Wildlife in Uganda

Uganda’s wildlife thrives in many stunning environments thanks to the country’s ten national parks, which encompass Savannah, woodland, and rivers. On game drives, river trips, and trekking safaris, you can see everything from silverback gorillas to chattering chimpanzees and massive elephants on your wildlife holidays here.

This little country’s big on landscapes, so its wildlife offering is unexpectedly huge. Mountain gorillas are its most famous inhabitant. But the fun doesn’t end with Chimpanzees, baboons, lions, hippos, elephants, warthogs, eagles, jackals, buffalos, and rhinos; keep flicking with your field guides.

You can go on Safari on foot, in 4x4s, and on riverboats, depending on the species you’re seeking, From buffalos to bee-eaters, monkeys to mongooses.

 The best time for wildlife viewing

You can visit most Uganda safari parks during the whole year. However, the dry season is the ideal time to watch animals in Uganda (from June to Aug and Dec, Jan and Feb). Animals gather near water sources in the dry seasons. Roads may become unavailable, hiking trails may become treacherous and challenging, and adventure may be affected by the wet season. Learn more about the ideal time of year to visit Uganda. This is home to various wildlife, plants, and adventurous sports and is endowed with a mild, tropical climate. You will get a close-up look at Uganda’s wild species, including birds, mammals, snakes, and other reptiles. The ecology of the grassland, Savannah, tropical woods, mountains, and water spots changes frequently and is incredibly intriguing.

Mountain gorillas need virtually no introduction; this species has put Uganda on Africa’s tourist map. Just 1,000 gorillas remain in the sphere, and more than half are to be found along Uganda’s western edge, in the mist-shrouded woodlands of Bwindi Impermeable and the volcanic slopes of Mgahinga National Park. Well-managed gorilla safaris have raised funds; mountain gorilla numbers have risen by 50 percent in just ten years. Group eight tourists can trek, for hours, through the forest to spend up to an hour in the company of a habituated family. 

Chimpanzees live in woodland around the country, including the ‘underground forest’ of Kyambura Gorge, in Queen Elizabeth Park, and the mahogany forest of Budongo. Kibale is a rainforest park that shelters 13 species of primates, meaning that when you trek, you will see red colobus, black & white colobus, L’Hoest’s, and monkeys with red tails, among others. Tracking Chimps through the trees is an animated adventure as you follow their shrieks and rustles in the canopy.

Unbelievably size of the country is almost equal to the size of the UK, and it has over 1,000 bird species. Fortunately, there are expert guides to watch birds. Twitchers flock here for the shoebill; a stork-like bird stands over a meter tall with an enormous bill and blue-grey feathers. The wetlands of Uganda’s Murchison Falls Park are the best place to spot it. Some iconic classes of birds like the national bird of Uganda, the ‘dancing’ grey-crowned crane, giant kingfishers, goliath herons, fish eagles, red-throat bee-eater, blue turacos, and bar-tailed trogons. 

Three national parks: Queen Elizabeth, Murchison Falls, and the remote Kidepo Valley, are places to four from the Big Five: lion, leopard, buffalo, and elephant. In Murchison Falls, it’s not uncommon for a herd of elephants to block the road – you might encounter more elephants than you’d like on Safari here!

Lions are rarer, naturally, and well camouflaged. Still, with an experienced guide, there’s a chance of spotting them in the sandy grass, post-meal, or perhaps sprawled in the branches of a fig tree in Ishasha. This is one of only two places in Africa where felines climb trees. Leopard sightings are rarer. You’ll be lucky to glimpse one – hold on to your binoculars!

The fifth of the Big Five is the black rhino. Its cousin, the white rhino, was also wiped out by hunters. However, in 2005, six of them were reintroduced into Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, close to Murchison Falls National Park. Thanks to a successful breeding program, around 20 rhinos currently exist here. Local guides are here to help you in bird trekking. 

Other species

 there are different creatures to look out for on a Ugandan safari. You can see them on the roadsides and in front of your hotels. Abundant of hippos, which jam the banks of the Kazinga Channel in Queen Elizabeth National Park, is a loving place for wildlife-packed cruises. In Murchison Falls, you’ll hear their deep, creaking barks at night from your camp.

This is the country’s largest national park. Zebra were hunted in Uganda, and today only found in Lake Mburo with a small population. You can also see it in Kidepo Valley.

 You’ll find antelope species, like flat-faced hartebeest, elegant kob, bushbuck, and waterbuck. Rarer are the swamp-dwelling sitatunga antelopes.

These highly intelligent baboons/primates jump towards you in your car window; they can snatch your lunch. You’ll soon close your windows – and apply sunroofs when these are around.

