Hunting Africa plains game: The Bongo

The bongo (Tragelaphus eurycerus) is the largest and heaviest African forest antelope worldwide.  Africa plains game hunting for bongos is undertaken in Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, Congo–Brazzaville, and the Central African Republic. There are two sub-species of bongo, namely the western or lowland bongo (Tragelaphus eurycerus eurycerus) and the eastern or mountain bongo (Tragelaphus eurycerus isaaci). The eastern bongo is listed as “critically endangered” by the IUCN and it is illegal to hunt them, while the western bongo is hunted in the four previously mentioned countries. The western bongo’s IUCN status is that of near threatened. 

Bongos are native to the lowland rainforests of West Africa and the Congo Basin to the Central African Republic and southern Sudan. Their habitat consists of rainforests with dense undergrowth, spread across tropical Africa. 

They are shy, secretive, and silent animals that are most active between dusk and dawn. The male of the species is mostly solitary, while females and their offspring live in groups of approximately 20 animals. Males and females typically only come together to breed. Their mating season stretches from October through to January, with the peak birthing period being June to August, after a nine-month gestation period. Females give birth to one calf in thick, dense bush that aids her in hiding her offspring from predators. The horns are visible on the young bongo from 3-4 months with weaning being completed by six months.

Bongos are herbivorous browsers, consuming a variety of foods such as leaves, bushes, vines, bark, grasses, roots, cereals, shrubs, flowers, and fruits. Bongos can be quite timid and tend to vocalize through a series of grunts, snorts, and bleats.

The bongo is facing several threats to its survival, amongst others the increase of the human population, and their natural habitat decreasing through deforestation, poaching, and disease. Additionally, they are preyed upon by a range of predators including lions, hyenas, and leopards. Humans target bongo on game hunting safaris where they are hunted for both meat and as a big game hunting trophy.