Back from extinction.

It was a dream come true. In January, 18 rare mountain antelope leaped from their shipping containers onto the highlands of Mount Kenya after a long flight from the United States. The animals' arrival in Kenya was the climax of a 35-year effort to save the species from extinction and return them to their natural habitat.

The mountain bongo is the most rare and beautiful of all African antelope--with reddish-brown fur, white stripes, and spiraling horns. Herds of the shy bongo once roamed the slopes of Mount Kenya.

The bongo was also prized by hunters. One of those hunters was an American named Don Hunt, who saw that the bongo population was fast shrinking. So he captured 20 wild bongo and sent them to zoos in the U.S. for breeding. Today, there are more than 400 bongo in the U.S.

The 18 bongo that returned to Kenya are descendants of the antelope that Hunt captured. "Today was the greatest day of my life," said Hunt. "We've been dreaming of this for 35 years, and it went off without a hitch."

The bongo from the U.S. were raised in captivity, so they must live on a protected game ranch. But their offspring will be let loose to roam the forested slopes of Mount Kenya.