Animals in Murchison Falls national park: Apart from the main nature features found in the park that attracts tourists from all over the world come to explore the diversity of wildlife in an amazing destination – Murchison Falls national park renown as the oldest and largest Uganda national park located in northwestern region, approximately 4 to 5 hours from Kampala to main visited destination.
More so ,the park is a hall mark of diversity of animal species with more than 76 mammal species that makes the park to be a wining gazette area for game reserve .Murchison falls national park a home of 4 Big Five Mammals and the remaining one species to complete the list of Big Five ‘’5’’ a traveler can add a visit to Ziwa Rhino sanctuary which is located on the same route to Murchison Falls national park ,along the way you can break off at Nakitoma to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary and be able to track white Rhinos.
Animals which are often seen in Murchison Falls national park include herds of buffaloes, Elephants, Giraffes, Uganda Kobs, Bushbucks, Jackson hartebeests, waterbucks, Oribis, Warthogs, Hyenas among others. The rewarding way to explore them and is to use an open roof safari vehicle which gives you a chance to have close gainful view of range of wildlife species and morning session is the most rewarding time for game drive to have high chances of seeing the big cats like leopards and lions before they return back into their hideouts.
However ,Murchison falls national park has the largest boundaries comprised of tropical rainforest ,open savannah grassland with lots of interesting game drive trails to adventure the treasures of the park ,Kaniyo pabidi forest also part of the park ‘’Budongo forest ‘’ which home to primates and it has been existing for years ,inhabiting number of primates such as the unique great apes – endangered chimpanzee ,patas monkeys ,Red tailed monkeys ,Blue monkeys ,Olive baboons and Black and white colobus monkeys many more. Budongo forest a popular nature forest as a home of variety of mahogany tree species and notable bird species.
Despite the fact that, Murchison Falls national park is a UNESCO World Heritage sites and governed by Uganda Wildlife Authority which is responsible to all Uganda’s national parks. However, the park become a gazette area for game reserve in 1952, with total land measuring over 3893 square kilometers of its low land and it was named after the Murchison Falls where the impressive river Nile is force through a narrow gorge of 8 meter into the memorable ‘Devils Cauldron ‘ created an ever present rainbow ,the best way to enjoy the view of this stunning powerful waterfall is hiking on the top of the falls and taking a boat cruise from the Victoria Nile to cruise few meters away from the Devil’s cauldrons. Historically, there was a prominent European explore known as Sir Samuel Baker considered the Murchison Falls as the most preserved object of the river ‘’waterfall’’ which happened late in 1864. In fact -Murchison Falls national park boosts with over 76 mammal species, with more than 500 bird species ,13 species of primates ,450 tree species ,250 primate’s species many more.
Animals in Murchison Falls national park
Murchison Falls national park is a home to over 76 mammal’s species like the herds of elephants most seen in an open scattered savannah woodland, herds of buffaloes and other species can be easily spotted during in Buligi plains. The big cats can be easily seen in the scrubs like the leopards and kings of the jungle ‘lion’ easily to be seen in southern side of the park. Other species to adventure include the endangered Rothschild giraffes, bushbucks, Jackson’s hartebeest, crocodiles and hippos, kobs among others.
Primates Life
Murchison Falls national park best known as a home for big five animals not knowing that also is a gazetted area to view variety of primates and the species, there are chimpanzees which are our close cousins.
Therefore, the park boosts with 13 primates of species like olive baboons most commonly species to viewed on the park’s boundaries. These olive baboons look like humans and to have clear viewing of them you need to keep your car windows lower. Other primate species to encounter here include; black and white monkeys, blue monkeys, red tailed monkeys can be seen in Budongo forest. The most spotted primates here are the chimpanzees which attracts tourists to visit the park , to engage in Chimpanzee Tracking Safari ,however are said to share a closest DNA of 98% to human genes .Though Chimpanzee tracking safari in Uganda is more enjoyable in Kibale National park a capital of primates ,other area to encounter chimpanzees are Kyambura gorge in Queen Elizabeth national park ,Kalinzu forest which is closer to Queen and Budongo forest in Murchison falls national park they are all good to visit and enjoy the amazing Chimpanzee’s lifestyle.
Kaniyo pabidi is part of Budongo forest which is located in the boundaries of Murchison falls national park, a home of primates. Perhaps its awesome experience of chimpanzee tracking tour, an activity where you are allowed one hour to stay in the presence of chimps for one hour observing chimpanzees how they play, eat, rest and grooming each other and know that the forest is a home of over 800 chimpanzee individuals. Still you can do a full day Chimpanzee habituation experience while on your primate walk and have chances of viewing big games around the forest –animals like buffaloes, bush pigs, elephants and rewardable scenic land scape.
Birdlife Species
However, Murchison Falls national park is also a great location for birders where you can discover a rewarding sight for water birds, savannah bird, Albertine birds and forest birds among others. Birds to see include the rare shoe bill stork, yellow foot kingsher, white thighed ground hornbill, goliath bird, gonolek, black-billed barbet, long-toed plover, veracious dove, blue-headed coucal, saddle-billed stork, Senegal thick knee, standard winged nightjar, swamp flycatcher, martial eagle, long-tailed nightjar, rock pratincole among others. Thus becoming one of the best Birding Safari Destination in East Africa.
Get started planning, to visit a gifted mother of wildlife species with gainful scenic land scape –Murchison Fall National Park. The park can be visited throughout the year in order to enjoy unforgettable experience of wildlife and beautiful view of the park’s escarpment on the African continent.
