Similar in size to Great Britain, Uganda’s unique geographical positioning in the Great Rift Valley makes the country home for an astonishing 50% of Africa’s birds. Diverse habitats such as open savannah, montane and Equatorial rainforests, rivers, marshlands, fresh water and crater lakes combine to give Uganda an enviable bird list of over 1,060 species!
Uganda boasts an incredible 34 Important Bird Areas (IBAs), sites of global conservation importance, not just for birds but for mammals, fish, reptiles and insects. 22 IBAs are within the national protected areas and all twelve of Uganda’s Ramsar sites (internationally protected wetlands) are IBAs.
If you like birds – like I do! – then you will just LOVE Uganda! I’ve met many people who had never really noticed birds until they came here – and returned to Europe ‘birding converts.’
Birdwatching Uganda. Identifying a Sunbird – not always easy, even when an expert has a bird guidebook!
Here are a few of my favourite birding moments:
A forest wakes up (AKA birdwatching my way through lockdown on the edge of Kibale Forest) is dedicated to the hornbills, turacos, barbets, starlings and monkeys I see from my wooden house on the edge of the forest.
Shoebill, Murchison Falls National Park Uganda. Photo Ronan Donovan
A day in the life … species by species. Uganda may not have the same change of seasons as Europe (but the insects don’t know that). I watch the seaons change in Uganda through the medium of entymology.
A bird’s eye view of Uganda – Big Birding Day Up before dawn to take part in the Big Birding Day, a 24 hour birding race covering 33 sites across Uganda. Our team recorded 606 species! And the best bit? Our team won!
For three years I was part of the volunteer team helping make Big Birding Day even BIGGER! To tie in with this event and the country’s 50 years of independence, Africa on the Blog published my article on how birding tourism can be used to help develop Uganda and support poor rural communities. Read “Birding@50” – Save Uganda’s Beautiful Crested Crane.
Dillon eyes up a spectacular Klaas’ Cuckoo, Kibale Forest bird ringing, Sunbird Hill
Incredibly rich in animal life, Kibale Forest is a place of many firsts for me. Even after three years working in conservation, Mother Nature had still been holding back on me: this particular Kibale Forest trip I saw my first wild chimp, my first Red Colobus Monkey, my first Green Mamba! But these were all unexpected bonuses – we’d actually traveled to Kibale Forest to ring birds.
Look up! Urban birding Kampala-style is the Muzungu’s view from Long Crested Towers – my home in Bukasa. Kampala is a dusty, polluted city of 2 million inhabitants. Yet, with over 300 bird species, the city is still a birder’s dream …
Populations of the 11 species of African vulture have declined considerably. In A disgusting day out I took part in NatureUganda’s annual vulture count – and a gory tour of the very smelly outdoor Busega fish factory and the formidable Kalerwe Abattoir, on the look-out for Hooded Vultures, Pied Crows, Brown Kites and Marabou Storks.
Hammerkop and large numbers of Marabou Storks overseeing the fish processing near Nateete, Kampala
Birdwatching Uganda. A birding muzungu at Sipi Falls, eastern Uganda
A birding Safari here in my backyard is one of my favourite birding walks, from Namuwongo in Kampala down to Port Bell on Lake Victoria. Baldrick was so tired, we had to drag him home! It was a great day for my growing bird list though so do check it out!
Roger and Nathan bird watching on Entebbe Peninsula. Big Birding Day 2010 – the year our team won!
I’m part of the volunteer team helping make Big Birding Day even Bigger!
These are just a few of my many Uganda birding stories.
Do you like birdwatching? If you’re planning a trip to Uganda, check out the tour operators in my Travel Directory or drop me a line for some personal recommendations.
It was with great excitement that I travelled to Rwanda to attend the Kwita Izina gorilla naming ceremony. This event is strictly by invitation only so the Muzungu was honoured to be invited by the Rwanda Development Board, thanks to my friends at The Gorilla Organization (TGO), a British charity whose dedicated international team pull out all the stops to protect the Mountain Gorillas in their native forest habitats straddling the borders of Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
As we drove uphill towards the Kwita Izina gorilla naming ceremony website, the roads were lined with children and young people all walking in the same direction, eager to see the pop stars descending on Kinigi for the ‘Festival of the Gorillas.’
A magical place indeed. The volcanic peaks of the Virungas, approaching the site of Kwita Izina, Festival of the Gorillas
We sat in the ubiquitous white plastic seats and waited for the show to begin. Every few minutes there was an excited cry from the crowd as another celebrity joined the throng. All we could see was a sea of black heads, just visible above the safety barrier. The kids were gathered for the pop stars of course – there was a huge cheer as popular singer Rastaman arrived – we only hoped they would leave the gorilla naming ceremony as conservationists too.
Kwita Izina is hugely popular with local children gorillas Rwanda
One thing is for sure, one way or another, the majority of these young people will benefit from the gorilla tourism industry, the flagship product for Rwandese tourism. Five per cent of the revenue from tourism is invested in communities living around Rwanda’s national parks. This investment is helping change behaviours, changing once-poachers into protectors of the gorillas and wildlife and habitats in general.
Children flocked to take part in the Festival of the Gorillas
The Rwandese Prime Minister welcomed “ambassadors, friends of Rwanda and distinguished guests – and not forgetting the very important residents of Musanze” to Kwita Izina 2013.
Half of Kigali, representatives from Nairobi, Kampala and 61 journalists from across the world made their way to this small town in the Land of a Thousand Hills for the ninth annual conservation celebration. Not a bad show for a small country the size of Wales.
A smiling Rwanda Development Board ranger welcomed us to Kwita Izina 2013
Traditional dancing from Rwanda’s National Ballet was a delight. Kwita Izina 2013
Traditional dancing from Rwanda’s National Ballet was a delight. Reggae artists Dr Claude and King James went down like a house on fire! I was happy to get on my feet and dance by then. Goodness knows the foothills of the volcanoes are a lot cooler than Kampala. The Muzungu should have worn socks!
