Editing Bongo (antelope) (section)

==Social organization and behavior==
[[Image:Mountain bongo mount kenya.jpg|thumb|left|This female eastern bongo presents her hindquarters while looking over her shoulder to check for threats at Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy.]]
Like other forest [[ungulates]], bongos are seldom seen in large groups. Males, called bulls, tend to be solitary, while females with young live in groups of six to eight. Bongos have seldom been seen in herds of more than 20. [[Gestation]] is about 285&nbsp;days (9.5&nbsp;months), with one young per birth, and [[weaning]] occurs at six months. [[Sexual maturity]] is reached at 24–27&nbsp;months. The preferred habitat of this species is so dense and difficult to operate in, that few Europeans or Americans observed this species until the 1960s.<!-- conflict - zoo? Current living animals derive solely from Kenyan importations made during 1969–1978.<ref>Kingdon, Jonathan (1982) ''East African Mammals'' Vol. IIIC. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.</ref>-->
As young males mature and leave their maternal groups, they most often remain solitary, although rarely they join an older male. Adult males of similar size/age tend to avoid one another. Occasionally, they meet and spar with their horns in a ritualised manner and it is rare for serious fights to take place. However, such fights are usually discouraged by visual displays, in which the males bulge their necks, roll their eyes, and hold their horns in a vertical position while slowly pacing back and forth in front of the other male. They seek out females only during mating time.<ref>Estes, Richard D. (1991) ''The Behavior Guide to African Mammals: Including Hoofed Mammals, Carnivores, Primates''. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.</ref> When they are with a herd of females, males do not coerce them or try to restrict their movements as do some other antelopes.

Although mostly [[nocturnal]], they are occasionally active during the day. However, like deer, bongos may exhibit [[crepuscular]] behaviour.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Eastern bongo|url=https://www.zoobarcelona.cat/en/animals/eastern-bongo|access-date=2020-09-02|website=www.zoobarcelona.cat|language=en}}</ref> Bongos are both timid and easily frightened; after a scare, a bongo moves away at considerable speed, even through dense undergrowth. Once they find cover, they stay alert and face away from the disturbance, but peek every now and then to check the situation.<ref name=Spinage/> The bongo's hindquarters are less conspicuous than the forequarters, and from this position the animal can quickly flee.

When in distress, the bongo emits a [[bleat]]. It uses a limited number of vocalisations, mostly grunts and snorts; females have a weak mooing contact-call for their young. Females prefer to use traditional [[Birth|calving]] grounds restricted to certain areas, while newborn calves lie in hiding for a week or more, receiving short visits by the mother to [[Breastfeeding|suckle]].<ref>Estes, Richard (1993) ''The Safari Companion''. Vermont: Chelsea Green Publishing Co.</ref>

The calves grow rapidly and can soon accompany their mothers in the nursery herds. Their horns grow rapidly and begin to show in 3.5 months. They are weaned after six months and reach sexual maturity at about 20 months.