February 2, 2008

Mountain Bongo

Mountain Bongos have beautiful reddish brown coat which has long thin white striped that offer it good camouflage in the forests in which they live.

They are one of the largest antelopes with males weighing between five hundred and nine hundred pounds and females weighing about half that.

Both males and females have extremely long spiraling horns but the males are a bit longer and thicker.

Mountain bongo

Mountain bongos are extremely shy.

The males tend to live alone and avoid all other males, and in fact only seek out females during the breeding seasons.

The females will group together for security and form small herds with their offspring.

Since they live in areas of very thick vegetation, they have adapted to it in a unique way.

The Bongo runs with its chin lifted high in the air so that their super long horns will lie flat against their backs, preventing them from getting caught in tree branches or bushes.

Mountain Bongos are not endangered or threatened, but the law does limit their exportation. They are threatened by habitat loss for agriculture, uncontrolled timber cutting, and poaching for meat.