When Paul Reillo learned the endangered mountain bongo antelopes that he had cared for since birth were stranded in a cargo plane on an airport tarmac ahead of their journey to a new home in Kenya, he took matters into his own hands.
At 8:30 p.m. on Feb. 7, 2026, a chartered Boeing 767F carrying eight critically endangered mountain bongo antelopes aborted its departure while taxiing at Palm Beach International Airport after the captain detected a mechanical issue. The animals were en route from South Florida to Kenya as part of a decades-long international effort to rescue the species from extinction.
The animals were born and bred under the care of Rare Species Conservatory Foundation, which is based in Loxahatchee and was founded by Reillo.
After four hours of diagnostics, the aircraft operator, SkyTaxi, determined the plane could not fly. By then, it was after midnight. The bongos — five females and three males — had already been tranquilized and crated for more than 12 hours with no possibility of departure for at least another day…