Kenya has received 17 mountain bongos – a very rare type of antelope – from a conservation centre in the United States.
The antelopes are third-generation descendants of mountain bongos taken from Kenya in the 1960s.
The return of the critically endangered animals, from the Rare Species Conservation Foundation in Florida, was hailed as a “monumental step” in Kenya’s conservation efforts.
Tourism Minister Rebecca Miano described the arrival of the bongos at the country’s main airport on Sunday night as “emotional and so cool”, and a benefit for Kenya’s tourism and conservation sectors.
The animals were taken to wildlife sanctuaries in Meru county near Mount Kenya, where they will be nurtured before they are gradually introduced to their natural habitat.
The first repatriation to Kenya was in 2004 when 18 mountain bongos were flown into the country.
KWS director-general Erastus Kanga said Kenya was expecting another batch of the mountain bongos from zoos in Europe in the next three months.
From captivity, the bongos have to go through a series of adaptation phases for them to build the immunity needed to survive in the wild.