Uganda Safari News

According to the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), at least 27 hippos have been reported dead of a suspected anthrax outbreak in Queen Elizabeth National Park in the last two weeks. The disease is caused by a group of bacteria, the Bacillus anthracis. These bacteria besides being able to multiply several fold to reproduce new individuals in short periods of time, also take on inactive and resistant forms often referred to as spores. In the spore form, the bacteria can survive for decades, waiting for the right conditions and opportunity to return under various conditions such as digging up and exposing previously intact land and soil erosion.

UWA in collaboration with Government and other stakeholders have, in the past outbreaks, combined several control and preventative measures to deal with the disease. Besides the mass vaccinations of livestock in the area, they have immediately buried and sometimes burnt the carcasses, quarantined the affected areas and controlled the slaughter of animals.

Uganda being a landlocked country spanning the equator, it is one of the most beautiful countries of Africa, showing a wide variety of vista, traditions and rich wildlife regardless of its reserved area. The country receives tourists from Europe, Africa, Asia and other continents. What makes Uganda an Africa’s pleasantest country is not only the hospitable people but the composition of different national parks, wildlife reserves, adventure sports and eco-tourism projects

Queen Elizabeth National Park which is found in the western part of the country, is famous for its big game viewing. The park inhabits over 100 mammalian species, 606 bird species, and herds of elephants, hippos, and hog. Murchison Falls is the most impressive element of the Nile. The chasm is just 6m wide, crafting the falls the most influential surges of water body.

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is home to approximately 340 mountain gorillas and inhabits 4 different gorilla groups for trekking such as Nkuringo group with 19 gorillas and 2 silverbacks, Rushegura with 10 gorillas and 1 silverback, Mubare with 16 gorillas and 1 silverback and Habinyanja with 23 gorillas and 2 silver backs. Other animal species including the Colubus monkey, chimpanzee, elephant, antelope species: bushbuck and forest duiker, buffalo, golden cat, civet, bush pig, giant forest hog, black-fronted duiker, clawless otter, genet and many species of bats and rodents.

The Uganda Museum is the largest museum of the country sited on Old Kampala Hill. The different sections of museum show various value information the Archaeology section, music section, Independence pavilion section, Ethnography and many. The Lake Bunyonyi is the earnest cavern lake at a height of 1 840 m with numerous small islands. It is particularly home to various water birds. The spot offer a very charming picnic site. Makerere University of Kampala is one of the biggest universities of Africa. The university’s library has a great collection, and most key specialized collections. Students, from all over Africa, book flights to Uganda to acquire higher technical education from the university.

The remaining ice cap on Mountain Rwenzori covering Margherita has split, creating a crevasse of 6 meters, according to the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA). Note that Mountain Rwenzori has about 6 peaks but Margherita is its highest and most popular the world over. It provides a unique experience to mountain climbers.

Moses Mapes, UWA boss said that access to the peak has been blocked thus depicting global warming. It is caused by gases such as carbon-dioxide from industrial processes, which trap the heat escaping from the earth surface. He urged people to minimise activities that affect the eco-system around the mountain, lest more disasters occur.

John Hunwick, the director of Rwenzori Trekking Services said that the glaciers have been melting rapidly during the last four years thus the country losing a tourism treasure because it is unique to have ice on the equator. According to Guma, UWA has dispatched a team to the mountain to ascertain the extent of damage on the route to Margherita. He also said options of re-routing to the peak would be considered.

Due to the increased exclusive rights of a few hoteliers in the country’s three major national parks, the Ugandan government has allowed in more investors. The Tourism Minister, Kahinda Otafiire has listed the 3 parks to be Kidepo Valley National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park and Murchison Falls National Park.

The Queen Elizabeth Park in western Uganda has a total ares of 2,000 sq m, Murchison Falls, which lies in Gulu and Masindi, has a total area of 3840 sq km, while Kidepo in Karamoja is 1442 sq km wide.

It has been noted that The Madhvani Group is the biggest concessionaire with a hotel in Queen Elizabeth National Park and 2 in Murchison Falls National Park. Others are Mweya Safari Lodge in Queen Elizabeth National Park, while Paraa Safari Lodge, Sambiya Lodge and Sambiya River Banda, Red Chilli Rest Camp, and Chobe Lodge, which are expected to be operational next month, are in Murchison Falls. All other providers are situated outside the parks due to the exclusive rights agreement.

The Serena Group of Hotels, which owns 2 hotels, one in the city centre and another at the shores of Lake Victoria in Kigo, wants to set up another in Murchison, according to Kigozi.

Uganda’s government is to market its Tourism industry at the China Shangai 2010 world exposition in May 2010. Gagawalla Wambuzi, The State Minister for Trade says the Shangai expo that will take place in mainland China is expected to attract over 70 million visitors for five months running from May to October this year.