But these are not the only primates; Vervet monkeys are also playful. You may see them around you and your lodge/ camp and hear them jumping on your tent’s roof. Open-air showers seem to draw their attention particularly. Black and white colobus are routinely seen lining the trees by the roadside. Golden monkeys are rarer; you can track these on special trekking tours in Mgahinga Gorilla Park through the bamboo forests with the slopes of the Virunga Volcanoes.

When planning a safari vacation in Uganda, you must consider transportation costs and how to move around. Road trips or flying from one location to another are possible in Uganda. A traveler will always require a comfortable mode of transportation while on a safari vacation. Typically, local tour providers provide 4×4 safari vehicles to their clients. The automobile rental costs include a safari guide as well as petrol. The prices of transportation vary depending on the type of vehicle used by the visitor. A modified 4×4 safari land cruiser, for example, is more expensive than a Toyota Prado or van, and their fuel consumption differs. In the case of the tour guide, the fee can be the same for all tour companies.

There are 38 carnivore species in Uganda

• Cheetahs are extraordinarily elusive and highly striped, with a build resembling that of a dachshund and unique black tear-marks. Despite being the weakest of the significant predatory animals, they are swift animals. They can be found in environments like the Kidepo National Park, Savannah, and grasslands.
• The ruler of the wild, the lion, is 165 cm tall and weighs 680 kg. Typically, they hunt on buffaloes and antelopes. The shooters are females. The national parks of Kidepo Valley, Murchison Falls, and Queen Elizabeth are relatively typical. In Lake Mburo National Park, they are non-existent. Ishasha in Queen Elizabeth is home to the renowned tree-climbing tigers. African civets—common in most parks but difficult to view because they are active at night— have a cat-like faces and long, thick hair.

• Spotted hyenas are giant with a curving back and dark brown dots. They are also gifted with commanding teeth that can tear hard flesh and bones. 
• They often inhabit savannah areas and possess exceptional hunting abilities, being able to take down an animal as big as a wildebeest. In Kidepo National Park, though, they are not present.
• Queen Elizabeth National Park frequently has monkey sightings. Marsh mongoose, White-tailed mongoose, Slender mongoose, Egyptian mongoose, and Banded mongoose are some species.
• Genets are nocturnal, linked to civets, and resemble cats. Servaline genes, large-spotted genetic mutations, and small-spotted genetic mutations are among the animals seen on nighttime drives at the Semliki Wildlife Park. Surprisingly, human garbage attracts them.

Jackal in Uganda

• Otters are a type of aquatic predator common to wetlands and can be seen in several locations in Lake Mburo National Park. The Congo clawless otter is the enormous African otter, followed by the darkened spotted-necked otter, which is tiny in size and particularly active at night or early morning.
• The bat-eared fox only occurs in Kidepo National Park and is more commonly found in dry, open terrain. During the low-temperature parts of the day, roaming in pairs or little family groups is frequently observed. They are modest in size, with a distinctive silver-Grey color, enormous ears, and a black eye.
• Jackals typically live in savannah habitats, where they hunt various mammals and birds. They also occasionally eat all kinds of fruits. In Bwindi, Mgahinga, Murchison Falls, and Kidepo National Park, you can find side-striped and black-backed jackals.
• Smaller cats include a variety of species, such as the Caracal, a medium-sized cat with a reddish-brown coat and curled ears that only lives in Kidepo National Park. It also favors open settings. Except for Semliki, all the forested national parks in western Uganda have the African golden cat caracal. 
• The majority of Uganda’s savanna environments have African wild cats.
• Servals, which resemble a light coat and are common in Uganda, enjoy a variety of settings, including forests and woodlands. 

• You can’t avoid seeing herbivorous creatures on the all Uganda tour, at least wherever you look in the grasslands of Uganda. The majority of Uganda’s wild animals are herbivores. You anticipate seeing these throughout your Uganda safari trip.
• Rhinoceros – The black rhinoceros is disappearing, and Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary just recently introduced the white rhinoceros in 2005. The Rothschild’s giraffe, the world’s largest land mammal, can only be seen in the national parks of Murchison Falls, Lake Mburo, and Kidepo Valley. Its swaying movement results from extending both of its right legs at once, then both of its left legs.
• The buffalo is regarded as one of Uganda’s hazardous animals because of its erratic and protective behavior. If a lion chases them, they can stomp it. They can be seen in all national parks and dwell in big groups in the Savannah and small groups in the forests.
• The hippopotamus is the third-largest earth mammal after elephants and rhinoceroses, and the hippopotamus is a giant aquatic animal with coiled feet weighing 1,500 and 1,800 kg. They don’t have sweat glands. Therefore they stay immersed in water for most of the day to keep cool. They can be found on practically all bodies of water, but Murchison Falls, Queen Elizabeth, and Lake Mburo National Parks offer the finest viewing opportunities. Burchell’s zebra has beautiful striped black and white color existing only in Murchison Falls, Lake Mburo, and Kidepo Valley National Parks.
• The African elephant, weighing over 6,000 kg, is an enormous terrestrial creature on the globe.
•  There are eight giant antelopes, eight medium, and eight little antelopes.