Jillian threw a Gorilla Organization frisbee into the expectant crowd of festival goers. Did she get it back…?
The lady MC reminded us that “while we are here to celebrate Rwanda’s gorillas, you can see how much more Rwanda has to offer.” Well organised, professional and a fun day out, I was very impressed by the whole setup and the global ambition of this event.
Audience participation is a key feature of Kwita Izina. Amongst the international celebrities invited to name the gorillas were the American actor Isaiah Washington; the Japanese Ambassador to Rwanda; actors from Nigeria and the Netherlands; the economist Jeffrey Sachs and Secretary General of the UN World Tourism Organization, Dr. Taleb Rifai. You can watch the highlights of the 2013 Kwita Izina gorilla naming ceremony here.
Each gorilla was named, in English and in Kinyarwanda, to claps and murmurs of approval from the audience. The first baby gorilla to be named was Icyamamare Maktub or ‘Rising Star.’ I liked the name Isimbi ‘Shining Pearl’ said to “represent the shining light of Africa: Rwanda. We look forward to shining the light on tourism in Rwanda.”
Emmanuel, looking very cool in his traditional costume, was honoured to name a gorilla at Kwita Izina 2009
The Kwita Izina gorilla naming ceremony is an opportunity to publicly thank the conservationists closest to protecting these great apes.
In 2009, The Gorilla Organization’s Rwanda Programme Manager Emmanuel was invited to name one of the gorillas.
The Gorilla Organization’s Jillian Miller at Kwita Izina 2009 – looking very glam in her Kwita Izina attire
In 2009, the UN Year of the Gorilla, The Gorilla Organization’s Executive Director Jillian Miller and Ian Redmond O.B.E. (Ambassador for Year of the Gorilla and now Chairman of TGO) were invited to take part in the gorilla naming ceremony. Jillian’s gorilla was named ‘Everlasting’. Ian’s gorilla was named Umuganda meaning ‘working together.’ You can watch Ian Redmond’s UN Year of the Gorilla speech at Kwita Izina here.
Putting on the traditional costume and being part of the show sounded great fun!
Ian Redmond O.B.E. Chairman of The Gorilla Organization at Kwita Izina 2013 with Allison Hanes of Art of Conservation
Audience participation is not just reserved for the celebrities: everyone was handed a sheet showing photos of the new baby gorillas, so we could write down the new names as they were read out.
The printed photos and list of new baby gorillas make the event fun and educational. Kwita Izina 2013 Rwanda. (Can you read the Muzungu’s handwriting?)
“It’s a bit like playing bingo!” Jillian joked.
The Kinyrwanda gorilla name ‘Ubukerarugendo’ translates as ‘the early travellers – who woke up early to take a trip.’ “You could say this is the first word for tourism and represents the importance of tourism in Rwanda” said the Secretary General of the UN World Tourism Organization.
What is Kwita Izina?
The Kwita Izina gorilla naming ceremony is an idea based on the Rwandese tradition of inviting the community to name a newborn child. In Rwanda, it is customary to delay naming a child until some of its characteristics are known. (If you look through some of the names of the 161 gorillas named since Kwita Izina started, many give an insight into the individual gorillas’ temperament and family history). The community join together and party to celebrate this new life.
The Gorilla Organization was previously known as the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. This painting of Dian hangs in the TGO office in Musanze, Rwanda.
Rosette Rugamba, the creator of Kwita Izina, with Jillian Miller of The Gorilla Organization, Kwita Izina 2013 Rwanda
I asked Rosette her view on the international success of Kwita Izina?
“When we started this event we had a big vision: to make sure that gorillas continue to be recognised but also to help, in a big way, to change the image of Rwanda. As much as we are honoured to be the custodians of these wonderful creatures, these animals belong to the whole world. That is such a huge responsibility.
So we created a public event. The world needs to watch over us to make sure that we’re making this happen and to celebrate the birth of the gorillas. We continue to be held accountable and the international community realises they have a role in the success of gorilla conservation too.
There was always a concern that tourism might have a bad effect on conservation but it’s proven that responsible tourism can actually contribute to conservation.
Nine years after the creation of Kwita Izina, I think we have come a long way in achieving our objectives. The government is still committed, and has been right from the start.
This is the format of an event that brings in everybody. When we held the first Kwita Izina, 94 nationalities had come to trek the gorillas in Rwanda. Now, I think you could say the whole world has been: someone from every country has trekked the gorillas in Rwanda. Gorillas are symbolic creatures and Rwanda is just lucky.
“I look forward to next year” said Rosette, “10 years of Kwita Izina – a decade!”
This painting of a gorilla family hangs in The Gorilla Organization office in Musanze, Rwanda. The TGO Resource Centre is open to the public
For a premium, visitors to Musanze’s Hotel Muhabura can now stay in cottage number 12, where Dian Fossey regularly stayed on her visits down from the mountains. Dian Fossey’s cottage has been maintained to ‘honour a life dedicated to gorilla conservation.’
The Muzungu’s travel highlights of 2012 – Kibale Forest, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Murchison Falls, community tourism in Mabira Forest, Lonely Planet, Nairobi – and two Royal Weddings!
Life in Uganda has tested me in many ways and 2012 was ‘challenging’ as we say around here – but I’m still here ‘living the dream’ (on a good day!)
We had a feast! – with “all the trimmings” of a British Christmas dinner, including bread sauce, crackers, naff jokes, silly hats and Christmas stockings, all imported specially for the occasion.
