Wildlife in Murchison Falls National Park

Wildlife in Murchison Falla National Park: The Big Four animals—lions, leopards, African elephants, and Cape buffalo—are among the many wildlife species that can be seen in Murchison Falls National Park. Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary in Masindi is a good place to stop if you want to see rhinos.

Large game animals

The big four mammals—elephants, buffaloes, leopards, and lions—are among the roughly 76 creatures that call the national park home. On the approach to the park, visitors can also make a stop at Ziwa rhino refuge if they like to see the big five creatures.

Other creatures found in the park include Jackson’s hartebeest, waterbucks, hippos, oribis, warthogs, bushbucks, and Rothschild giraffes. During the game drive, which is best conducted in the northern sector due to the high concentration of animals, big game animals can be seen.

You will be able to see numerous animals grazing in the savannah as you travel trails like Buligi, Victoria, and Albert tracks, among others, during the game drive.

The boat ride, which travels upstream to the base of the falls and downstream to the Victoria Nile Delta, offers another opportunity to see the park’s big game species. Boat cruises last between two and four hours and are scheduled.

During the boat ride, you will see a lot of elephants, waterbucks, buffaloes, and other animals that will be along the water banks drinking water, as well as crocodiles and hippos that will be in the water.

Another option is to go on a nocturnal wildlife drive in the park, where you will follow a park guide and use spotlight torches to see the area clearly at night. On the night game drive, you will see nocturnal creatures like genets, hyenas, civets, porcupines, bush babies, and night jars, as well as predators like lions, leopards, and hippos hunting and grazing.

Primates

More than 600 chimpanzees, olive baboons, blue-tailed monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, and red-tailed monkeys are among the primate species found in Murchison Falls National Park. In the southern section of the park, in the Kaniyo Pabidi Budongo forest, primates can be observed.

The biggest attractions in the southern sector of the park are the chimpanzees consequently guests on a wildlife safari can engage in chimpanzee trekking which can either done in the morning or in the afternoon within the forest.

Because chimpanzees prefer to forage deep into the forest, especially during the dry season, chimpanzee trekking in Murchison Falls National Park begins with a briefing at the headquarters and lasts anywhere from two to four hours, or perhaps more, depending on the chimpanzees’ position.

You can see other primates, such as baboons, red-tailed monkeys, and black and white colobus monkeys, while chimpanzee trekking. After you locate the chimpanzees, you can spend an hour with them in their natural habitat, learning about their habits, behaviors, and way of life while also taking pictures and documenting the moments. Trekking with chimpanzees offers you unique experiences that will make your Ugandan safari one to remember.

These nocturnal monkeys, which include Bush baby and Potto, can be seen during the nighttime nature walk with an armed park guide. These primates sleep during the day and become active at night.

After the mountain gorillas in Bwindi and Mgahinga national parks, chimpanzees are the second most visited attraction in Uganda. Chimpanzees in Uganda can also be observed in Kibale Forest National Park, Kyambura Gorge in Queen Elizabeth National Park, and Kalinzu Forest, which is close to the park, in addition to Kaniyo Pabidi Budongo Forest.

Birds

Murchison Falls National Park is home to a diverse array of animals, including birds. More than 450 bird species, including migratory and indigenous species, can be found in the national park, making it a birder’s dream. The park’s bird species are divided into groups based on their environment, such as savannah, woodland, aquatic, and Albertine birds.

The park’s water birds, including the prehistoric shoebill stork, goliath heron, black-headed lapwing, blue-headed coucal, fish eagle, saddle-billed stork, dwarf kingfisher, blue-spotted dove, malachite kingfisher, African black crake, African jacana, great blue Turaco, African skimmer, and squacco heron, can be seen during the boat cruise upstream to the bottom of the falls and downstream to the Nile Delta.

During the game drive in the northern sector, as well as during the nature walk in Rabongo and Kaniyo Pabidi forests, swamp trails, and other areas, one can observe various bird species, including the olive-breasted greenbul, guinea-congo, pygmy crake, African pied wagtail, Cassin hawk eagle, yellow crested wood pecker, African shrike flycatcher, swamp flycatcher, blue napped mouse bird, Abyssinian ground hornbill, secretary bird, open billed stork, marabou stork, and black bellied bustard, among others.

In conclusion, visitors can schedule a game drive, boat cruise, nature walk, or birding safari in Murchison Falls National Park if they want to see wildlife. Although it is possible to see wildlife throughout the year, the greatest time to see savannah animals in Murchison Falls National Park is during the dry season, which runs from June to September and December to February.