chimpanzee in uganda
Noisy and curious, intelligent and social, the chimpanzee is the mammal most like a human. Chimpanzees fascinate humans and are favorites both in zoos and the wild. Three subspecies of common chimpanzees are distributed across the forest zone of Africa from Guinea to western Tanzania and Uganda. Another species of chimpanzees, the bonobo (Pan paniscus), is found exclusively in central Democratic Republic of Congo. The Ugandan Chimpanzee is a part of the chimpanzees found central and east Africa, Pan Troglodytes Schweinfurthi. In East Africa the chimpanzee is found in the wild in Uganda and Tanzania, but only in captivity in Kenya. There is over 5000 chimpanzees found in Uganda many of them in national parks and other places that they find conducive to their lifestyle. It is said that at one time there 50,000 or more in Uganda, but due to encroachment of villages and settlements, the trapping of chimpanzees, or simply be used for target practice during the civil unrest in Uganda.
Chimpanzee Habitats and Best Places to See Chimps in Uganda
Chimps are mainly found in rain forests and wet savannas. While they spend equal time on land and in trees, they do most of their feeding and sleeping in trees. In the Parks and the Wildlife Reserves they are protected and there are ongoing research into the habits and nature of chimpanzees. In Uganda, visitor can find chimpanzees places like kibale forest national park kyambura gorge in queen ellizabeth national park , kalinzu forest reserve , bigodi wetland sanctuary , budongo forest in Murchison Falls National park and at the ngamba in Lake Victoria near Entebbe Intenational airport.
Visitors can even assist researchers and remain the various forests with the chimpanzees for one or several days. (a cost is involved)
They are our closest relative in the animal kingdom, 98.9% of the same genes as man.
Chimpanzee Characteristics
The chimpanzee has a thickset body with long arms, short legs and no tail. Much of the body is covered with long black hair, but the face, ears, fingers and toes are bare. They have hands that can grip firmly, allowing them to pick up objects. The discovery that they used “tools” for certain purposes surprised the world.Chimpanzees though smaller in size than man, are about 5 times stronger. They weigh for males around 150 pounds while females are around 110 to 115 pounds. When they age many of them actually bald somewhat.