A Kibale Forest special! The metal trunk oven worked a treat. We even had roast potatoes. Bahati cooks Christmas dinner for 12
From there Julia and I travelled to the wide open savannah of Ishasha where we’d jumped in an elephant trench and had a go at maintaining the matooke (banana) plantation – all in a day’s work for the Bazungu!
Back in Kampala, my photographer friend Javi and I rocked up to State House, the President’s office. Javi asked me to collaborate with him on a book about Uganda and we have the makings of a great project – we just need someone to pay for it! And so we spent Valentine’s Day sweltering on the veranda as our 10 a.m. meeting got put back and back and back. By 4 p.m. we finally had our slot with one of the President’s Permanent Secretaries, a charming lady called Grace: but alas the answer was NO.
We didn’t get to meet The Man With The Hat (The Big Man) either. Boo, hoo Valentine’s Day, no red rose, no book deal, not nuffink.
I love seeing everyone’s favourite Uganda memories – this one went back to Scotland with fellow VSO volunteers Stuart and Elisabeth
September saw the launch of the Uganda photo souvenir map Facebook page. The Uganda map is designed by Andrew Roberts, a UCF Director and co-editor of the Bradt travel guide. Special thanks to ‘Chimp Girl’ Julia Lloyd and Harriet ‘Ebola’ Fowler for commissioning photo maps and for all your support! Each montage is individually created with your photos and 10% of sales go to the Uganda Conservation Foundation to help fight poaching in the National Parks – now at its worst level in decades.
Poaching is fuelled mostly by the growth of the Chinese middle classes and facilitated by China’s growing networks and investments in East Africa. Check out my friend Anne-Marie’s brilliant article about poaching in Uganda, entitled There is a lot of it about.
The best friend a girl could have: the Dog with the Waggiest Tail. Coming to Uganda gave me the chance to have my first dog, Baldrick, my parter in crime in many of my blog stories. Here are some of my favourite moments.
Namuwongo is dear to my heart – the first place I lived in Uganda.
Murchison Falls National Park
I celebrated my birthday with Red Chilli’s at their camp in Murchison Falls National Park, where we partied all week-end to celebrate the camp’s tenth birthday. A percentage of all the camp’s profits go to support the Steve Willis Memorial Fund.
Anne-Marie and I should have known better: as we entered the Park, we opened the car doors in exactly the wrong spot letting vicious biting Tsetse flies loose in the car. We spent the weekend itching, scratching and regretting it!
You can’t help but fall in love with the Rothschild’s Giraffes in Murchison Falls National Park
Queen Elizabeth National Park
Tembo Canteen on Mweya Peninsula in Queen Elizabeth is possibly the best location in the world to endure three days of PowerPoint presentations, with Mike Cant’s talk about mongooses being the highlight. Kabina squashed on a hard wooden benche, I loved reconnecting with my conservation friends for UWA’s research symposium: Dianah, Phionah and Richard from NatureUganda, Aggie and Dr Margaret from UWA, Gladys of Conservation Through Public Health, Alex, Erik and Emmanuel from UCF, Alastair and Andy from Wildlife Conservation Society. Poaching, invasive species, climate change and human wildlife conflict are just some of the big issues UWA is challenged with.
The weekend finished with a boat trip on the Kazinga Channel. The eager eyes of a warden even spotted a leopard, a distant dot high up on the hillside! We certainly didn’t expect to see a leopard in broad daylight from the boat, but that’s the wonderful thing about going on Safari – every outing is different.
African Fish Eagles on the Kazinga Channel, Queen Elizabeth National Park
The best community tourism projects in Uganda are promoted by UCOTA
The UCOTA community tourism fam trip was another highlight. We had a lot of fun, as you will read in – Can you play the Xylophone? – and got to meet the real people living on the edges of Queen Elizabeth National Park. Theirs is not an easy life.
Honey never tasted so good!
A wave of patriotism flooded Uganda in 2012 as the country celebrated 50 years of independence. Needless to say it also brought up a lot of discontent, mostly aimed at the current regime’s 26 years in power. My contribution to the party? 50 reasons why I love Uganda – my most popular blog ever.
A moment of feeling homesick…
I felt a twinge of homesickness as I thought of all my friends and family celebrating the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and the London Olympics. British expat friends dressed in the red, white and blue of the Union Jack and gathered round a TV set in Kololo to watch the celebrations along the Thames.
Cha, Amy and Jennie. Diamond Jubilee Kampala
I was glad to be able to get a glimpse of London Bridge on TV. I felt quite homesick for a moment! Diamond Jubilee 2012
Uganda was delighted to welcome home the Marathon gold Olympic medallist Kipsoro. It seemed to be a typical Ugandan achievement – mpole, mpole ‘slowly by slowly’ – wait until the very last event to win a medal…! Ugandans are rightly proud of this homegrown talent, who actually trained in next door Kenya.
A wave of patriotism swept across Uganda in 2012. Boda boda photo courtesy of journalist photographer Amy Fallon http://www.amyfallon.com/
Running across East Africa, with the Hash House Harriers – and a Royal Wedding
I know a lot of talented runners. Kampala’s Seven Hills race (or does Kampala have 22 hills now?) certainly keeps us fit! At 1000 metres above sea level, rumour has it that if we train here in Kampala, we return to the lower lands of Europe with more stamina. (I certainly huffed and puffed my way up Tank Hill in Muyenga, Kampala for a few months before I acclimatised to the increase in altitude).
De Prince tries to keep a low profile as he passes villagers on the annual Kampala Jinja relay
I was honoured to attend the wedding of Prince Wasajja at the Lubiri in Mengo
Northern Uganda comes to Kampala
In April we welcomed back the sometimes controversial comedienne Jane Bussman to Kampala for another run of her award-winning show, entitled “The worst date ever – or how it took a comedy writer to expose Africa’s secret war.” It was a sell-out night in Kampala. All proceeds from Jane’s show went to complete construction of a house for ex-LRA child soldiers in Northern Uganda.
