Kibale National Park contains one of the loveliest and most varied tracts of tropical forest in Uganda that has enameled to harbor the 13 primates species found this great park. Forest cover, interspersed with patches of grassland and swamp, dominates the northern and central parts of the park on an elevated plateau.
There are 13 species of primates in Kibale National Park, of the 13 primates, 3 are nocturnal. The park protects several well-studied habituated communities of common chimpanzee, as well as several species of Central African monkey including the
- Uganda mangabey (Lophocebus ugandae),
- The Ugandan red colobus (Procolobus tephrosceles)
- The L’Hoest’s monkey.
- Red tailed monkey
- Baboons
- The black-and-white colobus (Colobus guereza)
- The blue monkey (Cercopithecus mitis).
- Red Colobus Monkeys
- Bushbabies (Thomas galagoes)
- Chimpanzee
- De Brazza’s Monkeys
Kibale National Park is a primatologist dream. It hosts a population of more than 1,450 chimpanzees, of which one with over 120-strong community members has been habituated to tourist visits, as well as half-a-dozen readily observed monkey species.
Having over 13 primate species in the park has make Kibale to be known as “ the primate capital of the word” and home of chimpanzee since you will have a 99 percent chance of sighting during you trekking safari adventure experience. On a good day, you can even sight over 50 chimpanzees, this happens, mostly during the fig ripening season, as they tend to be many in the feeding community due to presence of enough food to sustain the group. Chimpanzees do also make calls to alert other family members of enough food. Eating and nesting around the fig tree with give you a wonderful trekking experience of a lifetime.
Chimpanzee trekking is the major tourism activities alongside the bird watching. During your trekking, you may have chances of sighting both ground and up sightings. As chimpanzees tend to climb trees and climb down after feeding. On the hot day, chimpanzees tend to rest on the ground, as its hot on the trees, but on a dawn falls, as the ground is wet, chimpanzees tend to keep up on the feeding trees, in fear for the wet ground.
During your trekking, you as well have a chance to sight one of the other primates, as they live in the same forest. At Kanyanchu visitor’s center, numbers of monkeys are sighted feeding around as they are habituated. Baboons are always along the road side, or the UWA kitchen, waiting for food leftovers from the rangers after eating.
As you do you trekking experience, keep your eyes, on the tree top, you may be lucky to land on one, as some monkeys are silent, while feeding.