Why the return of 8 critically endangered bongos was aborted

Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) personnel release Malewa one of the two Mountain Bongo's at the 776-acre MKWC during their rewilding process, May 7, 2024.  [Mose Sammy, Standard]

A chartered Boeing, which was slated to carry eight critically endangered Mountain bongo antelopes from South Florida to Kenya, aborted its departure after it developed mechanical challenges, thwarting this year's repatriation mission.

The animals were being brought into Kenya as part of the decades-long international conservation efforts to rescue the species from extinction.

In a statement, the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation (RSCF), a non-profit organisation that has been sheltering the animals at its facility in Loxahatchee, Florida, confirmed that the eight bongos were loaded onto a charter flight bound for Kenya on February 7.

 “Then, while taxiing for departure, the flight was aborted,” RSCF noted.

The organisation added that, “What followed were 14 tense hours on the tarmac, an emergency response effort by Rare Species Conservatory Foundation staff, and difficult decisions that tested every safeguard built into this program.”

Mountain bongos are critically endangered and are only found in Kenya. There are estimated to be fewer than 100 mountain bongos left in the wild. They live in high-altitude montane forests, such as those on Mount Kenya, the Aberdare Mountains, and the Mau Forest.

The mountain bongos were taken to Florida primarily to serve as a genetic safety net for the species in the 160s and early 1970s. Their presence there is the result of a decades-long conservation strategy designed to prevent the total extinction of the species in the wild.

For decades, efforts have been put in place to return the mountain bongos to their ancestral home in the mountain forests of Kenya.

The eight bongos were supposed to join 17 others that made the journey from Florida to Kenya in February last year on a flight sponsored by DHL. Together, the animals are part of a recovery program aimed at restoring the species to its ancestral forests on Mount Kenya.

According to the information shared by the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation (RSCF), the aviation failure was a combination of a mechanical issue and a series of critical logistical and communication breakdowns by the charter operator, Sky Taxi.

As per the timelines provided, the initial failure was reported to have occurred at 8:30 p.m. as the Boeing 767F was taxiing for take-off. A mechanical sensor tripped, indicating a technical issue that made the aircraft unsafe to fly. The Sky Taxi team spent four hours troubleshooting the aircraft before delivering the verdict by midnight that the plane was grounded and would not be flying.

By the time the mission was officially scrubbed at midnight, the animals had already been placed in crates and sedated for 12 hours, as the preparation process had begun long before the plane moved.

The failure extended to the business side of the operation as well, since the RSCF team reported that the mission cost $460,000 (59,317,000 Kenyan Shillings), which was paid to the broker, Air Charter Services.

Still, there was no secondary aircraft available to take over the mission once the primary plane was grounded, meaning the entire year’s effort was lost.

Because temperature and weather conditions in both Florida and Kenya must align for transport, the window to repatriate another group in 2026 has now closed.

The animals from the aborted flight cannot be prepared again for months because they require months to flush their systems and physically recover. Attempting another heavy sedation too soon carries an unacceptably high risk of organ failure or sudden death.

According to Dr. Paul Reillo, the director of the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation (RSCF), the condition of the animals upon extraction was a major concern due to the hot and stuffy environment inside the sealed aircraft. However, he reported that all animals were finally safe.

Glance Box

Last year, 17 critically endangered mountain bongo antelopes were repatriated from the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation (RSCF) in Florida to a sanctuary on the slopes of Mount Kenya, run by the Meru Bongo and Rhino Conservation.

The animals were to fly 7,146 nautical miles directly from Palm Beach International Airport (Florida) to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Kenya.