El Baby boom summer continues at BIOPARC Valencia and, on this occasion, the joy is even greater because it is great news for the conservation of biodiversity. One has been born eastern bongo breeding (Tragelaphus euryceros isaaci), a subspecies of African forest antelope found in an extreme situation of disappearing. This species is critically endangered according to the IUCN red list, that is, on the verge of extinction with less than 100 individuals in the wild.
The Eastern Bongo, the largest of the African forest antelopes, is estimated to be below the survival threshold in its habitat and BIOPARC Valencia successfully participates in a European conservation program to prevent its disappearance.
With this birth BIOPARC Valencia consolidates itself as a conservation center of this beautiful and threatened species, by housing the single breeding group that exists in Spain and have achieved successfully bred three times already. The “family” is made up of Kani, an 8-year-old male, Elewa, a 9-year-old female, Cherang'any, a male born in 2016, and the little female, barely a month old. In order to guarantee their well-being, acclimatization is being carried out in phases, in this sense, the group's departure to the outdoor enclosure alternates, in the mornings the adult male and the young one and in the afternoons the female and the calf.
Both mother and calf are in perfect condition and, after a few weeks under the careful supervision of the technical team, is now visible to visitors, since it has access to its outdoor area in the recreation of the jungles of Africa. They are found in a multispecies enclosure where they share habitat with other animals such as crowned cranes and duikers, who come curious to meet the new member.
BIOPARC wants to draw attention to the threat of many species that, without being so emblematic or well-known, are vital to maintaining the balance of ecosystems and the rich biodiversity of the planet.
El oriental bongo are included in the more than 40 European conservation programs (EEP) of threatened species in which BIOPARC Valencia participates and in this it is playing an important role, since it is avoid the extinction of the species with a sufficiently large and genetically viable group. This effort to preserve biodiversity is especially important in situations such as the one the bongo finds itself in, with a population that is estimated to be below the threshold for survival in its natural environment.
