Chimpanzee habituation in Kibale forest national park.
Chimpanzee habituation in Kibale forest national park is the process of training the chimpanzees to get used to the human presence around them and then preparing them to be tracked, this process of the habituating the chimpanzees take a long period of time and thus can even go to 2 years before they are allowed to be open for chimpanzee trekking. Kibale forest national park is the Uganda’s massive safari destination with a population of about 1500 chimpanzees, and the park is the main safari destination in Uganda, in East African and then the Africa to where chimpanzee habituation takes place. Chimpanzee habituation is done for about 2 to 4 hours is more rewarding compared to chimpanzee trekking that offers you a period of one hour to be in the presence of the chimpanzees after encountering them. On a Uganda safari, another safari destination where the tourists go for chimpanzee habituation experience besides the magnificent and famous Kibale forest national park is Budongo forest in Murchison falls national park.
Chimpanzee habituation experience in Kibale forest national park.
Chimpanzee habituation in Kibale forest national park is the process that requires patience and its gradual with the aim of making the wild chimpanzees to be used to the human presence, this is a long-term effort that takes several years. Chimpanzee habituation experience in Kibale forest national park starts early in the morning, with a briefing about the rules and regulations to follow during chimpanzee habituation by the Uganda Wildlife Authority chief ranger at Kibale forest national park, this is where you will be greeted by your guide and go off into the forest.
Chimpanzee habituation experience takes place in groups in the park; This is involves the team of the researchers and then the trackers that spend extensive time in the forest that makes a total of 6 people that is (UWA ranger, four visitors, a guide), with the goal to acclimate the chimpanzees to the sound, sight and the smell of humans without disrupting or changing their behaviours, this careful approach is very important to reduce effects of the human interaction and maintaining a sustainable and then harmonious coexistence. During the chimpanzee habituation in Kibale forest national park you will be fascinated with the opportunity to observe other mammals like black and white colobus monkeys, buffaloes, warthogs, bush pigs, forest elephants, L’Hoest’s monkeys and among many others and various bird species that are over 350 bird species like ground thrush, olive-tailed cuckoo, grey parrot and among others. During the habituation, the trackers, together with researchers, scientists, and conservationists spend more time in the forest thus increasing the closeness between themselves and the chimpanzees. During that process they take responsibility of not interfering the chimpanzees and allows the chimpanzees to proceed with their normal activities, and as the chimpanzees as well gradually become familiar with the researcher’s presence, then that results into accepting their presence without fear and aggression, this takes a period of four hours. After the experience you will be transferred to the starting point, to where you will be rewarded with the chimpanzee habituation certificates for taking part in chimpanzee habituation.
Cost:
When planning for chimpanzee habituation in Kibale forest national park, it requires a tourist to get the chimpanzee habituation permits for the tourists that are above 15 years that allows the tourists to visit the chimpanzees under habituation process and spend four hours with them in their habitat. This takes 1500 USD per person per trek for the foreign nonresidents, then 1000 USD per person per trek for the foreign residents and then 750,000 UGX for East African citizens. For the tourists to enjoy this chimpanzee habituation safari activity, they are advised to book their habituation permits at least 3 to 6 months before the date of travel. And the chimpanzee habituation permits can be booked through a trusted tour operator like African Vacation Safaris, that will help you book your permits, not only stopping at booking your permit but we shall help you book your accommodation, arranging your transport and then meals. A chimpanzee habituation permit in Kibale forest national park includes four hours with the chimpanzees, entrance fees to the park, experienced par guides, armed rangers and among others.
Best time to trek Chimps.
Chimpanzee habituation experience in Kibale forest national park can be all the year around, that is the dry season or the wet season, and during the dry season that is from June, July, August, September and December and then January to February that’s when the park receives less amounts of rainfall, as the park trails can be dry and then easily passable that makes chimpanzee habituation easy, compared to the rainy season when the trekking trails are muddy and then slippery that makes gorilla habituation difficult. Dry season provides tourists enjoyable safari experience with African Vacation Safaris.
Kibale forest national park is Uganda’s exciting safari destination that is situated in the southwestern part of Uganda, its known as the attractive tropical rainforest that harbors the largest and various number of wildlife species that attracts various tourists from world to Uganda with African Vacation Safaris. Kibale forest national park has widely contributed Uganda’s tourism industry because it’s a home of the endangered species that offers tourists with the unforgettable Uganda safari memories in your entire life. Chimpanzees are wonderful safari attractions that share about 98.8% of their DNA with the human beings and they have been habituated in Kibale Forest National Park, its recorded that Uganda has a total of about 4950 chimpanzees and then Kibale forest national park is a home of about 1500 chimpanzees and that’s why the park is known and termed as the ‘’primate capital’’. Kibale forest national park is found in Kabarole district in the western part of Uganda, the park is located near to Fort Portal town which is the biggest town close to Kabarole district. Kibale forest national park covers an area of about 795 square km that stands at about 1590meters above the sea level with the lowest point of about 1100 meters on the floor of the Albertine Rift Valley to the south. The park’s has varied altitudes that favors the various wildlife habitats that is from the wet tropical forest to the woodland and then savannah on the rift valley floor.
Besides the chimpanzees, Kibale forest national park is a home to other mammals that includes the forest elephants, buffaloes, bush pigs, and among many others, and over 375 bird species that as well makes the park to be recognized to be a birding safari destination in Uganda.