The Big 5 In Uganda

The Big 5 In Uganda and Where To Find Them

“The Big 5 animals” are known to be dangerous and the hardest to hunt among trophy hunters. Today, the Big 5 animals in Uganda originally include; Cape Buffalo, African Elephants, Lions, Leopards, and Rhinoceros. The most abundantly present in Uganda are the Elephants and Buffaloes. The other three of the big five are endangered and their population is declining overwhelmingly. However, with the conservation efforts recently, their numbers are increasing.

Several efforts have been taken with support from the Uganda Wildlife Authority. Others are in terms of donations from Good Wishers. There are also different stakeholders in the tours and travel industry who have also immensely helped in the conservation efforts. Besides the thrill of encountering the big five in Uganda, your visit makes a positive difference in the conservation of these endangered species.

Where To Find The Big 5 In Uganda

There are instances where the big five share habitats. In other instances, you might have to visit a particular place to encounter them. Here is a complete guide on where to find them.

Cape Buffalo

In Uganda, you can find forest buffaloes in Kibale National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. However, these ones are not very common to spot. They are the rarest to find. On the other hand, the cape buffaloes are some of the most abundantly present wildlife species in Uganda.

They can be found in Murchison Falls National Park, Lake Mburo National Park, Kidepo Valley National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, and several different wildlife reserves in Uganda

Lions

The lions are in all the savannah parks of Uganda. You find them in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Murchison Falls National Park, and Kidepo Valley National Park. They are also in other parks like Lake Mburo and Semuliki though they are fewer and harder to see. Queen Elizabeth National Park gives you a unique lion experience. The lions in this park have an adaptation of climbing acacia and fig trees. They use this characteristic to hide from the hot sun, eat their prey, and spot prey from a distance.

Leopard 

The leopard is a very rare animal to spot during your Uganda safari. However, you can find it in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Murchison Falls National Park, and Kidepo Valley National Park among others.

Because the leopard is a tree climber, it is very tempting to assume that you will easily see it in the tree branches. But its camouflage works in its favor making it relatively harder to spot. It’s also one of the shy cats, hence hiding on many occasions. In most cases, the services of a professional tour guide and a game ranger will be required to spot the leopards

African elephant

They are the largest land animals in the whole world. Elephants are found in 37 countries of Africa. There are two species of Elephants; the savannah and Forest elephants. Savannah elephants tend to be bigger and mostly move in large herds. And because they are big, they’re easy to spot.

In Uganda, the elephant is one of the easiest animals to find during your game drive. It is abundantly present in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Kidepo Valley National Park, and Murchison Falls National Park.

Southern White Rhinos

The Rhinos are some of the animals that had gone extinct in Uganda. However, due to conservation efforts through the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary and Uganda Wildlife Conservation Education Center, there are now two places in Uganda where you can find rhinos.

There are plans to reintroduce the rhinos back to the wild in the future. However, the responsible bodies have not yet communicated the timeline. Uganda Wildlife Authority with its partners is preparing the communities for the reintroduction of Rhinos through training and giving back to the communities annually.

To complete your Big Five experience in Uganda, you would have to visit either Uganda’s Wildlife Conservation Education Center in Entebbe (UWEC) or Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. At Ziwa, you can walk through the sanctuary to track the breeding rhinos. At UWEC, there is no need for tracking since the rhinos are fenced in a farm-like setting.

Therefore, the most recommended parks for the Big Five experience would be Queen Elizabeth National Park, Kidepo Valley National Park, and Murchison Falls National Park. However, all these only provide four of the big five and it is Murchison Falls National Park that is closest to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary.