Budongo and kaniyo pabidi chimpanzee habituation experience

December 16, 2015

Budongo and kaniyo pabidi chimpanzee habituation experience

Chimpanzee habituation in Kaniyo abide forest in Murchison Falls National park starts with an early morning visit when the chimpanzees are de-nesting at about 0530 hours to about 0630 hours. These chimpanzees live in communities under the leadership of an alpha male who is democratically elected by the community members.

Chimpanzee habituation is the process of getting wild chimpanzees used to the presence of humans. This is done for conservation reasons so that chimpanzees get used to the presence of humans without altering their nature. In order to protect endangered species like chimpanzees the community around them must be sensitized

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Kaniyo Pabidi forest the home of the chimpanzees lies 8 km from Kicumbanyombo gate on Masindi Paraa road. This forest has some of the still existing grown mahogany and ironwood trees. Kaniyo Pabidi forest is part of the Budongo forest which is one of the natural forests that Uganda is proud of.

To conserve the chimpanzees here, some researchers including Jane Goodall set up the Budongo Forest project which was later renamed Budongo Conservation Field Station. This project faced a lot of problems from the community and political unrest that happened in Uganda. The local people cut down a number of trees for timber and others agriculture.

A range of other primates lives in this forest like black and white colobus, vervet monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabey, red-tailed monkeys, olive baboons, blue monkeys, and others.

Kaniyo abides forest, which is part of Budongo forest, is also a birding spot in Murchison Falls National park. You may be able to spot chocolate-backed kingfisher, white-thighed hornbill, Puvel’s allaposis, and others. By using the Busingiro area which is the royal mile you may spot some of these birds.

All chimpanzee-related activities are controlled and run by Jane Goodall Institute which is Chimpanzees Sanctuary and Wildlife Conservation Trust (CSWCT).

About Chimpanzees In Kaniyo Pabidi Forest and Budongo Forest

Chimpanzees are the closest relatives of humans having a DNA of about 98%. They generally feed on foliage including leaves, stems, fruits, and others that take them through day and night. A fully-grown male chimpanzee may weigh about 70 kg whereas the female 60 kg.

Because the chimpanzees live in communities, when they mature, the females normally leave their communities to find new communities to live in but the males stay to continue with the community legacy.

How To Book Chimpanzee Habituation Permits For Kaniyo Pabidi Forest

Note the date when you wish to do chimpanzee habituation in Kaniyo Pabidi forest and Budongo. The number of people you hope to travel with for chimpanzee habituation. Remember only 4 people are allowed to do chimpanzee habituation.

When you enquire from us, our safari consultant checks availability, and then in case it’s positive, you are requested to purchase your chimpanzee habituation permit as soon as possible. This is because of the high demand for these permits worldwide.

Provide some details about yourself later for record purposes like your full name on the passport, nationality, date of birth, and others.

What Is The Cost of Chimpanzee Habituation In Kaniyo Pabidi and Budongo

At the moment the Kaniyo Pabidi chimpanzee habituation permits cost $160 per person per trek. This cost includes

The ranger guide fee

Ranger guides are the ones that lead all chimpanzee habituation activities because they can defend the tourists in case they are attacked and call for backup on the radio call. They have to be paid a salary for all the research and information they have the majority of which is off-head.

Chimpanzee medication

Even when the chimpanzees are wild animals that must search own food and medication but they at times need extra help from humans.

Veterinary doctors often do routine checkups on the chimpanzees to establish the general status of the there health chimpanzees. These records are kept routinely and help in knowing how these chimpanzees are progressing in the wilderness.

Security during chimpanzee habituation

The security of the chimpanzee habituators is very important and even the tourists. The chimpanzees deserve to be protected from encroachers and snares set by poachers. This is part of the money that is included in the chimpanzee habituation permit cost.

Community support

The proceeds accumulated from the sale of the chimpanzee habituation permits annually are given to the local community to support their projects like schools, road maintenance, water project support, and others. To promote the sustainable lives of the chimpanzees the community must be sensitized about their importance and the importance of protecting their habitats.

Best Time Do Chimpanzee Trekking In Budongo And Kaniyo Pabidi Forest

Chimpanzee habituation is best done in the drier months when the forest receives less humid conditions. Gorilla habituation is an all-year-round activity although. Even other forest dwellers are also active like monkeys, birds, and butterflies. The months of June to September and December to January are usually active months for forest dwellers.

Low seasons that is March to May usually have fewer people visiting so you may have discounted prices on facilities like accommodations

Because of limited numbers of tourists, you can take photos of the chimpanzees with less obstruction from people

Are chimpanzees Aggressive

Chimpanzees have mood swings too but you need to follow the rules of chimpanzee habituation and instructions passed by the rangers and other habituators.

Chimpanzees may be known to be vegetarian but with research that has been done, they have been discovered to feed on monkeys during times of famine. You need to be very obedient to them because they operate spy networks.

In order to alert others about the presence of intruders, they normally hoot after seeing you and beat tree trunks, and other so you need to behave while in the wilderness.

