Eight rare mountain bongo antelopes bound for Kenya were stranded on a broken-down cargo plane, but research Professor Paul Reillo stepped in to save them.
Reillo is the founder of the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation in Loxahatchee, where the animals were born and raised.
According to the Miami Herald, the flight was scheduled to take the five female and three male bongos from Florida to their new home in Kenya on the night of February 7, 2026, in a bid to save them from extinction. But a mechanical problem forced the pilot to stop on the runway at Palm Beach International Airport.
By midnight, the situation had become critical. After four hours of inspections, SkyTaxi operators realised the plane couldn’t fly.
The sedated animals had already been in transport crates for over 12 hours, and it was clear they wouldn’t be leaving for at least another day.
“Any significant delay or flight cancellation becomes a matter of life or death for the animals,” Reillo said in a press release.
Once the flight was officially cancelled, Reillo and operations manager Matt Morris quickly put together a plan to rescue the antelopes.
Early on Sunday, February 8, Reillo and a driver arrived at the plane. They found the cargo area hot and stuffy, with no power and the door shut, despite promises from operators to keep it open for fresh air.
“The cargo area was hot and stuffy,” Reillo said.
After 14 hours in the crates, the bongos were exhausted and stressed. “One female was in very bad shape, but we managed to treat her and get her on her feet and out with the others,” Reillo said.
All eight animals were safely returned to their pens at the foundation.
Reillo told the outlet, “We were able to offload the [animals] onto the flatbed truck, get the truck back to our facility and turn those animals out, all within two and a half hours, which I think is an absolute record.”