WHY ARE CHIMPANZEES IN BWINDI NOT HABITUATED?

When you talk about Uganda safari in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, majority expect to see only mountain gorillas but the latter is not true. Unlike other mountain gorilla destinations, Bwindi National Park is by far the only park where the endangered mountain gorillas and the eastern chimpanzees share the same habitat. However, chimpanzees in Bwindi National Park are not habituated like it is a case with most of the tourist sites where chimpanzee tracking safaris are conducted in Uganda

CHIMPANZEES

Currently, Uganda is a home to over 5050 chimpanzees and about 400 of them are all confined within Buhoma and Nkuringo areas of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. It is believed that chimpanzees in Bwindi National Park are more visible than the rare mountain gorillas. Bwindi National Park is one of Uganda’s magical safari destination and it is set suitably in the southwestern districts of Kisoro, Kabale and Kanungu

Unlike other East African states, Uganda has several tourist sites with chimpanzees. Chimpanzee tracking safaris in Uganda are conducted in tourist destinations and they include among Kibale Forest National Park which is a home to over 1500 chimpanzees, Maramagambo Forest, Kalinzu Forest, Kyambura Gorge in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Budongo Forest in Murchison Falls National Park. Because these tourist sites consist of a huge concentration of chimpanzees which makes it easier for researchers or trackers, conservationists to habituated most of them and also leave others in their natural status.

Bwindi National Park lies in high elevation compared to other sites with chimpanzees in Uganda. Kibale Forest National Park for instance straddles within the lowland forest and make it easier to habituate these unique creatures. In Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, habituating chimpanzees in highlands is very challenging. They roam and tracking them in the Bwindi’s jungles is really challenging unlike those in lowland areas like Kibale Forest National Park.

The reason why chimpanzees in Bwindi are not habituated can also be attributed to government priority. Government prefers every region to have variety of tourist attractions and this means habituating chimpanzees in Bwindi National Park may overshadow chimpanzee tracking adventures in other tourist sites like Kibale Forest National Park.

 

Some facts about chimpanzees

Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes) are some of the amazing and large primate species in the world. They share about 95 percent of their DNA with humans making them our closet relatives in the wild. They range in forest zones of Africa, especially Guinea, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Rwanda. If your plan is to see the wild chimpanzees then a visit to Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania should be a must.

In captivity, chimpanzees live up to 60 years and in the wild about 50 years. They weigh about 25 to 50kgs. Chimpanzees build new nests every day using tree branches, leaves and they live in communities, ranging from 30 to 80 individuals.

In summary, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park remains an exceptional destination for you to strike your imaginations with not only mountain gorillas but also variety of other primate species including chimpanzees.