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Fast Facts:

The bongo's scientific name, Tragelaphus euryceros, is derived from the Greek language and means "goat deer with wide-spreading horns"
Bongos have manes that run from their shoulders down their backs
Bongos have large ears and a good sense of hearing.

Eastern Bongo

Scientific Name	Tragelaphus euryceros isaaci
Classification	Phylum Chordata, Class Mammalia, Order Artiodactyla, Family Bovidae; Subfamily Tragelaphinae (or Tribe Tragelaphini)
Status	The eastern bongo is listed as endangered by the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature). The western subspecies of bongo is listed as "lower risk" for extinction.
Range	Bongo are found throughout African, including Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, southern Sudan, Central African Republic and isolated populations in Kenya.
Habitat	Forested areas.
Diet	The bongo is a browser and eats a wide variety of plants. The animal also occasionally will eat soil and charcoal from burned trees, presumably to obtain minerals.
Size	Height: 42-50 inches at the shoulder Weight: Males range from 520 to 650 pounds. Females range from 350 to 500 pounds.
Lifespan
Location
Print Fact Sheet	Bongo

Conservation

The Eastern or Mountain Bongo is classified Endangered due to deforestation and poaching. Its survival in the wild is dependent on more effective protection of the remaining populations in Kenya. If this does not occur, it will eventually become extinct in the wild.

The existence of a healthy captive population of this subspecies offers the potential for its reintroduction into protected areas of Africa. At some facilities, fertilized embryos are implanted successfully into Elands. The total number of Eastern Bongos held in captivity in North America alone may already exceed the total number remaining in the wild.

Special Features

The bongo's body shape reflects its habitat: it is well-suited to searching for food in densely wooded areas. Its convex back peaks at a point in the lumbar region allowing it to move around with its nose close to the ground and horns tilted over its back. This wedge-like shape makes it easier for the bongo to move through thick forests that are nearly impenetrable by humans.
Bongos are chestnut-colored and males tend to be darker than females.
Bongos have 12-14 thin, cream-colored stripes on their sides. The stripes help camouflage the bongos.
Other body markings add to the bongo's striking appearance: a large white crescent across the chest, cream-colored cheek patches, white edging along the ears, a large "chevron" on the nose and black and white bands on the legs.

Social Structure & Behavior

Bongos are actively mainly at night. Bongos are gregarious. Group sizes ranging from 2-50 animals have been reported. Bongos seem to be non-territorial. The main predators of bongos are leopards and spotted hyenas.

The bongo reaches sexual maturity at approximately 20 months. The female’s estrous cycle is 21 to 22 days, with estrus lasting three days. Once fertilization has occurred, gestation is 9 months, and a female usually gives birth to one offspring. The average weight at birth is 44 pounds. It still is not known the exact age when a young bongo is weaned from his or her mother.