Project Description
The Kibale National Park contains one of the loveliest and most varied tracts of tropical forest in Uganda. This is home to a host of forest wildlife, most famously 13 species of primate including chimpanzee. Forest cover predominates in the northern and central parts of the park on the elevated Fort Portal plateau. Kibale is highest at the park’s northern tip which stands above sea level. Northern Kibale is also the wettest area, receiving a mean annual rainfall of up to 1700mm. The climate is generally pleasant with a mean annual temperature range of 14-27°C.
Southern Kibale adjoins Queen Elizabeth National Park and together these protected areas maintain a long migration corridor for wildlife which extends from Ishasha, the remote southern sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park, to the Sebitol forest in the north of Kibale.
Kibale’s varied altitude supports different types of habitat, ranging from wet tropical forest on the Fort Portal plateau, through dry tropical forest, to woodland and savanna on the rift valley floor.
The diversity and density of primates in Kibale is the highest in Africa. The most famous of its 13 species is the chimpanzee, our closest relative. Kibale’s 1450 chimpanzee represent Uganda’s largest population of this endangered primate.
