Elusive lowland bongo caught on camera in Uganda for first time

Species not thought to live in country found in comprehensive study of Semuliki National Park

The elusive bongo had never been sighted in Uganda before the study (Chester Zoo)

A rare antelope has been caught film in Uganda for the first time after not having previously thought to inhabit the country.

Scientists were able to photograph the lowland bongo on motion-sensing cameras which they set up in Semuliki National Park on the country’s border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

Conservationists from Chester Zoo captured more than 18,000 images of wildlife during the project at the rainforest, the first ever survey of animal life in the park’s history.

More than 30 different species were found living alongside the bongo, which has near threatened conservation status.

Populations of the bongo are known to inhabit areas of Kenya, the DRC, the Central African Republic and parts of western Africa.

However, the study, conducted by the zoo alongside the Uganda Wildlife Authority, was the first time the species had been s observed by scientists in Uganda.

“We were amazed that such a large, striking animal could go undetected for so long, but bongo are a notoriously shy and elusive species,” Stuart Nixon of Chester Zoo's Africa Field Programme told the BBC.

“It could be that bongo and other species are moving between Virunga National Park in DRC and Uganda, showing just how important it is to protect the rainforests, which still connect the two countries.“