The Big 5 on your Uganda Safari

The Big 5 Safari Uganda

The Big 5 on your Uganda Safari is a great wildlife experience for wild animal enthusiasts. The African Big Five animals are sought after by many wildlife enthusiasts and having to see them in Uganda is a great choice.

The big 5 on your Uganda safari cannot be in one single reserve ever since the southern white rhino got extinct in the country in the 1980s. However, the rhinos were reintroduced into the country and bred in the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary where they can be seen during the amazing rhino tracking experience.

The Big Four can be seen in three savannah National Parks which are Queen Elizabeth National Park, Murchison Falls National Park, and Kidepo Valley National Park in the far northeastern region of Uganda.

 

What are the Big Five African Animals?

The Big Five African animals is an old hunting term that highlights the five animals that were most prized by trophy hunters back in the 1800s.

The five were considered to be the most challenging and dangerous animals to hunt on foot. The Big 5 animals that you will see on your Uganda safari are the African Elephant, Lion, Leopard, Rhinoceros, and Cape buffalo. In the 21st century, travelers still love to see the big five, however, not for trophy hunting but more for seeing and photographing now.

The only weapon to shoot the Big five during a Uganda safari is now by camera as they can be seen in the savannah parks and Rhino sanctuary.

You can also have both a gorilla trekking safari and a wildlife safari all in one on your Uganda safari.

1. African Buffalo (Syncerus caffer)

African Buffalo is an ox species that is adaptable and a widespread creature that lives in large herds in the savanna and also in smaller herds in forested areas. It is the most dangerous of all African game species most especially when it is wound or solitary, thus its reputation manifests it being recognize as one of the Big five worldwide.

An African Buffalo can easily be distinguish from any other animal. The African Buffalo is generally dark black color and has horns that are smaller and lighter curving outwards, backward and upwards. The buffalos are large and have even toed ungulates.

African Buffalo occupy the Africa’s woodlands, riverine valleys, marshlands sub-Tropical savanna, Eco tones of broadleaf montane forests, which are usually have abundant tall, sweet grasses, ample surface water, mud bath, and sufficient shrub and trees for refuge. African Buffalos, however, try to avoid areas of open plain grasslands without woody shelter. They are remarkably social and congregate in herds that range from a few individuals to over a thousand buffalos, and basically form two types of mixed herds, the one with mixed sex and the other having mixed age.

In Uganda, the Buffalos live in Queen Elizabeth National Park and Murchison Falls National Park where you will have a chance to see the Hybrid of the savanna Buffalo of East Africa and the red buffalo of West Africa. Kidepo Valley National Park is also home to the Buffalos that roam the savannah plains in hundreds.

2. African Elephant (Loxodonta Africana)

African Elephant is the world’s largest land mammal and perhaps the most enduring symbol of nature’s grace and fragility. An African elephant is also one of the most intelligent and entertaining to watch.

A fully grown male African elephant has an average weight of 6300 kilos, however, the smallest adult male rarely dips 4000 kilos. The female elephants however on normal conditions weigh just over half of the weight of the male.

 

The height however varies slightly more than the weights with the tallest male being 4 meters tall and the tallest female 3.4 meters.

The other obvious difference apart from the overall size between the female and the male is that the female have got an angular forehead while the male’s forehead is more rounded. An elephant has the largest brain of all other live mammals which can weigh up to 6 kilos. An African elephant uses its tusks as both tools and weapons.

In Uganda, African elephants are in Murchison Falls National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park and Kidepo Valley National Park. However, for greater sightings, a boat safari to the Nile in Murchison Falls National Park and Kazinga channel in Queen Elizabeth National Park offers great chances to sightings during Big 5 safari Uganda.

3. Leopard (Panthera pardus)

The leopard is the most common Africa’s large felines and often lives in close proximity to humans. However, they are rarely see because of their secretive, solitary nature. According to the ecological and ethological attributes, the leopard is an exceptional adaptable predator.

Leopards in undisturbed conditions occupy every part in Africa south of Sahara apart from the aridest areas. These are mostly in the woodlands, thorn bush areas, lowlands, and also occupy the montane forests of Africa.

They remarkably have a high capacity of adapting to changes in the prey species. Also to hunting conditions, carnivore competition, vegetation patterns, and human activities. These abilities have manifested their existence in developing Africa more successfully than any other large wild animal.

In Uganda, leopards differ from any other type of carnivore. This is because sightings of their species are more often outside the protected areas. Leopards hunt using their stealth and power, often winning 5 meters of their intended prey before they pounce, and habitually store their kill onto a tree, keeping it away from large predators.

In Uganda, leopards are predominantly in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Murchison Falls National Park, and Kidepo Valley National Park. Rare sightings have are at Lake Mburo National Park, Mt Elgon National Park and Toro- Semiliki Wildlife Reserve.

4. African Lion (Panthera leo)

An African lion is the largest and most imposing African carnivore. The lion is remarkably the most sociable of the large cats. They also live in loosely structured pride typically of about five to fifteen animals. In different cultures, lions have different significant importance. In Uganda, they enjoy the reputation of being the kings of the beasts. They also are popular symbols of royalty, strength, and bravery.

The lion societies in which they live are more common than those of chimpanzees. They have different home ranges that overlap so that they regularly meet and come together.

They throw the males out of the group at the age of about 3-4 years. This is by the dominant male at that time. However, the grown-up lions will try to fight to take on a group. The females however live in one area and their mothers usually move to the adjacent pride.

In Uganda, lions are in Murchison Falls National Park, Kidepo Valley National Park. Also, they are in Queen Elizabeth National Park which is famous for its Ishasha tree-climbing lions.

5. Rhinoceros

The rhinoceros are commonly known as the rhino. A Rhino is a large herbivorous mammal that is commonly identified by its horned snouts. Rhinoceros have got massive bodies with stumpy legs and either one or two dermal horns.

Rhinoceros vary in species and in some species, the horns may be short or not obvious. The biggest and most common species include Africa’s white rhino and Asia’s greater one-horned rhino. Rhinos have poor eyesight. However, they have got a well-developing sense of smelling and hearing.

Rhinos in Uganda have been hunt nearly to extinction. This is because they use the animals’ horns in folk medicine for their healing properties.

They sell rhino horns sometimes as trophies or decorations. However, in most cases, they grind them and use them to make Chinese medicine. The horns heal aphrodisiacs, hangover cures, and fevers.

In Uganda, the common species are the black rhinoceros and the white rhinoceros. These are in the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. This is in Nakasongola district on the Gulu highway a few kilometers from Murchison Falls National Park.

To have a Big 5 Safari in Uganda, a tourist must explore the Big Four animal habitats. Also they must combine the wildlife safari with Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. The buffalo, rhino, lion, leopard are the traditional Big Five African safari animals. However, today, Uganda tours offer the Big 5 safari in Uganda plus the mountain gorillas and chimpanzees.

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