only 50 are found in just one remote area of Kenya, its population has been decimated by humans, with habitat loss caused by agriculture and uncontrolled timber felling and hunting for its meat and horns cited as key factors in its demise.

Experts say it faces an extremely high risk of becoming extinct in the wild without swift conservation intervention.

Chester Zoo is part of a global endangered species breeding programme, which is working to secure a healthy safety net population of mountain bongo in human care.

(Image: Chester Zoo)

Conservation teams from the zoo are also currently working with researchers in Africa on a potential reintroduction strategy for the highly endangered animals in Kenya. The zoo also partners with Manchester Metropolitan University to support vital research on the subspecies in Kenya – investigating the impact that habitat change is having on the tiny bongo population that remains.

Mike Jordan, Director of Plants and Animals at Chester Zoo, said:

“The mountain bongo is a striking large mammal and it’s desperately sad to think that its population size has been reduced to such a small number. We fear there could be as few as just 50 now remaining in the wild.

“Hope, however, is certainly not lost and our zoo teams are fighting on a number of fronts to ensure that these highly threatened animals have a long-term future. Central to this is the leading role we play in the international conservation breeding programme for the subspecies, to which this latest calf at the zoo is a vitally important addition. Her birth is something to really celebrate. She’s an incredibly precious new arrival.

“Working alongside the Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy, Kenya Wildlife Service and Kenya Forest Service, as well as academics in the UK and the zoo community across Europe, plans are now in motion to translocate a number of these wonderful animals from zoos in Europe to Africa. We hope they’ll go on to bolster the wild population and help these stunning animals to stage a recovery.”

The mountain bongo is distinguishable by its vibrant reddish-brown coat featuring thin white vertical stripes, which help them to stay camouflaged within the forest by breaking up their body shape. 

Dr Nick Davis, General Manager of Mammals at Chester Zoo, coordinates the conservation breeding programme for the subspecies in Europe. He added:

“Mountain bongo are very shy and elusive animals and newborns tend to naturally look to take cover to protect themselves.

“Calves are born with incredibly large ears, which almost look out of proportion with their bodies. These are highly sensitive and help them to sense and escape from ambush predators such as leopards and hyenas.

“We have learned so much about their biology and behaviours from important births like this one, as well as the daily care we’ve been able to provide to them in zoos. Until recently, bongo remained poorly studied across their native range but this is thankfully starting to change.

“We’re now at the forefront of bongo conservation and we’ve already been involved in a number of breakthrough discoveries, such as finding them living in Uganda for the first time. This has laid a foundation for us to integrate conservation efforts by zoos with those in the wild – offering better hope for the future survival of these incredible animals.”

Chester Zoo has also worked with Liverpool John Moores University’s Conservation AI team to develop the world’s first AI-powered detection system for the lowland and mountain bongo, revolutionising how they’re monitored in the wild. The technology was developed using images of the bongo population at the zoo and subsequently successfully tested in Kenya’s Mawingu Sanctuary, where the zoo is coordinating a collaborative effort that’s aiming to move up to 10 zoo-born mountain bongos, through the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP), to boost their genetic diversity.

Experts say these innovative strategies, collaborative efforts with key partners including the Kenya Wildlife Service, Bongo Surveillance Project, Uganda Wildlife Authority, Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy, and the IUCN Antelope Specialist Group, and leadership in coordinating the Mountain Bongo EEP, are all crucial for ensuring these unique species have a future in Africa.