How many chimpanzee permits are in Kibale forest national park

How many chimpanzee permits are in Kibale forest national park: The highest number of Uganda’s chimpanzee population lives in Kibale forest national park. According to the last population census, the population of chimpanzees is increasing and Kibale forest national park alone has over 1500 chimpanzees habituated, semi habituated and others are still wild. The population of chimpanzees in Kibale forest national park has been divided into habituated and semi habituated with others still wild.

So far only 1 chimpanzee family has been successfully habituated and open for trekking activities, another one is going through habituation, 5 are for research, and 6 are wild. A maximum of 72 people treks fully habituated family while 12 people visit a semi-habituated family and do the things that make members get used to human presence around them.

The total number of chimpanzee permits in Kibale forest national park

Kibale forest national park has only 1 habituated chimpanzee family and it’s trekked by a maximum of 72 people a day. This chimpanzee family is trekked by different groups not exceeding 8 people in the morning and evening sessions. Currently, a total of 72 chimpanzee trekking permits are available in Kibale and some are used in the morning session while others are used in the evening session.

Kibale forest national park has only one chimpanzee family that is going through semi-habituation. The chimpanzee family is trekked by 12 people and these are divided into two groups not exceeding 6 people.  This means that Kibale forest national park has a maximum of 12 chimpanzee permits a day. when we combine chimpanzee trekking and chimpanzee habituation permits it means Kibale has 84 chimpanzee permits.

The cost of chimpanzee permits in Kibale forest national park.

Chimpanzee trekking permits in Kibale forest national park are legal documents that are sold to tourists to be around endangered chimpanzees for a maximum of 1 hour or full day if it’s habituation. To obtain a chimpanzee permit for Kibale forest national park a certain amount of money used for conservation and paying workers in the park is paid to Uganda Wildlife Authority.

Uganda Wildlife Authority charges chimpanzee trekking permits in categories of foreign non-residents who are citizens of countries outside East Africa, foreign residents who are not citizens of Uganda but have got a working permit for more than a year, and the last category is for citizens of east African members states.

There are two categories of chimpanzee permits in Kibale national park and each is of a different price. The cost of chimpanzee permits in Kibale which last for 1 hour cost $200 for foreign non-residents, $150 for foreign residents, and cost of chimpanzee permits in Kibale for East African citizens is UGX150,000. Full-day chimpanzee habituation goes for $250 for foreign non-residents, $200 for foreign residents, and UGX200,000 citizens of East African member states.

How much does Uganda Wildlife Authority earn from Kibale permits every day?

Based on the assumption that all chimpanzee trekking permits are sold to tourists interested in sending 1 hour with endangered chimpanzees. Uganda wildlife authority does earn an average of $an average of $12,000 from selling chimpanzee trekking permits. The chimpanzee trekking permits of Kibale forest national park usually sell out during the dry season compared to the low season. It should be noted that chimpanzee permits can fail to sell out because of competition from Budongo forest, Kyambura gorge, and Kalinzu forest.

How to book chimpanzee permits of Kibale forest national park

Are you wondering on how to book chimpanzee permits, we got your questions answered. Booking chimpanzee permits of Kibale forest national park is done in two ways which are directly from Uganda Wildlife Authority and using a local tour operator. Tourists that are using local tour operators for their safaris in Kibale forest national park don’t have to go through the hustle of booking the permits but those that are organizing the safaris by themselves do contact Uganda Wildlife Authority directly.

Booking chimpanzee trekking permits with a local tour operator is the best option reason being that they have direct access to their offices which you don’t have. To book with a tour operator you must look for a trusted one and they are normally licensed by the Uganda Tourism Board and members of the Uganda Tour Operators Association.

You must get the dates of the month and year first and then contact the tour operator you have chosen via email letting them know about the type of permit you want. They will use the information to check for the availability of the chimpanzee permits and when they are available, you will be asked to send money and your personal details for your permit to be booked.

Booking directly with the Uganda Wildlife Authority is normally done by tourists that are organizing safaris to Kibale forest national park by themselves. To book a chimpanzee permit you must indicate the type you want and then get the dates of the month and year you want to visit the park.

The information will be sent to the reservations office at Uganda wildlife authority and these will check for the availability of the permits. If the permits are available, you will be sent different banking details which you will use to pay for the permit. Once you are done you will send a scanned copy of the receipt of payment together with your personal details for your permit to be booked.

Best time to book chimpanzee permits of Kibale forest national park

To be on the safe side, tourists need to book the permits early enough and  least 3-4 months before visiting the park is the best time to book kibale chimpanzee permits. Here there are so many chances of finding the permits still available and you won’t be disappointed. Uganda wildlife authority issues chimpanzee permits of Kibale forest national park or any other areas on a first come first serve basis.

The chimpanzee permits for Kibale forest national park are very few compared to the number of people that want to visit the park. Early permit booking is advised most especially in the dry season because that is when the park receives the highest number of visitors. Tourists that are visiting the park in the rainy season can still do early booking for better planning but they don’t normally sell out because the park receives a few tourists.