The Muzungu and new friends from Turkana and Pokot tribes, Kenya. The tourism show at Nairobi’s Sarit Centre whet my appetite for more East African travel
Check out the Muzungu with my new friends – the guy looks very cute! Kenya is only a bus ride away and I need to explore the country further!
The two are not connected 😉
We stopped for a spot of shopping – in the middle of the sugarcane plantation, Mabira, Jinja
Enkima red-tailed monkey mural, one of many on display at Griffin Falls Camp, Mabira
The banda accommodation and food are basic and cheap; if you’re happy with cold bucket showers and a kerosene lamp, you’ll love this place. Isla and I hired bikes for a guided tour of the Forest and the Falls and I even saw my first Grey Cheeked Mangabey! Hussein and Peter (tel +256(0)751949368 / +256(0)751955671) are very friendly and knowledgeable about the forest’s birds and trees, under threat from so-called developers. The campsite is a real gem.
PHEW! Well I’ve worn myself out just reliving all of that lot…! Time for a lie-down now…
If you haven’t visited Uganda yet, feel free to explore my blog or drop the Muzungu an email for more Uganda and East Africa travel ideas. Wishing you an adventure-filled New Year!
The Uganda Kob and the Grey Crested Crane adorn the country’s crest – (which bird will replace it in 20 years time when the bird is extinct?)
“Birding@50” focuses on the plight of Uganda’s national symbol, the Grey Crowned Crane.
While the country has been (for the most part) celebrating 50 years of independence, Uganda’s national symbol is in crisis. The Grey Crowned Crane is under serious threat as her wetlands habitats are polluted, eroded, degraded and built upon. Human development is swallowing up the wetlands.
Left unchallenged, the Crane will not survive, and it is estimated that the Grey Crowned (or ‘Crested’) Crane will be extinct in Uganda within just 20 years.
Ironically, the fact that Cranes are monogamous birds that pair for life is one of the factors pushing them towards extinction. Some people hold the traditional belief that eating or using a Crane product will therefore strengthen their own relationship.
NatureUganda is leading the campaign to save the Crane.
We urge individuals and the authorities to protect the wetlands. We need people to ask themselves “when did you last see a young or adult Crane? Do you see them as often now as you did when you were a child?”
It is no coincidence that as humans encroach upon the wetlands, the number of Cranes has plummeted across the country.
NatureUganda’s Achilles Byaruhanga tells us more about this sensational bird in The Crested Crane: Uganda’s symbol of beauty and serenity
So why am I talking about this?
It’s because this Saturday 20th October will be BIG BIRDING DAY 2012!
BBD is a country-wide “big birding race” between birding groups, led by experienced bird guides, who will aim to record as many bird species as possible in a single 24 hour period.
NatureUganda has 47 teams registered so far, across the country. More teams are registering, making this the biggest BBD ever!
There’s free entry for all participants birding in National Parks, Wildlife Reserves and Forest Reserves – but you need to register with NatureUganda first.
The results of the BBD race will be announced during the Big Birding festival on Saturday 27th October 2012 at Entebbe Botanic Gardens. See poster for more details!
The importance of Birds
Despite the large number of birds in Uganda – almost half the continent’s species – very few Ugandans are aware of the country’s rich diversity. The “Uganda Big Birding Day” helps promote avi-conservation and avi-tourism – bird conservation and tourism or ‘birding.’ Although avi-tourism is developing in Uganda, very few locals take part – yet! More trained bird guides are needed!
NatureUganda is a member organisation that organises affordable birdwatching trips around the country and researches numerous species, mainly birds.
Visiting the abattoir might not be top of every vegetarian’s wish list, but that didn’t stop two vegetarians from looking forward to a day out at the slaughterhouse, as part of Nature Uganda‘s annual vulture count. Interested in taking part?
Our gory tour took us to the very smelly outdoor Busega fish factory; the tidy, rustic Kyengera Abattoir and the formidable Kalerwe Abattoir, on the look-out for Hooded Vultures, Pied Crows, Brown Kites and Marabou Storks.
The annual Nature Uganda vulture count takes you to glamorous locations such as abattoirs! Here Marabou Storks congregate off Port Bell Road, Kampala
“I tried not to look at the blood and guts around me and looked down – and narrowly avoided stepping on a cow’s brain!” Said Alex the vegetarian. Not the most glamorous of day’s out for us ladies, tiptoeing around pools of dark red blood seeping into Kalerwe’s thick oozing mud…
My Nature Uganda friend Roger had painted a grim picture of last year’s annual vulture count – but I couldn’t wait to experience the horror for myself!
Living in Uganda has desensitised me to the horrors of the meat trade. A vegetarian since the age of 13, it was learning about the UK’s concrete and metal ‘factory farms’ that turned me off meat, overnight. In the UK we’re as far removed from the slaughter process as could possibly be (it’s hard to reconcile the surgical cleanliness of the plastic-wrapped portions of meat in the supermarket with the reality of what happens to the animal in the slaughterhouse). Here in Uganda, it’s back to basics: blood, guts and all.
Heaps of (cow) body parts wherever we looked in Kalerwe Abattoir, Kampala – why can’t the Chinese make ornaments and medicines out of this lot and leave Africa’s rhino and elephants alone?
So why were we putting ourselves through this?
Vultures aren’t the world’s prettiest birds – that characteristic bald head helps keep the head clean when feeding on a carcass – but they (and the Marabou Storks) are arguably the most useful, and need to be protected.
Populations of the eleven species of African vulture have declined considerably. Threats vary, but include poisoning, loss of habitat, trapping for food and witchcraft.
