NYERI, Kenya Sept 17 – The Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy (MKWC), in partnership with the KPC Foundation, on 16 September 2025 flagged off the 4th annual “Trek for the Bongo”—a four-day ascent to Lenana Peak aimed at raising awareness and funds for the conservation of the Mountain Bongo, a Kenyan endemic now listed as Critically Endangered with fewer than 100 individuals left in the wild.
Themed “Save the Mountain Bongo,” this year’s trek blends high-altitude challenge with conservation impact, with 14 hikers attempting the summit to rally public and corporate support for MKWC’s breeding and rewilding programme. The team departed from the Naro Moru Gate of Mount Kenya National Park.
Speaking at the flag-off, Dr Robert Aruho, Head of the Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy, said sustained threats had devastated the species.
“The reduction in Bongo numbers has been driven by poaching and disease, and since 2004 we have worked to restore the population. This hike builds visibility for the Mountain Bongo and strengthens its conservation.”
Rachael Gathoni, KPC Foundation Manager, praised the climbers and called for wider support across the private and public sectors.
“This is an urgent intervention to protect the Mountain Bongo. In partnership with MKWC, the KPC Foundation is investing in re-breeding and rewilding, habitat restoration, and community engagement.”
The Foundation has committed KSh5 million to kick-start activities, with participants pledging at least KSh100,000 each. The wider campaign seeks to mobilise KSh100 million to scale veterinary care, ecological monitoring and the integration of technology in conservation.
The trek aligns with MKWC’s broader mission to inspire future generations through conservation education, habitat restoration and the care of orphaned wildlife. In 2022, in partnership with Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and Kenya Forest Service (KFS), MKWC established the world’s first dedicated Mountain Bongo refuge—the 776-acre Mawingu Mountain Bongo Sanctuary on Mount Kenya’s slopes—anchoring Kenya’s vision to re-breed and rewild up to 750 bongos by 2050.
The Mountain Bongo (Tragelaphus eurycerus)—rich chestnut coat with vertical stripes, striking facial markings and long, slightly spiralled horns in both sexes—once ranged widely across Mount Kenya, the Aberdares, the Mau and Mount Elgon. Today, the remaining wild population is largely confined to Mount Kenya and the Aberdares, where MKWC’s programme combines captive breeding, phased rewilding into secure habitat, targeted forest restoration and community-level livelihoods and awareness to reduce poaching and human-wildlife conflict.
