Le bongo (Tragelaphus eurycerus) est une antilope discrète qui vit dans les forêts d'Afrique centrale. Il a une robe brun-roux, des rayures verticales blanches sur le torse et l'intérieur des pattes, de grandes oreilles et un V jaune sous les yeux. Ses grandes cornes verticales en spirale sont sa principale caractéristique. Bien que les mâles et les femelles soient de même taille (entre 1,10 m et 1,30 m au garrot et entre 2,15 m et 3,15 m de long), le mâle est beaucoup plus lourd, avec 310 kg en moyenne, contre 190 kg pour la femelle.
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.