Distribution and Habitat
Bongos are found in dense tropical jungles with dense undergrowth up to an altitude of 4,000 meters (12,800 ft) in Central Africa, with isolated populations in Kenya, and the following west African countries: -
Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya (the only place where the eastern bongo are found in the wild), Liberia, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo and Uganda (IUCN, 2002).
Historically, bongos occurred in three disjunct parts of Africa: East, Central and West. Today all three populations’ ranges have shrunk in size due to habitat loss for agriculture and uncontrolled timber cutting as well as hunting for meat.
Bongos favour disturbed forest mosaics that provide fresh, low-level green vegetation.
Such habitats may be promoted by heavy browsing by elephants, fires, flooding, tree-felling (natural or by logging) and fallowing. Mass bamboo die-off provides ideal habitat in East Africa.
Read more about this topic: Bongo (antelope)
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