Endangered antelopes flown to Kenya from Czech zoo in 'historic homecoming'

Endangered antelopes flown to Kenya from Czech zoo in 'historic homecoming'24 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleKWS/XThe mountain bongos sent from the Czech Republic are expected to help strengthen the genetic diversity of the animals in the wildFour mountain bongos, a rare type of antelope native to Kenya's highland forests, have arrived in Kenya after being sent from a zoo in the Czech Republic.The male antelopes arrived in the country on Tuesday night and were welcomed at Nairobi's main airport by Kenya's foreign and tourism ministers, along with other officials. They have since been moved to a private wildlife reserve in central Kenya.The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) hailed the "historic homecoming" of the antelopes as a "meaningful step" to their recovery in the wild.From about 500 in the 1970s, less than 100 are estimated to remain in the wild – fewer than live in zoos around the world, according to KWS.KWS director-general Erustus Kanga described Tuesday's arrival of the bongos as a "moment of hope, responsibility, and renewed commitment to securing the future of one of the world's rarest large mammals".KWS noted that the four male bongos would "play an important role in strengthening the gene pool" of the endangered animals by breeding with the existing population of 102 mountain bongos at the Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy (MKWC).The mountain bongo is a large, chestnut-red antelope with narrow white vertical stripes and long spiral horns.The KWS and conservation partners have been working to breed the animals and introduce them into the wild in a bid to restore the populations.Watch: On the trail of rare Kenyan antelopeLast year, about 17 mountain bongos were repatriated from the Rare Species Conservation Foundation in Florida. The first repatriation to Kenya was in 2004 when 18 mountain bongos were flown into the country.According to the foundation, about 400 mountain...