Vultures are nature’s most successful scavengers. Known by some as ‘Superman of the bird world,’ vultures can eat Anthrax (without dying) and quickly dispose of diseased carcasses (without catching the disease) – and no other animal will eat their carcass.
In the past decade, hundreds of vultures have been accidentally killed across East Africa after consuming poisoned animals set to kill lions and hyenas which had attacked livestock. Vultures are also intentionally poisoned by poachers because the presence of circling vultures alerts wildlife authorities to the location of poachers’ illegal activities.
In a recent incident, 48 vultures were poisoned near the Ishasha River on the Congo border, their bodies found scattered along a path heading back to Queen Elizabeth National Park.
In Kenya, vulture numbers in the Maasai Mara National Reserve have declined by an average of 62% since the 1970s. Vultures have some of the lowest reproductive rates among birds, making them particularly vulnerable. A decade ago none of Kenya’s eight vulture species was on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species; now 6 out of 8 species are on the Red List, with populations declining at an alarming rate.
Hammerkop getting in on the act! Huge numbers of Marabou Storks overseeing the fish processing near Nateete, Kampala
So how is the demise of this ugly old bird linked to human health?
Following a decimation of the vulture numbers in India, there’s been an increase in disease transmission among dogs and rats. The subsequent increase in dogs and rabies is blamed for an estimated human health costs of $1.5 billion a year. If vulture numbers continue to decline in Kampala, what might be the impact on the residents of the city?
Too hot to trot! Nothing goes to waste here …molokony (cow hoof) is a popular hangover cure
Back at the abattoir, the authorities were suspicious of the muzungu wandering around with a camera – all except this guy: “You take my picture” he said.
My idea of hell – but just another day at work for this guy
Once beyond the understandably suspicious questions “are you from the Ministry of Health?” people seemed quite interested in what we were doing. Someone offered to feed the birds for us (for a fee). Another guy asked if we could solve the problem of the Marabous shitting on (and therefore destroying) his zinc roof!
At Kyengera, the unmistakable smell of burning flesh led us by the nose down to a shack where a whole cow’s head sat roasting on an open fire. For 500 shillings (the cost of two chapatis) I was invited to take a photo – or (just for laughs!) pose with the man stoking the fire and roasting the head – somehow that just seemed one step too far.
Aren’t you glad I didn’t take that last photo?
The species: in order of population size, Uganda has the following Vultures: White-backed, Hooded, Ruppell’s, Palm Nut, Lappet-faced, White-headed and Egyptian.
To learn more about the Kampala vulture counts, and other activities, visit the Nature Uganda web site.
As you can imagine, feeding baby elephant Charlie is not cheap. He drinks his way through 15 litres of milk a day, a mixture of human baby formula milk (SMA) and fresh diary UHT milk (less the cream), a diet he will have for the next two years.
Just saying hello! Like any baby, he wants to experience the new world open-mouthed!
A few fun facts about Charles:
• He loves bathing! Every day!
• He loves drinking water: he can drink up to 10 litres when thirsty! A fully grown elephant can drink a staggering 225 litres in one day.
• He likes running around and playing with his keeper Bruce, between feeds and naps
• He sleeps in a house – just like you and me!
Charles is unlikely to live back in the wild now, although relocation to a protected reserve is possible. He’s happy with his human companions and carers and loves running around and playing (he cries loudly if he is left on his own!) He has become ‘habituated’ (used) to human contact which, back in the park, could make him an easy target for poachers. Last year Mweya’s famous elephant Maria was poisoned, showing that animosity towards elephants is commonplace. Maria was a habituated elephant too, see R.I.P. Mary – elephant entertainer extraordinaire
Would you like to meet baby Charles?
You don’t have to be a kid to enjoy meeting Charlie the baby elephant! Photo taken a few months ago.
Uganda Wildlife Education Centre (formerly known as Entebbe Zoo) look set to turn tragedy to success, for this little elephant Charlie is sure to become a great ambassador for his species. Hundreds of primary school children visit UWEC every day. They now have the chance to see an elephant, the closest most Ugandans will ever get to see this magnificent animal.
A personal meeting with Charles is the latest addition to the brilliant ‘Behind the scenes’ tour at UWEC. For $50 per person you will be taken around the whole zoo, accompanied by a very knowledgeable guide, for approximately 2 – 3 hours. Morning visitors have a chance to actually feed the hoofed animals such as giraffe, rhino and waterbuck. Afternoon visitors may see and participate in feeding the Big Cats: Lion, Leopard and Serval cat – up close. If there are specific feedings you wish to see, please check timings when you book.
All it took was a phone call the day before we wanted to visit to see the zoo’s latest – and most famous – resident, Hamukungu Charles. It’s the chance of a lifetime, to come up close and actually touch this magnificent animal. Even in miniature, there’s something very special about elephants. Charles loves company will be very excited to meet you!
Tours are available 7 days a week and there is a 10% discount for group bookings. To visit Charles or donate milk to feed him, contact UWEC on 0414 320 520 or 0414 320 169. UWEC is open every day from 8 am till 6 pm.
Baby elephant Charles loves to play football! Here he is at five months old
When you first encounter this baby elephant Charlie, thoughts of murder are far from your mind.
Originally from Queen Elizabeth National Park, Charles was brought to UWEC (a.k.a. the zoo) at the tender age of three weeks old, a victim of poachers that tragically saw him orphaned and then abandoned.
Fishermen of Hamukungu fishing village found baby Charles abandoned on the shores of an island on Lake George, trying to swim. Since there were no other elephants nearby, and the baby was about to drown, the rescuers loaded Charles into their wooden dugout canoe and paddled him back to Hamukungu.
Can you imagine – seeing a baby elephant being paddled across the lake!
The fishermen were compensated for their quick-thinking by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) and fisherman Charles was delighted for the elephant to be named after him!
