Kibale National Park

Kibale National Park is located in southwestern Uganda, north of Queen Elizabeth National Park. It was established in 1993 and covers an area of 766 square kilometres. It is also located at an altitude of 1110 to 1590 meters above sea level and consists mostly of mountain rainforest. In the south, there are also smaller swamps and grasslands. The park is home to a huge biodiversity of plants and animals. It is especially known for the chimpanzees that live there, but other primates can also be found in the park, such as the colobus monkeys, red mute monkeys, diadem monkeys, black-cheeked white-noses and many others. If you are lucky, in addition to the primates, you can also see the forest elephants, which are smaller compared to the steppe elephants. There are also buffaloes, leopards, brush-eared pigs, bushbuck and many other mammals. Also, many amphibians, reptiles, as well as about 320 species of birds and 140 species of butterflies can be found in Kibale National Park.

For most visitors, the animals most closely related to humans, the chimpanzees, are the highlight of the national park. In the wild, chimpanzees live up to 40 years. They live in groups of 10 to 100 animals and are considered very intelligent, occasionally using stones, branches or other things as tools to reach food. Their diet consists mainly of leaves, fruits, seeds and occasionally insects.