Chimpanzee Tracking in Kibale Forest

Kibale Forest National Park is located in the western part of Uganda, known for the chimpanzee species, it is home to 13 kinds of great apes, the tropical rain forest is one of the few remaining tracts of the kind in Uganda, covering the largest forest part of Kabarole district, its inhabitants of the Chimpanzee are scientifically proven to share up to 98 % of the human DNA, the park was established in the 1995 to protect the forest from loggers and poachers, it is close to the Queen Elizabeth National Park and the Semuliki National Park. Chimpanzee Tracking in Kibale Forest gives you a chance to see chimpanzees in their natural habitat.

Kibale Forest National Park is commonly referred to as the capital of primates, known for the Chimpanzee, over 800 troops live within the forest, and they can be up to 100 members led by a male Alpha, they are highly social primates, intelligent, because of this intelligence, chimps can communicate using body language, charter sound, and hoots, they have been sighted using tools for example sticks to collect ants, chimps make daily nests in the tree canopies, feeding on insects, plans, flowers, fruits,  an adult chimpanzee can weigh up to 70 kilograms., with a life span of 60 years old.

Chimpanzee Tracking in Kibale Forest National Park gives you higher chances of seeing the chimps in the wilderness. It begins in the morning at the Kanyanchu visitor center, with a morning briefing from the Uganda Wildlife Authority team, the rangers will share with you the back ground of the forest, after which you will head out to the forest in search of the primates, it take s2-3 hours looking for chimpanzee, every day groups of people go o the forest in 2 sessions in the morning at 8:00am and afternoon at 2:00pm east African time,  chimpanzee are so loud in that you will hear them t a distance, there is so much drama and activity taking place with the chimpanzee as they jump and swing from one tree to another, each chimpanzee has got a different personal character, chimpanzee spend most of their time in the trees so look out up in the trees for the primates.

The chimpanzee habituation process, is offered to guests who would like to spend the day with the primates, it is process where the primates are studied and made used to getting human presence the activity is special because we  get to know the most of chimpanzee character, how they live, this is done in the guidance of trackers and researchers. There are groups that have been set aside for chimpanzee habituation process. This activity starts earlier at 5:30 am  and you follow these all day long it is best done in the low rain season.

To see primates in the forest you will need to pay tracking permits that can be accessed from Uganda wildlife authority, a permit goes for $200. The best time to go chimpanzee tracking in Kibale Forest is during the much drier season as the game tracks are much drier and easy to access. The park can be easily accessed by road form Entebbe or Kampala.