How safe Is Chimpanzee habituation

The safety of the chimpanzees is the mandate of the Uganda Wildlife Authority and other security organs in Uganda. You also need to pay attention to your own security like not carrying precious items, and not counting large sums of money in public. Eat from designated places to avoid food poisoning,

Carry light but relevant items for your safari so that you are not bothered when you need to carry your belonging

Do not provoke the chimpanzees during habituation because you do not know what their reaction may be to your teasing.

Carry some first aid kits in case you need emergency assistance while in the wilderness.

Never enter the forest without an escorting ranger guide to prevent chances of encountering dangerous animals.

What Is The Cost Of Chimpanzee Habituation In Kaniyo Pabidi

Apart from the chimpanzee habituation permit which cuts across all budgets, the other factors to consider for chimpanzee habitation include

The number of people you travel with where the more paying people are included in the safari, the less the cost per person because you share some of the components of the entire package.

The number of days you take on a chimpanzee trekking safari whereby the more days you are on safari, the more the mountain charges because most service providers charge per day price.

The timing of chimpanzee habituation whereby peak seasons attract high costs while low seasons may times attract discounted costs like accommodation, driver guides, and others.

The type of package you select for chimpanzee habitation matter where the cost of a luxury chimpanzee habituation package is different from mid-range, or budget packages.

The type of transport you select for chimpanzee habituation whereby road transport costs different from air transport.

Is Chimpanzee Habituation In Kaniyo Pabidi difficult?

Although these chimpanzees are still under habituation, they can be traced. They are exciting to follow because they still have their wild behavior. They may hide at some point you just need to be patient and follow the instruction given by the ranger guides. By the time of your chimpanzee habituation day, these researchers and rangers have followed the chimpanzee community for some time and recorded some of their common traits.

The forest has limited undergrowth and trails clearer to enable you to move faster to trace the way about of the chimpanzees. Get ready to keep on your feet because the chimpanzees keep meandering in searching for food to take them through the night and day.

Rules of Chimpanzee Habituation In Kaniyo Pabidi and Budongo forest

No provoking the chimpanzees because you are not sure of their reaction towards what you do.

Keep a distance of about 8 meters from the chimpanzees so as to reduce the chances of passing an infection to these chimpanzees.

Never eat while in front of the chimpanzees because they may grab it from you and eat it, they are wild animals that must search for their own food.

Using flash photography is forbidden because the chimpanzees are very sensitive to new occurrences in their presence. They may dash for the forest.

Spitting on vegetation is not a great idea because it is the food for the chimpanzees and may contaminate it too.

In case you catch any communicable infection, volunteer to stay behind so that it’s not passed to these primates.

Never enter the forest without an escorting ranger guide because you do not know what you may encounter like the forest elephants are dangerous, giant forest hogs, and others

Children 12 and below are not allowed to do chimpanzee habituation because they may not be in a position to follow some instructions for chimpanzee habituation.

Four hours are allowed in the presence of the chimpanzees when you locate them.

If you wish to take along call, as the ranger guide to dig a hole for you and cover everything beyond recognition.

Accommodation During Chimpanzee habituation in Kaniyo Pabidi

The accommodations in Murchison falls National park range from luxury to mid-range and budget. Some of these include Budongo Eco Lodge, Para safari Lodge, Nile safari Lodge, Baker’s Lodge, Murchison River Lodge, Red chillis, Sambiya lodge, and others.

What else to Do After Chimpanzee Habituation In Kaniyo Pabidi and Budongo Forest

Birding in Kaniyo Pabidi Forest

This forest is a great destination for a birding safari in Uganda. You have chances to spot Common Pochard Aythya ferina, Brown snake Eagle Circaetus cinereus, Garden Wabler Syrian borin, Green winged pytilia Melba, Eurasian Roller coracias garrulous, Grey Parrot Psittacus Erithacus and others.

Game drives in Murchison Falls National park

The northern sector of Murchison Falls is the prime gaming area of Murchison Falls National park. by taking the Buligi track, you may get to spot animals like lions, girafees, water bucks, busk bucks, rare leopards, hyenas, oribi, statungas, uganda kobs, warthogs, reedbucks and others. By walking up early morning or late afternoon, you have high chances of spotting these animals in the wild.

Launch trip

This is one of the best moments in Murchison Falls National park where river Victoria Nile vigorously squeezes through a narrow bed of about 6 meters to burst out and produce a cloudy appearance. The Nile first runs 80 km over a bed of rocks before finding its way through this narrow gorge.

The way to the fall is interesting as you have a lot of features to see along the River Nile Banks like the remnant of the rift valley that overlooks the Nile course. Enjoy a serried crowd of Nile crocodiles and schools of hippos that dot the water. You may have a chance to spot a variety of riverine birds that flock ashore while a number of animals love quenching thirst from the Nile banks

Nature walks in Kaniyo Pabidi Forest

You can take a guided nature walk through those huge mahogany trees where you may get to spot a number of birds, monkeys, butterflies, great botany and so much more. The forest is interesting and this type of environment is becoming scarce by the day.

Visit the top of the falls

To watch the River Nile drama, you take the hike to the top of the falls. This is where the vigorous nature of the River Nile can be witnessed. The water hits the rocks and flows over hard surfaces before pushing through this bend.