Disney to the rescue of nature
2004-01-29 08:00
St. Louis, Missouri - The St Louis Zoo is sending two mountain bongo antelope to a wildlife preserve in Kenya as part of an effort to help restore the rare breed's population in the wild, zoo officials said.
The bongos are so rare they have not been seen in their natural habitat on Mount Kenya in almost a decade, wildlife officials said.
The zoo's two bongos will be in a group of 18 captive-bred bongos being flown to Kenya from 12 other zoos, including Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom, and conservation groups.
The antelope will breed in the protected environment of the Mount Kenya Game Ranch.
"The idea is that offspring would be candidates for reintroduction into the wild," said Sharon Joseph, curator of mammals at Disney's Animal Kingdom.
- AP