Two days after the dramatic marine rescue, the carcass of an adult male elephant with six bullet wounds to the head and thoracic regions (indicative of poachers) was found submerged, next to the same island. It’s suspected that ivory poachers may have scared the elephant family away, leaving behind the newborn baby.
On arrival at UWEC a week later, baby Charles was weak, exhausted, and extremely thirsty. He was believed to be about a week old, as the umbilical cord was still attached. He did not know how to suckle; neither did he know the taste of milk.
Bull elephant feeding along the Kazinga Channel. Can you spot the hippo?
Organisations like the Uganda Conservation Foundation are working hard with UWA to stop poaching, remind local people of the penalties for poaching and the benefits of community conservation. UCF is building the capacity of UWA to work on the waterways of Queen Elizabeth by providing boats, professional marine ranger training and ranger accommodation posts. Uganda’s National Parks were once teeming with wildlife but the politically unstable years of the 1970s and 80s killed off all the rhino and Queen Elizabeth’s elephant population dropped by approximately 80%. The population has been slowly recovering but tragically, the international trade in ivory is undergoing an unprecedented increase. At least 13 Ugandan elephants were killed for ivory in 2011 and they desperately need more protection.
To visit Charles or donate milk to feed him, contact UWEC on 0414 320 520 or 0414 320 169. UWEC is open every day from 8 am till 6 pm. You can also find UWEC on Facebook.
Uganda’s culture bursts into life when you interact with the people behind a wide range of community tourism experiences: Diary of a Muzungu visits a traditional Banyaruguru hut, learns about beekeeping, and tries her hand at basket-weaving, dancing – and playing the xylophone!
Community tourism by Charlotte Beauvoisin. Pearls of Uganda newsletter
“Community tourism” bundles up a diverse range of activities – and can be great fun! – as a lucky group of us found out on a three-day UCOTA / Pearls of Uganda trip in and around Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Community tourism offers you the chance to find out first-hand what it’s like to farm your land (with the constant threat from hungry elephants) or to farm salt as people have done for 10,000 years on a crater lake (not a job for the squeamish).
An incredibly tough lifestyle: harvesting salt in Lake Katwe (and I complain about my job sometimes?)
After a dance display at Kikorongo, above the Equator adjacent to Queen Elizabeth National Park, I tried my hand at playing the enormous wooden xylophone. Admittedly, I was pretty rubbish!
Honey never tasted so good! Fresh honeycomb
Like bees around the proverbial pot of honey, we couldn’t wait to dive into the fresh honeycomb at the BBC (Bunyangabu Beekeeping Cooperative) along the road to Kasese. We wolfed down big dessertspoons of it, spitting out the waxy residue “like chewing gum.” The BBC is a training centre for would-be beekeepers. They also process and sell the finished products (honey, candles and Propolis).
Community tourism is a learning experience too. Did you know you can wash your clothes with the flesh of a pawpaw? Or that locally grown flowers can produce red, green, yellow, orange, blue, maroon and brown colour dyes?
Cissy poses amongst the multi-coloured raffia used to weave baskets at Rubona
At the Foundation for Youth Development Agro-Tour in Kichwamba, the very knowledgeable Benjamin pointed out the Trees of the Gods and the medicinal uses of the various plants and trees, on our walk through the banana plantation.
Did you know that the Neem tree can treat an astounding 135 diseases? (I wish I had one in my compound – they even deter mosquitoes and insects!) Tawny Prinia, Northern Bishop and African Blue Flycatchers were a few of the birds we saw (apparently there are 250 species along Kyambura escarpment).
A serious moment! At the cave of the God of the Hunters, Kichwamba. Note the pile of elephant dung!
Midway on our walk, we paused to pay our respects to the God of the Hunters at the cave, as Benjamin talked about hunting rituals and the importance of totems to conservation.
Time was too short to cut herbs and bathe in the river running through the cave below the wonderful Nyanz’ibiri ‘Between Two Lakes’ Community Eco-campsite. But next time! And perhaps then I really will sleep in the beautiful Banyaruguru hut!
Checking out the traditional accommodation option, a Banyaruguru hut (see how terrible I look after three hot days on the road!)
We were all excited at the thought of seeing – and touching – a baby elephant. As we arrived, this jolly little creature, with his long, thick eyelashes came trotting along behind his keeper and soul mate Bruce, his carer at Uganda Wildlife Education Centre in Entebbe.
These two are inseparable! Charlie the elephant and Bruce his keeper
These two have become inseparable. They even sleep together (in a house of course!)
I’d made the mistake of wearing open toed sandals for the day, so I was a bit wary of getting too close to him. In his enthusiasm to sniff everyone with his curly trunk, he trod on the toes of one of the teenage girls in our group – luckily she had trainers on. He may be a baby but he already weighs 153kg!
A right couple of Charlies - Charlie the Muzungu meets Charlie the elephant
You can almost cuddle Charles, he’s so small. He’s a cute little thing – for now! A mere 100 to 120 kg when born, an elephant will weigh an incredible 2,000 to 3,000 kg when fully grown.
I worked in conservation in Uganda for 2 ½ years, written elephant reports, elephant stories and an elephant obituary but this was my first time to come up close with the famous Loxodonta Africana.
To visit Charles or donate milk to feed him, contact UWEC on 0414 320 520 or 0414 320 169. UWEC is open every day from 8 am till 6 pm.
According to Roussouw, “Kibale Forest harbours the greatest variety and concentration of primates found anywhere in East Africa.”
Well, thumbs up to that. Kibale is where the muzungu saw her first wild Chimpanzee, and the apparently ‘elusive’ Red Colobus monkey (although I’m not sure whether the staff at Kibale Forest Camp would agree, hearing them crash through the forest while they’re serving the guests sundowners).