The larger antelopes are;

• • The eland is the giant antelope, fawn-brown with a massive dewlap and small, spiraling horns. Its sides occasionally have light white patches. They can be seen in Kidepo Meadow, Lake Mburo Nature Reserve, and the adjacent areas.
• The attractive Greater Kudu has grey-brown coats, long, graceful spiraling horns, and white side bands.
• The Jackson’s hartebeest, a peculiar animal with a flat face that inhabits sparsely forested and broad Savannah habitats, is frequently spotted in the Kidepo area, Lake Mburo, and the Ishasha area of Queen Elizabeth National Park.
• The Oryx is an ash-gray animal frequently seen in Kidepo National Park. It has imposing, enormous horns that resemble scimitars. It is more accustomed to the dry acacia forest and semi-desert environments.
• The Defassa waterbuck rubs close to the water and has grey-brown skin, a white crest, and big, curving horns. They are primarily found in savannah national parks.

Impala

The medium-sized antelope include the following;

• Sitatunga has uniquely spreading hooves that are adapted to its preferred environment of papyrus and other wetlands. It is enormous, semi-aquatic, and has a fluffier coat with bands on both sexes. All six national parks have it.
• Impala males have characteristic lyre horns and are attractive, slim, and colored chestnut. They are adept at broad leaps. Primarily found in Lake Mburo.
• The smaller kudu in Kidepo National Park resembles the giant kudu in the pattern.
• Grant’s gazelles have a brown tint and a light build.
• Reedbucks are grey-brown in hue and have tiny half-moon-shaped horns. All four of Uganda’s Savannah national parks contain the Bohor reedbuck.
• The mountain reedbuck can be found in Kidepo National Park.
• The Uganda kob is a relative of the waterbuck and reedbuck, although it is more extensive and reddish-brown. They can be found in the wildlife preserves at Katonga, Queen Elizabeth, Murchison Falls, Semliki, and Kidepo National Park. The miniature antelope found in Uganda is a member of the Duiker family, which is distinguished by its tiny dimensions and preference for areas covered in dense vegetation.

• The woodland duiker is more significant than a bushbuck and has a distinctive yellow back. Forest duiker species include;

  • The tiny, chestnut-brown Harvey’s red duiker inhabits the wooded areas of Queen Elizabeth National Park and Kibale Forest.
  • The diminutive blue duiker, seen in Queen Elizabeth, Murchison Falls, Kibale, and Bwindi National Park, has a grey-blue coat.
  • The national parks of Kibale, Bwindi, and Queen Elizabeth are home to Peter’s duiker.
  • The Mgahinga and Bwindi woods are home to the black-fronted duiker.
  • Grey duiker, which can be found in all four Savannah national parks and Mount Elgon, has a grey-brown coat that is fringed.
  • • Oribi is characterized by a reddish-brown back, white underparts, and a distinctive black smell gland beneath each ear. They can be spotted in all of Savannah’s national parks, where they can be found on the tall grasses. In the north grasslands of Murchison Falls Park are the Borassus trees.
  • The Klipspringer lives in pairs in suitable environments in Kidepo and Lake Mburo national parks and has goat-like characteristics. Its dark grey coat is virtually spotted.
  • Guenther’s dik-diks are little, attractive, and have dark reddish-brown coats with characteristic white eye patches. Throughout Kidepo Valley, they can be seen in the dusty Savannah.
  • Bates’ pygmy antelope inhabits similar preferred environments. 
  •      Semliki National Park and the woodlands surrounding the southern part of Queen Elizabeth National Park can be seen.
  • There are several kinds of swine.
  • The warthog, which is grey and found in families, has spikes on either side of its jaws. All of Savannah’s national parks have them.
  • Bushpigs are reclusive and favor thickets and forested areas. Rwenzori National Park doesn’t have them. Nighttime only, the enormous woodland hog is rarely observed. The majority of parks in the west contain them.

