Size of Kibale forest national park

Size of Kibale forest national park: How big is Kibale forest national park is of the most asked questions by travelers intending to visit the park due to its history. Kibale forest national park is one of the famous national parks in Uganda known for its chimpanzee population and other wildlife species. The national park is the primate capital of the world having over 13 primates 4 of which are nocturnals and can only be seen during night forest walks.

Kibale forest national park lies in the western region of Uganda and spreads to areas of Kasese and fort portal district. Kibale forest national park covers an area of 776sq.km and it is a centerpiece of the ecosystem. The national park is not that big like Murchison falls national park or Queen Elizabeth national park but it has all kinds of wildlife including the big 4 mammals.

Kibale forest national park covers an area of 776sq.km making it the largest primate destination in Uganda. The national park has the largest and oldest tree species not only in Uganda but also in East Africa at large. Kibale forest national park has over 229 species of tees among which include endangered ones like cordia mellenii, and entandrophragma Angolense among others. The trees are home to different primates, mammals, and birds.

Kibale forest national park is dominated by tropical rainforests, swamps, and tracts of grassland with altitude ranging from 1100-1590m above sea level. Kibale forest national park is located north of Queen Elizabeth national park and east of Rwenzori national park. Kibale forest national park is one of the most fascinating and most visited regions in the western part of Uganda.

The national park being famous for having the highest number of chimpanzees in the world attracts tourists who are interested in chimpanzee trekking and chimpanzee habituation activities. The national park hosts 13 chimpanzee families 5 of which are for research, 1 is for trekking, 1 is for habituation and the rest are still wild.

The 776sq.km of Kibale forest national park is flat with a few areas hilly. This is always seen during the search for chimpanzees because trekkers always move on a low land and trek on hilly areas for a few minutes. Kibale forest national park was very large in 1933 but with the increasing population and locals cutting down trees for different reasons the area had to reduce and in 1993 when it was gazetted it was 776sq.km. In conclusion, Kibale forest national park covers an area of 776sq.km in size.

What is found in Kibale forest national park

Primates

Kibale forest national park has over 13 primates that are living in different areas of the forest. The forest of Kibale can only be accessed by foot in the morning or evening hours while carrying out different activities. Kibale Primates can be seen on nature walks, around the lodges, birding, and most importantly during chimpanzee activities.

There are 13 primates and 4 of these are only seen during night forest walks. Kibale primates are the chimpanzees, vervet monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, olive baboons, l’hoest’s monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, grey checked mangabeys, blue monkeys, demidoff galago, Uganda red-colobus, pottos, Uganda mangabey, and patas monkeys.

Kibale Bird species

Kibale forest national park is home to over 372 bird species that have been recorded in different areas of the park. 6 of Kibale forest bird species are endemic to the Albertine region and they include blue-headed sunbirds, red-faced woodland warblers, cassin’s spinetail, nahan’s francolin, collared apalis, purple-breasted sunbirds, and dusky crimson wing among others.

Kibale forest bird species include chubb’s cisticola, papyrus canary, African wood owl, yellow spotted nicator, zebra waxbill, African black-headed oriole, African dusky flycatcher, papyrus gonolek, Cameroon sombre, black-capped waxbill, afed pigeon, Rwenzori apalis, little greenbul, and yellow-rumped tinker bird among others.

The mammals in Kibale forest

Kibale forest national park has over 60 mammals that have been recorded in different areas of the park. The mammals can only be seen during different park activities which include nature walks, bird watching, and primate trekking. The mammals in Kibale forest national park include forest buffaloes, lions, leopards, forest elephants, duikers, giant forest hogs, sitatungas, side-stripped jackals, warthogs, deffassa waterbucks, and hippos among others.