Incredibly rich in animal life, Kibale is a place of many firsts for me. Even after three years in Uganda working in conservation, Mother Nature’s still been holding back on me: my first wild chimp, my first Red Colobus Monkey, my first Green Mamba! But these were all unexpected bonuses – we’d actually travelled to Kibale to ring birds.
Malcolm Wilson sets up the mist nets at the edge of Kibale Forest
The previous day Julia had instructed the boys to hack a pathway through the high grass at the edge of the forest. Four-metre high bamboo poles were hung with a fine nylon ‘mist net’ barely visible at dusk or dawn, gently ensnaring unsuspecting birds. Off with the anoraks and on with the Ipod – there’s as much technology in 21st-century birding as in any walk of life . (Bird calls are stored on the iPod, which is hung strategically close to the forest to attract the birds). Every few minutes, one of the team would disappear into the Bush to check the net, returning excitedly a few minutes later with their feathered booty in a little cloth bag.
Bird ringing is an exact science! Monitoring the bird population of Kibale Forest edge
On our feet since dawn, ringing birds is harder than it looks: concentrating on the welfare of the birds, not leaving them in the net for more than 20 minutes, keeping them cool.
No-one had slept much the night before. We’d been woken at two in the morning by a gargantuan face-off between the chimps in the forest and three dogs tearing around the compound – all set off by a hungry elephant! It was the chimps that had woken Mandela. He’d then quickly woken Bahati and off they ran to chase the elephants away from the precious pineapple field.
That morning, expert birder and tour guide Malcolm was very excited at rumours of a White Collared Oliveback – “Ooooh, put it back in the bag,” he said, savouring the moment.
Dawn looked nervous when advised she was about to pull ‘a new bird’ out of the bag. It’s a bit like lucky dip really! Or not so lucky in Dawn’s case: she dipped her hand in – and winced in agony as an enormous beak bit her hand! The Blue Breasted Kingfisher was one of the weekend’s top finds, with the most experienced ringer ‘getting the tick first.’ If there was envy, no-one let on!
Malcolm displays the Blue Breasted Kingfisher – one of the weekend’s top catches – before letting it fly back into the forest
Malcolm gave Dawn more warning about the Grosbeak (Thickbilled) Weaver: “Beware Dawn, this one has an 80 pound per square inch peck!” i.e. don’t be fooled by the small beak, it can exert a painfully powerful peck!
A young helper watches Nathan record the bird’s biodata at Sunbird Hill
“The secret is to get the kids involved” said Richard, encouraging Hope and Amos to hold the birds and help identify them. He was less positive about the Marsh Tchagra: “they bite a lot, like all Shrikes – nasty birds.”
Dillon eyes up a spectacular Diederick’s’ Cuckoo
Eager to see the birds in the nets (before anyone else!) – I got lost – twice!
Malcolm waved his finger at me sternly as Nathan and I rejoined the group back in the shade by the house.
“Don’t spend so much time by the nets,” he said. I felt embarrassed. (I didn’t mean to get lost!)
Highlights of the two days’ ringing included a pair of exquisite Grey-headed Negrofinches (now known as Negritas), Green-backed Twinspots, a Little Greenbul (I was relieved to hear the experts struggle to identify birds too!) and a Brown-chested Alethe (a species of forest thrush that can only be caught with an iPod and a mist net); a Green Hylia (a type of warbler), an Olive-bellied Sunbird and a tiny White-ringed Prinia.
Identifying a Sunbird – not always easy, even with the bird guide!
It was a real treat for an amateur birder like me to see such wonderful birdlife come out of the forest. Everyone pointed out birds flying overhead and in trees around us: an emerald green Diederick’s Cuckoo, Lesser Striped Swallows, African Grey parrots, a Superb Sunbird; a Black Crowned Tchagra (a shrike) in the long grass.
The Roussouw guide says “watch for flocks of rare and localised White Naped Pigeons in-flight overhead or sunning themselves in treetops in the early morning” and lo and behold, the White Naped Pigeons were in front of us.
Fascinating and fun too, the two days’ information collected is baseline data for a study of the biodiversity of the forest edge. The data’s being shared with NatureUganda, one of the partners in a new East African bird ringing scheme.
TICK! Here’s the full list of the birds I saw on the edge of Kibale Forest (R = ringed)
African Blue Flycatcher
African Grey Parrots
African Yellow Whiteye (R)
Black Crowned Tchagra
Blue Breasted Kingfisher (R)
Bronze Mannikin
Bronze Sunbird
Brown-chested Alethe (R)
Brown-throated Wattle-eye
Diederick’s Cuckoo
Dusky Blue Flycatcher
Green Crombec (R)
Green Hylia (R)
Green Twinspot (R)
Green-backed Twinspots (R)
Grey-backed Camaroptera (R)
Grey-headed Negrofinch (R)
Grosbeak (Thick-billed) Weaver (R)
Klaas’s Cuckoo (R)
Lesser Striped Swallow
Little Greenbul (R)
Marsh Tchagra (R)
Northern Double-collared Sunbird
Olive-bellied Sunbird (R)
Pygmy Kingfisher (R)
Ross’s Turaco
Slender-billed Weaver (R)
Snowy-headed Robinchat (R)
Superb Sunbird
Vieillot’s Black Weaver
White-naped Pigeon
White-collared Oliveback (R)
White Chinned Prinia (R)
White-headed Sawwing
Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird (R)
Yellow-whiskered Greenbul (R)
NOTE 2021: Since writing this blog, the 40 acres of regenerating farmland have developed into Sunbird Hill, a site for birders, ornithologists, lepidopterists, entomologists, primatologists and tourists who want to be immersed in nature. Sunbird Hill supports the work of In the Shadow of Chimpanzees, a small NGO that is training young people in conservation and developing village tourism along the edge of the National Park.
