Physical Characteristics
The bongo, the largest and heaviest forest antelope has distinguished spiraled lyre-shaped horns in both males and females. The bongo have a bright chestnut color which becomes darker with age. Old males are almost black. The flat-sided body is highlighted with 12 to 14 narrow white stripes on the shoulders, flanks and hindquarters. A black and white crest of hair runs across the length of the spine with a white chevron appearing between the eyes. Two large white spots grace each cheek.

The bongo have large ears believed to heighten the sense of  hearing. The distinct coloration helps bongos identify one another in the dark forest habitat. Bongos do not have any special secretion glands and therefore do not rely on scent to find one another than other members of similar antelopes.
Both males and females have spiraled lyre-shaped horns resembling those of the related antelope species of nyalas, sitatungas, bushbucks, kudus and elands. Bongos have a hunched posture, with the head held up and the horns extended along the back.

Habitat
Bongos are naturally found in the rain forests with dense undergrowth. Specifically they are found in the Lowland Rain Forest of West Africa and the Congo Basin to the Central African Republic and Southern Sudan.
Habits/Behavior
When young males mature, they leave their maternal groups. Adult males of same age group try to avoid one another, but occasionally, when they will meet, spar with their horns in a ritual kind of manner. Sometimes serious fights take place, but the fights are usually discouraged by visual displays, which involve  bulge of neck muscle by the males, rolling of eyes and holding their horns in a vertical position while slowly pacing back and forth in front of the other male. Younger mature males most often stay alone, but sometimes join up with an older male. The male bongo seek out females only at mating time. when they are with a herd of females, the males do not show any form of aggression as do some other antelopes.
Bongos are mostly nocturnal, but are occasionally active during the day. They are timid and easily frightened. They will move away when scared, running at high speed, even through dense forest undergrowth. They seek cover, where they stand very still and alert, facing away from the disturbance and turning their heads from time to time to check on the situation. Because the bongo's hindquarters are less conspicuous than the forequarters, they face away from the scare so that they are less conspicuous. In this position the animal can quickly flee.
When faced with a distressful situation the bongo bleat. It uses a limited number of vocalizations, mostly grunts and snorts. The females use a weak, mooing call to contact  their young.

Females prefer to use traditional calving grounds restricted to certain areas within the forest. The newborn calf lies out in hiding for a week or more, receiving short visits by the mother to suckle it. The calves grow rapidly and within a short time accompany their mothers in the nursery herds. Their horns also grow rapidly and begin to show in three and a half months.
Diet
Bongos are mostly nocturnal and come out to browse at night. Their diet consists mainly of leaves and grass. Male bongos are solitary. Females and the young form nursery herds.
Predators and Threats to Bongos
Bongos are very susceptible to disease such as rinderpest. In the 1890s rinderpest almost exterminated the entire specie. Various predators also pose a threat, with the young vulnerable to pythons, leopards and hyenas. Lions have also been reported to kill bongos. Today the most serious threats to Bongos are people living near forests, who often hunt them using dogs and traps.
Large-scale and continuous hunting has posed a great threat to bongo population and in some areas they are almost eliminated. Dense human habitations near all the known East African bongo refuges, call for  special efforts in protecting this beautiful antelope.