Uganda Safari News, Gorilla Tours Info

Following the increased loss of Elephants in Murchison falls national park and Queen Elizabeth National park this year, conservationists have expressed worry. This is as a result of the people who kill the elephants for Ivory and meat.
Uganda wildlife officials said that they are trying everything possible to avert the activity, but they are still facing challenges. The said that they have collaborated with the police, army and other security agencies on top of their own guards to ensure that there is no more poaching, but they still find the elephants killed.
Uganda earns a lot from tourism sector with most tourists coming for wildlife safaris and gorilla tracking tours among others. Part of the proceeds is given to the communities around the Uganda national parks as a way of encouraging them to conserve and protect animals in the parks.

The president of Uganda Safari guides association has revealed that they are training the Ugandan guides to match the international standards, which will enable them compete in East Africa community.
Mr. Herbert Byaruhanda said that the guides need to be trained to be able to compete favourably in the East African community which is about to start, so that they are able to traverse the whole region.
Uganda is one of the leading tourist destination country in East Africa and has been ranked first in the world, according to Lonely planet survey. There are many national parks and fascinating sights. The country is favourable for wildlife safaris, Gorilla tracking tour, Mountaineering, birding tours among others.
There are many bird species in Uganda with a highest concentration in Queen Elizabeth National park and much wildlife concentration in Murchison Falls national park. Half of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas are found in Bwindi impenetrable national park and Mgahinga national park, both parks of which are situated in Uganda.

Wildlife experts have dismissed discovery of a white elephant species in Queen Elizabeth National park as not true. The experts say that the tourists could have seen the elephants after having smeared themselves with soil, making them white-grey, and mistook them as a white species.
Last week, a group of tourists and the park rangers spotted white elephant species in Ishasha sector in Queen Elizabeth National park, and were excited that that species, which is commonly found in Asia, has been discovered in Queen Elizabeth National park.
Most Uganda national parks contain the elephants, with the exception of Lake Mburo National park. Bwindi impenetrable National park and Kibale national park which are famous for Gorilla Tracking and Chimpanzee Tracking respectively contain forest elephants which are smaller in size than the elephants in Murchison falls National Park, Kidepo National park and other parks.

Bujagali falls in Jinja on River Nile was last weekend diverted into the new dam, bringing an end to the adventure that has been taking place there for the last years. Tourists used to like the place, and was a leading tourist destination centre together with the source of the Nile. Tourists could enjoy white water rafting and site seeing as the water roars down through the rocks.
However, not all hope is lost, as the Uganda tour operators who have been managing white water rafting shifted south to another part of the River, and white water rafting will still go on.
Uganda has many tourist destination centers, with many national parks for wildlife safaris, famous ones being Murchison falls national park, Queen Elizabeth National park, Kibale national park, famous for Chimpanzee Tracking and Bwindi impenetrable national park, famous for Mountain Gorilla Tracking.

Elephants from Murchison falls national park went on rampage, destroying people’s crops and houses. Over a hundred people in Nwoya district in Northern Uganda have been forced back into IDP camps after elephants that escaped from Murchison falls national park destroyed their crops and ransacked their houses, killing one person in the process.
The residents are now calling on the Uganda wildlife authority to control the animals and force them into the parks, or else, they will apply their traditional way and kill the animals with spears and traps. This is not the first time animals are escaping from the Uganda national parks. In Queen Elizabeth National park for example, the elephants escaped and destroyed a lot of crops in people’s gardens.

Tourists have reduced their quest to visit Mt.Elgon National park due to fear that they could be affected by the mudslides that have ravaged the area since the start of the rains in July.
According to the park headquarters statistics, there has been a reduction in the number of tourists visiting the park this season, despite the fact that August and September are busy seasons. There have also been some cancellations of the tourists who had booked to visit the park.
There have been mudslides in the area, though the Mt.Elgon National park area is not affected. The tourists however fear that they may be trapped there, a thing that they read from the media. Tourists going to Mt. Elgon national park go for Mountaineering tour, Wildlife tour, and sightseeing tour for example the Sipi falls, the caves.

Uganda wildlife authority has promised to fence all Uganda national parks to avoid animals from escaping to destroy neighbors’ crops and livestock. This follow the residents of Kiruhura petition to the president urging him to help control animals from Lake Mburo National Park which have continued destroying their crops and livestock.

Most Uganda national parks continue to be a problem to the neighbors with animals escaping to destroy their livelihood. Uganda has ten national parks with the mainly visited parks being Queen Elizabeth national park, Bwindi impenetrable national park which is famous for Mountain Gorilla Tracking, Murchison falls national park and Kidepo national park.

According to the UWA official, they are going to fence the parks and relocate some of the animals to the other parks to reduce on the increased population of animals in some of the parks, which she said is the cause they escape from the park in search for more food.

Residents of Kihiihi speared to death a lion which has been terrorizing them for a long time.

The lion is said to have escaped from Queen Elizabeth National Park. The residents said they had taken a complaint to Uganda Wildlife Authority to help them about the lion which was killing and eating their animals like goats, sheep, cows, but UWA was taking no action.

According to the Queen Elizabeth National Park wardens, they tried to drive the lion back in the pack, but it turned violent and the residents speared it to death.

Loss of animals in the national parks continues to be a major problem to the tourism industry. Last month, a Mountain Gorilla from Bwindi impenetrable national park which is also near the same area was killed by poachers. Mountain Gorillas generate much revenue through sell of Gorilla Tracking permits.

Lions from Queen Elizabeth National Park, one of the most visited national parks for wildlife tours tend to escape from the park and terrorize neighboring locals. Last year, lions were driven back to the park by wardens back into the park.

Police rescued a tourist who had gotten lost in Kibale National Park. A group of 15 tourists were residing in Primates Lodge in Kibale National park, but one of them decided to take a Nature Walk alone without others, but could not find her way back to the Lodge. On realizing she was missing, the Hotel management called in police who came with sniffer dogs, and mounted the search in the Jungle. The lady tourist from Australia could not be found on the first day, but was only found on the following day morning shivering. She was so appreciative of the police and the country, for the concern and care they showed. This happened after she was left by the colleagues in the Lodge as they went for Birding in the forest because she was not feeling well enough to move with the group. She decided to move alone, where she got lost in the jungle. It is always advisable for the visitors not to take the walks in the forest without the guidance of the forest guide. Kibale Forest National park is a home for over 13 primate species, and most tourists go there for Chimpanzee Tracking and Birding Tours. The park adjoins Queen Elizabeth National Park which is famous for Wildlife tours, with a variety of game.

Uganda Tour Operators under their association (AUTO) have called for the streamlining of the Tourism ministry into a functional sector.

This was due to the irregularities with in the ministry and the challenges faced. The Tour Operators noted that little is being done by the ministry to improve the image of Tourism in Uganda which has affected the inflow of tourists in the country.

Among the things that are needed to be done, is the improvement of the roads in the national parks, marketing of the Tourism industry to the outside world.

The Uganda Wildlife Authority is currently under probe for mismanagement of World Bank funds that were meant to improve the infrastructure of protected areas.

Uganda has many tourist destination sites, with ten wildlife parks and gifted by rare Mountain Gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable national park and Mgahinga national park, which earn a lot of income through sale of Gorilla Tracking Permits. Other parks include Queen Elizabeth National Park, Murchison Falls National Park, Kidepo National Park among others