The minister said that Uganda will use the expo to market its tourism potential to the rest of the world.  He said that Uganda can earn billions of dollars annually if it markets its tourism potential well to European countries.

UWA (Uganda Wildlife Authority) offered a holiday trip to the five winners of the Easter wildlife road trip competition. The trip was the first of the holiday packages UWA will be offering on different public holidays. Moses Mapesa, the UWA executive director said the move was aimed at boosting Uganda’s tourism sector. He noted that Ugandans have a misconception that tourism trips are for foreigners only. He also said that Ugandans should enjoy these privileges before foreigners.

The trip budgeted at sh23m was co-sponsored by USAID-STAR and Power FM. Over 200 people participated in the competition. The winners were Prudence Sekoma, a front desk manager at Crested Towers, Oliver Kasita, an IT student at Makerere University, Nicholas Owori, also a student at Makerere, Allan Mugisha and Angel Semakula. They left the following day for a 4 days trip to Lake Mburo, Kibale and Queen Elizabeth National Parks.

The Uganda Wildlife Authority has started habituating another group of gorillas in a bid to enlarge tourism in the southern part of the Bwindi National Park in south-western Uganda. Sam Mwandha, the director of conservation told The New Vision on Monday that habituation of the Bikingi gorilla group begun recently.

He said that it is too early to say when they will be able to accept human presence and plans to establish this in the next few months. Bikingi is the 8th group to be habituated out of the 34 found in Bwindi Forest in 20 years. Lately, Nsongi, another gorilla group in the southern part of Bwindi, was habituated. Bitukura, Mubare, Habinyanja, Nkuringo, Rushegura and Kyaguriro are the other habituated groups.

Mwandha said after Bikingi, no more gorillas will be habituated until 2012. More than half the 760 gorillas in the world are found in Bwindi. Gorilla tracking contributes between 40% and 50% of the tourism revenue.

The Uganda Tourism Board is leading a team of 18 companies to Madrid, Spain to take part in the 30th edition of Fitur. Fitur is an international tourism trade fair slated for January 20 to 24, which will give specific attention to sustainability in the hotel industry. It is a gathering point for tourism advertising agencies, operators, hoteliers, travel agencies, consultants and experts in international tourism management and development.

“We are aware that Spain is a big tourism market. We want to win over their tour agencies as well as show Spaniards Uganda’s unique tourism sites”, said the UTB marketing and public relations manager, Mr Edwin Muzahura. UTB has also booked a press meeting where they will brief the Spanish media about the tourism industry in Uganda and Mr Serapio Rukundo will address this press meeting.

Another rhino was born on the night of January 2, at the Nakasongola Rhino Sanctuary. 2 others were born last year. This brings the total number of rhinos at the sanctuary to 9

“We have started the New Year with another birth and are excited about the birth and the prospects it will bring to the sanctuary” said Angie Genade, who heads the Rhino Fund Uganda. She said that there are 3 adult males and 3 females as well as 2 baby males born last year. Accoding to Angie Genade, it is too early to establish the gender of the new baby because the mother is very protective and keeping away from the larger group.  Kori, one of the four rhinos who moved from Solio ranch in Kenya to the sanctuary four years ago, mothered the new baby. Angie said the business community would be involved in naming the baby in a bid to fundraise for the sanctuary.

Rhinos are categorized as endangered species. They are mostly hunted for their horns, which are used to make expensive daggers and aphrodisiacs in the Middle East. In the last 20 years, global conservation efforts have contributed to the increase in the population of rhinos.

This year’s International Virgin Holidays Awards for responsible tourism has been won by The Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary, for its effort to promote wildlife and environmental preservation through ecotourism. The imperative awards are in collaboration with the UK international travel directory www.responsibletravel.com, the UK’s Telegraph newspaper, Geographical Magazine as well as the World Travel Market. The awards were introduced to recognize individuals, companies and organizations in the travel industry that are committed to biodiversity management.

The chimp sanctuary won in the category of “Best for Conservation and Wildlife Habitat” and competed alongside 140 other tourism companies nominated from all over the world. The European Union (EU) head of delegation in Uganda, Vincent de Visscher, presented the award to Lily Ajarova, the managing director of Chimpanzee Sanctuary & Wildlife Conservation Trust, the NGO that manages Ngamba. He said the chimp sanctuary could be emulated in Uganda in environmental protection and ecotourism which has created jobs for Ugandans. The ceremony was held at the Ngamba Island in Mukono and was attended by representatives from Japan as well as the EU member states of France and Germany.

The chimp sanctuary was founded in 1998 and now has 44 orphaned chimpanzees which were found either injured in the wild or were recovered from animal traffickers. It is also a member of the Pan African Sanctuaries Alliance (PASA), an association of primate sanctuaries in African countries. An estimated 200,000 chimps remain in 21 African countries, of which about 5,000 are found in Uganda’s forests as well as on private land mainly in western Uganda.