Three dogs bark excited greetings as we drive up the steep hill on the approach to Julia’s house on the edge of Kibale Forest.
The four hours from Kampala to Fort Portal on tarmac are easy. The last hour of the journey is the hardest: balancing a plastic bag full of raw eggs on my lap, as Julia races down the rutted dustbowl that passes for a road. Cool crater lakes beckon right and left.
Annotated drawings of Kibale Forest’s chimpanzees decorate Julia’s treehouse home. Julia was part of the team that first habituated the chimps for tourism
I’m having a break from the midday sun. Julia suggests I haul my Jerry can of cold water up into the sunshine so it’s warm for my afternoon shower. Butterflies circle around the water dripping into the washing bowl beneath the Jerry can. Julia’s world is full of her dad’s home-made inventions, contraptions in which Jerry cans feature prominently.
Determined to finish her Ph.D., Julia is spending most of her time in Kampala this year. We arrive in Kibale to find the inverter is broken, so there’s no power; the solar panel isn’t working either. There’s no gas left in Fort Portal, so we borrow a gas cylinder from a local lodge. At least we won’t have to rely on the charcoal stove to cook dinner and heat water for eight people for the next three days! This weekend may be classed as a trial run for future tourism endeavours! (Fast forward a few years and Julia’s place has developed in leaps and bounds: home is now known as Sunbird Hill).
Hope has prepared dinner: it’s ‘Irish’ (potatoes) from the garden, and g’nut (groundnut) sauce. The home-grown groundnuts are stored in a gigantic Ali Baba basket. Swimming in my g’nut sauce is a Lungfish, whole. I can’t face eating it and guiltily leave the fish in the pot. The kids found it in the river when they were collecting water this morning – I guess someone will have the stomach for it.
After dinner, a slither of moon to guide us, we check out the park boundary paths. As we inch past, torchlight reveals spiderwebs suspended between branches. We duck under the washing line. The dogs bound ahead of us into the trees.
View of Kibale Forest from Julia Lloyd’s viewing platform
“Wake up, the chimps are here! Come quick!” Yells Julia the following morning.
Bleary-eyed, I climb the viewing platform and we watch a solitary chimp warming himself in the early morning sun some 30 metres above ground. It’s my first sight of a chimpanzee in the wild.
Julia spent many years living in a treehouse deep in the forest studying Kibale Forest’s chimpanzees.
Julia’s previous home – her treehouse in Kibale Forest
Baby Dillon points at the sweet bananas. He’s eaten four bananas by the time we arrive at the lodge on the edge of Kibale Forest. I’m covered in banana (there’s no chance of keeping clean around dogs and babies). Ornithologist and bird ringer Malcolm Wilson arrives shortly with five visitors, here to do a bird census and to advise Julia on how to maximise the biodiversity to attract more birdlife from the forest.
Before he arrives, we walk down to the forest boundary a few hundred metres away and check the ‘slashing’ (cutting back of the Bush). Four men have been working all morning to clear an access path for the nets.
We stop for a minute to debate whether to cut down a slender branch hanging over the path.
Rubbish collection is managed privately in Kampala: you pay through the nose for a private contractor to collect your rubbish once a week. Local people just burn their rubbish, and maybe that’s all the private contractors do?
And so, a week after moving house, and reluctant to burn, I asked Alex how I could dispose of my rubbish. “Come – we go,” he said.
We drove to Namuwongo and I was a bit horrified when he said to turn down a steep dusty bank across the railway and into the heart of the slum. I’ve been through the slum many times, but not in a car (there are no roads) and not to dispose of my rubbish. We edged our way through women boiling water in beaten-up old aluminium pots on charcoal stoves, gawping toddlers and boda bodas. “Hello Muzungu, you go back,” one lady said as we squeezed through. Embarrassed, but with Alex focused on our destination, we drove on. Moving forward wasn’t easy; reversing would have been almost impossible.
My heart sank as the tip came into view: goats grazing and Marabou storks stabbing at the contents of hundreds of the demon cavera (carrier bags). Doesn’t the slum have enough rubbish without the muzungu’s?
There was plenty of excitement as Alex threw a knackered old water heater onto the tip. It was quickly salvaged; if anyone can fix it, these guys can.
And the fee? One thousand shillings, less than 50 US cents – although the muzungu price would have been higher had we hung about. “Drive!” commanded Alex, and I stepped on the gas.
“Muzungu, I have a tortoise!” cried a young boy, as we drove past his house. Wild tortoises live in the swamp below the slum. I admit, in my first year in Uganda, I fell for that one. I had a tortoise when I was a kid; they’re great pets, but not easy to look after. The English one died in hibernation one winter; my Ugandan one did a runner! He probably made it back to the slum (just the other side of my old compound wall) – to being sold to another naïve muzungu.
Street dog Baldrick inspects Swampy the Tortoise
Last year I’d been in the same slum for quite a different reason – a party!
VSO friends of mine, Alan and Alison, had agreed to hold a kids’ party in the local church. It’s a big clapperboard type construction right next to the railway line next to the swamp. I’m not a churchgoer but I do like to party! so I offered to help blow up the balloons and do the face painting.
“So how many people do you think will attend?” I thought Alison would say about 100.
“Oh about 400 I expect.” GULP.
Little kids and big kids, wave after wave of them surrounded us for two hours!
It was great fun – but knackering! But what was nice was that we just made a great big fuss for one day. The VSO focus is on sustainable development so at the back of your mind you’re always asking yourself whether X will happen when you’re gone. It’s unlikely these kids will ever see such a party again (Alan and Alison’s friends from back home had all chipped in to fund the party) – sometimes you just need to have FUN, whoever you are, whatever your circumstances. (Although we did hear kids making a racket with whistles into the night!. Let’s just hope their families enjoyed it as much as the kids did!)
so do check it out!
