DHL Flies 17 Endangered Mountain Bongo Antelopes to Kenya
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DHL Express transported 17 endangered mountain bongo antelopes from Florida to a conservation site in Kenya, the company announced in the spring.
The mountain bongo antelopes were transported from the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation in Loxahatchee to a sanctuary on the slopes of Mount Kenya run by the Meru Bongo and Rhino Conservation Trust. DHL was tasked with the effort as part of a partnership with the African conservation charity Tusk.
“We are so proud to be able to leverage the power and expertise of our global network to assist in transporting these critically endangered bongo antelopes to their new sanctuary in Kenya,” DHL Express Europe CEO Mike Parra said. “The logistics of moves such as this are incredibly complex, with the welfare of the animals being everyone’s top priority. A huge thank you to our partners at Tusk, the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, and everyone involved in making this important conservation mission a success."
Mountain bongos are on the verge of extinction, with fewer than 100 left in the wild due to poaching, forest degradation and habitat fragmentation. The conservation effort aims to help them breed so that their offspring can be reintroduced into Mount Kenya’s forest ecosystem. DHL used specialist logistics services to provide air transfer for the bongos. They were transported in custom-built crates alongside 6 tons of pelleted feed and three animal care specialists.
DHL's aircraft carried the antelopes 7,146 nautical miles directly from Palm Beach International Airport to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Kenya, according to the company. (Peter Ndung’u for Lewa Wildlife Conservancy)
“There is simply no higher calling for humanity than to protect what remains of nature,” RSCF founder Paul Reillo said. “The mountain bongo’s story of decline and recovery has been entirely on our watch, and the species’ future lies with all of us.”
After transport, the bongos were released into a 20-acre sanctuary by the Kenya Forest Service. The sanctuary plays a critical role in the national recovery plan and is key to the ongoing success of the project.
“We are hugely grateful to our global partner DHL Express for their generous support in transporting the bongos — yet another key milestone in the partnership between our organizations,” Tusk founder Charlie Mayhew said.
DHL Supply Chain ranks No. 13 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest logistics companies in North America. DHL Group ranks No. 5 on the TT Top 50 global freight companies list.
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