Uganda Wildlife

Wildlife should be your number one among the reasons to visit and travel to Uganda. Uganda is richly gifted by of amazing wildlife, from the unique bird species, big five, to endangered animals like mountain gorillas, other rare primates among other animals such as Hippos, Buffaloes, elands, Kobs, Waterbucks, giraffes, sitatungas, Zebras, Hogs, Bushbacks, and many more.

Primates;

Primates in Uganda are widely spread with 13 diurnal species, six of which are guenon monkeys, and 6 nocturnal species. Some of them include;

VERVET MONKEY: This has a black face with very distinctive blue male.

DE BRAZZA’S MOKEY: This has a hairy face with a reddish-brown patch around its eyes, white band across its brow, white moustache and beard with a relatively short tail. It is likely to be seen around Mount Elgon and Semliki national parks.

BLUE MONKEYS: These are uniform dark blue-Grey in colour, white throat and chest patch with thick fur and backward-projecting hair on its forehead.

L’HOEST’S MONKEY: This is hard to see basically because of its preference to very dense forests such as Maramagambo, Kibale and Bwindi forests. The L’hoest has a black face with backward projecting white whiskers partially covering its ears and carries its tail in an upright position.

RED-TAILED MONKEY: These monkeys have a brownish color, white whiskers, and a coppery tail with a heart-shaped patch on the nose. They usually move in small pairs, associate with other monkeys and can accumulate in-groups of up to 200.

RED COLOBUS: These are largely restricted to Kibale Forest National Park especially around Bigodi Wetland sanctuary and a few of them in Semliki National Park. They have a slightly tufted crown and usually live in scattered groups of 50 or more animals.

BLACK-AND-WHITE COLOBUS: This is the most common and widely spread forest monkey in Uganda wildlife. It is beautifully marked with a black body, white facial markings and a long white tail. It lives in small groups, but most spectacular about it is its high jumping skills and the attractive view of its white tail streaming behind.

PATAS MONKEY: This is restricted to the dry savannah in Kidepo and Murchison falls National Parks. It has a light reddish brown coat and a black stripe above the eyes but could easily be confused with Vervet monkey.

BABOONS: These are widely spread and very common in Uganda with the olive baboon as the only type found in Uganda. They appear in forest reserves and are larger in size with a dog-like head with males moving frequently in large troops in search for social dominance. Generally, baboons have a rigid social structure

MOUNTAIN GORILLA: Among the identified 3 sub- species of gorillas, the western lowland gorilla, the eastern lowland gorilla and the mountain Gorillas, Uganda only has the latter. These reside in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and Mgahinga Gorilla National Parks. They the bulkiest member of the Primate family and the third closest cousins to humans in the ape family after the chimpanzee and bonobos. Mountain gorillas grow up to 1.8m high and weigh up to 210kgs.

CHIMPANZEE: Also referred to as common chimpanzee. It is a black-coated ape that is amongst the most intelligent animals and closely related to man. They are typical rain forest and woodland animals living in most of the forests of western Uganda and have been habituated for tourists in Budongo and Kanyiyo Pabidi forests, Kibale Forest National and the Chambura Gorge in Queen Elizabeth National Park.

POTTO: This is a medium-sized sloth-like creature that spends the nights foraging upside down from tree branches and usually located at night by use of a flashlight. The potto is a nocturnal primate that can be seen in Kibale forest during night guided walks. They can also be seen in other major rain forests including Bwindi and Queen Elizabeth National Parks.

BUSHBABIES/ GALAGOES: The bush baby has a piercing cry that can be heard especially at night. Tracing the cry, you can see it by the use of a flashlight meeting its sparkling large eyes.

Five bush baby species are found in Uganda Wildlife with the lesser bush baby as the most common in all Uganda’s Savannah reserves. In Kibale and Bwindi forests species identified are; the eastern needled-clawed bush baby, Thomas bush baby and the Dwarf bush baby, they also appear in Lake Mburo and Queen Elizabeth National Parks.