• The primates, a class that includes all types typically linked to lemurs, apes, and monkeys, including humans, are the most well-known wild animals in Uganda. And the exciting animals that tourists travel to Uganda to view include the chimpanzees, which are sportive relatives of humans, located in the Kibale, Budongo, and Kaniyo Pabidi Forests, and the mountain gorillas that can be seen in Bwindi and the Virunga Mountains.
• The gorilla, weighing up to 210 kg, is an enormous ape. The three species are the lowlands gorilla, mountain gorilla, and western lowlands gorilla. In the Bwindi Impenetrable and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, visitors can observe the threatened species of mountain gorillas. In Uganda. 
• Chimpanzees are black-coated apes that are regarded as being among the smartest. Chimpanzees can utilize tools and are similar to humanity. They have developed accustomed behaviors in the Budongo and Kanyiyo Pabidi forests, Kibale Forest National, and the Kyambura Gorge in Queen Elizabeth Park. All year long, chimpanzees can be tracked.
• Vervet monkeys have very striking blue male genitalia and black face. They are widespread throughout Uganda.
• The face of De Brazza’s monkey is covered in hair, and it has a reddish-brown area around its eyes, a white stripe throughout its brow, a white mustache, and a beard with a little tail.
• The Semliki and Mount Elgon national parks are where you can find them. Colobus monkeys with black and white markings have a white face, white tail, lengthy white hair, and white spikes at the tips of their long tails. Newborns are entirely white.
• Olive baboons, which are taller and have a face resembling a dog, are common along roads and in parks, excluding the mountainous areas of Mgahinga Gorillas Park, the Ruwenzori Mountains, and Mount Elgon.
• Blue monkeys have thick fur and hair that grows backward on their foreheads. They are a dark-blue-grey tint with a white throat and a white patch on their chest. Both Lake Mburo National Park and Murchison Falls National Park are devoid of them. 

Vervet Monkey

• The L’hoest’s monkey has a black face with white whiskers that protrude backward, partially hiding its ears. It also holds erected tail. Since they like very lush woodlands, they are pretty challenging to observe. It can be seen in the Queen Elizabeth National Park, Bwindi, Kibale, and Maramagambo forests.
• The red-tailed monkey has a reddish-brown color with a white whisker, an orangey tail, and a spot on its snout that resembles a heart. In addition to Semliki and Queen Elizabeth national parks, they can be seen in the Kibale, Bwindi, Mpanga, and Budongo forests reserves.
• The crown of the red colobus is gently curled. It can be found in Semliki National Park and Kibale Forest National Park, particularly in the area around Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary. 
• Potto is a moderate-sized animal that resembles a sloth that passes the night scavenging from tree limbs. Potto is nocturnal and may be seen in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Bwindi, and Kibale Jungle.
• Bushbabies, huge, dazzling eyes and their distinctive cry might be heard, particularly at nighttime. All of Uganda’s Savannah reserves contain them.
• Lesser bushbabies discovered include the dwarf bushbaby and the eastern needle-clawed bushbaby.
• The bamboo woodlands of the Virunga Volcano are home to the golden monkey and a variety of blue monkeys. They are located in Uganda, DRC, and Rwanda. Their weight is between 10 and 25 pounds, and they have a yellow gold body, black limbs on their tail, and caps on their head and tail.
• Gray-cheeked mangabeys are grey and have a shaggy black look; tropical forests at low and medium altitudes are their home. They can be found in Mabira, Semliki, and Kibale forest national parks. 

Cold-blooded reptiles are among the wild species that can be seen in Uganda. Uganda is a sanctuary for numerous cold-blooded reptiles because of its hot tropical environment. The biggest one of these is the Nile crocodile, which may be seen around the sides of rivers and lakes while blackbird plovers forage for delectable treats in between their teeth. Due to hunting for its premium leather, the species was once in danger of going extinct. 

• The Nile crocodile, which is 6 meters long, is an enormous reptile. They eat fish and other mammals that frequent bodies of water. Before storing it under a tree till it decomposes for better feeding, it first drowns its prey. In Queen Elizabeth Park, they can be spotted near Lake Mburo, Murchison Falls, and Kazinga Channel.
• A python is a giant snake that squeaks, thumps, and swallows its prey. The Maramagambo jungle is where you may see the snake that eats bats.
• Numerous species of snakes exist, such as puffadders, black cobras, green snakes, and etcetera. They are widespread in the Savannah and forests Near Uganda.

Booking an Uganda Wildlife Safari

Uganda might be low in the quantity of wildlife found in Kenya or Tanzania but indeed puts up the competition regarding wildlife safaris. There are more options for seeing various animals like the rare primates in the rainforest jungles and the array of savannah games. A Uganda safari can comfortably include hiking the moderate Virunga Mountains’ peaks or the massive snow-capped Rwenzori surrounded by spectacular wildlife species.

Sight View Safaris has been organizing and operating Uganda safari journeys since 2014. We have the experience to deliver the expertise to every one of our travelers, and we continue to serve our purpose. We will make your planning process an exciting endeavor and help you craft a Uganda safari that suits your style. Our trips are custom-made. 

If you’d like to Uganda safari parks to see Safari Uganda Wildlife or want help to discover a Safari Uganda holiday to suit you, we are delighted to support you; get in touch with our Travel team to know the best time to go to Uganda and enjoy your memorable Safari in Uganda and East Africa.