African Bongo

If you associate bongos with bass drums, then you're in for a surprise. The bongo is a large African antelope, and Cleveland Metroparks Zoo now has a new male bongo (Tragelaphus eurycerus) born April 30, 1997. "Kelly" is on exhibit with his parents, "Maynard" and "Zelda", near the Zoo's Pachyderm Building.

Native to east Africa, bongos are chestnut red with white vertical stripes and black markings. Their horns spiral and may reach 3' in length. Predominantly nocturnal, the bongo depends more on its sense of hearing than on sight or smell. This relatively slow-moving antelope is short-winded. Their lack of stamina prohibits them from moving very far out of dense cover where they can hide and protect themselves from predators, such as leopards.

The Bongos will come to the Okavango Zoo at the Virginia Zoo in the Spring of 2002.