Animals in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park 

Animals in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Animals in Bwindi impenetrable national park: Bwindi impenetrable national park is one of the most visited destinations in Uganda the pearl of Africa situated in the south western part of the country and was gazette in 1991 to protect its stunning biodiversity of fauna and flora species. In the 1994, Bwindi impenetrable national park became a UNESCO world heritage site making it more known around the globe following the opening up of the gorilla trekking activity in 1993 as the first gorilla family Mubare was done with habituation process and ready for trekking by 8 persons per day. 

The major reason of visiting Bwindi impenetrable forest is to trek the endangered mountain gorillas though there are other park activities conducted alongside gorilla trekking. This implies that the highlight of animals in Bwindi impenetrable national park are the mountain gorillas.

Bwindi impenetrable national park harbors the largest number of the endangered mountain gorillas with more than a half of the entire population of mountain gorillas thrilling with in the impenetrable forest of Bwindi and the rest of the population distributed across Mgahinga gorilla national park, Volcanoes national park and Virunga national park in Uganda, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo consecutively.  While in Bwindi impenetrable national park, the chances of spotting mountain gorillas during trekking is 99% since the park thrills with more over 21 habituated gorilla families.

A permit to trek the mountain gorillas in Bwindi impenetrable national park as of 2021 costs $700 per person and it includes the park entrance fees, the ranger fees, and conservation fees but excludes porter hire fees, tips and gratuity among others. The Gorilla trekking permit can be obtained either direct from the Uganda Wildlife Authority or through a trusted tour operator like Achieve Global safaris who will organize an entire safari inclusive transportation , booking of accommodations, Gorilla permits and meals.

Apart from Gorilla trekking, you can as well view gorillas by taking on a Gorilla habituation experience which costs $1500 per person equivalent to the permit to trek Gorillas in Rwanda.

Other animals in Bwindi impenetrable national park

Other than Mountain gorillas, here are other animals that call Bwindi impenetrable national park their home and they include;

Other primates: Bwindi impenetrable National Park is not only a home to Mountain gorillas but as well harbors other several primates including; Chimpanzees, Grey-cheeked Mangabey monkey, Blue monkeys, L’Hoest’s Monkeys, Red Colobus monkeys, baboons, Black and White Colobus monkey etc. Take on a guided forest walk through any of the forest trails in Bwindi impenetrable national park and you will surely be rewarded with stunning encounters with lots of these primates in their natural habitats.

Mammals: Apart from primates, other animals that thrill in Bwindi impenetrable national park include over 120 species of mammal such as forest elephants, duikers, antelopes, bushbucks, jackal and many more that are usually seen during gorilla trekking and guided nature walks. Some of these trails to use include; Mubwindi Swamp trail, Bamboo trail, Kashasha River Trail, Muzabajiro Loop Trail, Habinyanja Trail, Ivy River Trail, Rushura Hill trail, Munyanga Waterfall Trail, Buhoma – Nkuringo Trail, and Ruizi River Trail among others.

Birds: Bwindi impenetrable national park is a habitat to over 360 bird species thus listed amongst the best destinations to visit on a Uganda safari for bird watching. Amongst the bird species that thrill in Bwindi impenetrable national park are some species marked endangered on the IUCN Red list. One can opt for a birding watching safari in Bwindi impenetrable national park as an independent activity to be able to watch as many bird species as possible though it is as well okay to watch birds alongside other activities like Gorillas trekking, guided nature walks and many more. A list of bird species in Bwindi impenetrable national park include; African Green Broadbill, Ruwenzori batis, Ross’s Turaco, African Green Broadbill, Great Blue Turaco, handsome Francolin, Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo, African Hill-babbler, white-tailed crested Flycatcher, Grey Crowned Crane, Brown-capped Weaver, Blue Spotted wood dove, red-faced woodland Warbler, Jameson’s Ant pecker, Pink-footed Puff back, chestnut-throated Apalis, Waller’s Starling, yellow-streaked Greenbul, Short-tailed Warbler, Mountain Wagtail, Elliot’s Woodpecker, Grauer’s Warbler, African Paradise flycatcher, Grey-cheeked Hornbill, Kivu ground thrush, Dwarf honeyguide, African Emerald Cuckoo, green tinker bird, Dusky twin spot, Mountain masked Apalis, handsome spur fowl, and many more.