The bongo (or Tragelaphus erycerus) is a secretive, forest-dwelling antelope that lives in the woodlands of Central Africa. They have a tan-to-red coloured coat, white vertical stripes on their torso and pale inner legs, large ears, and a yellow chevron under their eyes. Their main distinguishing features are their large, spiraling, vertical horns. While males and females are a similar size – between 1.1 and 1.3m tall at the shoulder, and 2.15 and 3.15m long – the males are much heavier, averaging 310kg compared to a female’s 190kg.
Latin Name
Tragelaphus erycerus
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bongo
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Animal Facts
Although the bongo's horns are used for fighting (especially by males), they are more often used for clearing branches and scrub out of the way while they are foraging in dense woodland.
Bongos are 'crepuscular' animals; they are most active at dusk and dawn.
For the first week of a newborn bongo calf's life, it remains hidden silently in the undergrowth and its mother will return to it often to feed it.
There is a small group of Bongos that live in the mountains of Kenya. These are a subspecies of bongo called the 'mountain bongo' and have been long isolated from the forest population.
Bongos are known to eat charcoal from burned trees after lightning strikes and forest fires. It is believed they use this as a source of salt and minerals.