bongo

bongo , spiral-horned antelope , Boocercus eurycerus, found in jungles and thick bamboo forests of equatorial Africa. Shy, elusive animals, bongos never emerge into the open and are seldom seen; they browse singly or in small groups. They are fairly large, heavy-bodied antelopes, with males standing 4 ft (120 cm) at the shoulder. Both sexes have horns; in the male these are up to 3 ft (90 cm) long. The body is rich chestnut brown with narrow white stripes running across the back and down the sides, a pattern that provides excellent camouflage in dense thickets. Bongos have been much prized as trophies by big-game hunters. They are classified in the phylum Chordata , subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Artiodactyla, family Bovidae.

bon·go¹ / ˈbänggō; ˈbông-/ (also bongo drum) • n. (pl. -gos or -goes) either of a pair of small, long-bodied drums typically held between the knees and played with the fingers.

bongos