The Big 5 In Uganda and Where To Find Them

“The Big Five animals” are known to be dangerous and the hardest to hunt among trophy hunters. Today, the original Big Five animals in Uganda include; Cape Buffalo, African Elephants, Lions, Leopards, and Rhinoceros. The most abundantly present in Uganda are the Elephants and Buffaloes. The other three of the big five are endangered and their population is declining overwhelmingly.

A number of efforts have been taken with support from Uganda wildlife Authority, donations from good Wishers, and the different stakeholders in the tours and travel industry have also immensely helped in the conservation efforts. Besides the thrill of encountering the big five in Uganda, your visit makes a positive difference in the conservation of these endangered species.

The Big 5 In Uganda and Where To Find Them

There are instances where the big five share habitats while in other instances; you might have to visit a particular place to encounter them. Here is a complete guide on where to find them.

Cape Buffalo

In Uganda, you can find forest buffaloes in Kibale National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, but these are not very common to spot. They are the rarest to find. On the other hand, the cape buffaloes are some of the most abundantly present wildlife species in Uganda.

They can be found in Murchison falls national park, Lake Mburo national park, Kidepo valley national park, Queen Elizabeth national park, and a number of different wildlife reserves in Uganda

Leopard 

The leopard is a very rare animal to spot during your Uganda safari. However, it can be found in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Murchison Falls National Park, and Kidepo Valley National Park among others.

Due to the fact that the leopard is a tree climber, it is very tempting to assume that you will easily see it in the tree branches. But its camouflage works in its favor making it relatively harder to spot. In most cases, the services of a professional tour guide and a game ranger will be required to spot the leopards.

African elephant

They are the largest land animals in the whole world. Elephants are found in 37 countries of Africa and they are two species of Elephants; the savannah and Forest elephants. Savannah elephants tend to be bigger in size and mostly move in large herds.

In Uganda, the elephant is one of the easiest animals to find during your game drive. It is abundantly present in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Kidepo Valley National Park, and Murchison Falls National Park.

Southern White Rhinos

The Rhinos are some of the animals that had gone extinct in Uganda. However, due to conservation efforts through the Ziwa Rhino sanctuary and Uganda Wildlife conservation education center, there are now two places in Uganda where you can find rhinos.

There are plans to reintroduce the rhinos back to the wild in the future. But the timeline has not yet been communicated. Uganda wildlife Authority with its partners is preparing the communities for the reintroduction of Rhinos through training and giving back to the communities annually.

In order to complete your big five experience in Uganda, you would have to visit either Uganda’s wildlife conservation education center in Entebbe (UWEC) or Ziwa Rhino sanctuary. At Ziwa, you have an opportunity to walk through the sanctuary to track the breeding rhinos while at UWEC, there is no need for tracking since the rhinos are fenced in a farm-like setting.

Therefore, the most recommended parks for the big five experience would be Queen Elizabeth national park, Kidepo valley national park and Murchison falls national park. However, all these only provide four of the big five and it is Murchison falls national park that is closest to Ziwa Rhino sanctuary.