Lion Tracking Experience in Uganda : Lion tracking is one of the newly introduced wildlife safari activities in Uganda offers a chance for lion lovers to get a close up look of the king of the jungle and learn about their behavior at the same time, lions are generally difficult animals to find and this is due to the bushy nature of their habitats. For lion enthusiasts, lion tracking experience is unmissable safari activity during your Uganda safari.
Lions are the largest animals in the cat family still existing in the African wilderness balancing the eco-system by maintaining the population of herbivores animals. The overall population of lions in Africa has reduced over the years with only about 25,000 individuals still living in the wild. The main cause of this massive reduction in number is due to human interference whereby the increased human population has seen lion territory reduce as more land is cleared for farming and settlement.
WHERE TO DO LION TRACKING IN UGANDA
Lion tracking experience in Uganda can only and only be done on QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK. There are about 400 lions in Uganda and Queen Elizabeth national park has about 130 lions making it the most visited and most popular savannah national park in Uganda famously known for tree climbing lions, the park is the best destination to see lions and it prides itself in a great diversity of habitats including open savannah grassland, lakes, forests and wetlands serving as a home to the biggest variety of large mammals in Uganda. Queen Elizabeth national park receives good rains and retains its scenic beauty for most parts of the year unlike the drier Maraa mara national park. The park also stands out because of its amazing landscape Maramagambo forest, Kazinga channel, craters and Kyambura gorge, birding population and wildlife especially the rare tree climbing lion which are one of the leading tourist attraction in Uganda.
Queen Elizabeth national park is located in the western region of Uganda laying between Lake George and Lake Albert, the park covers an area of 1,978 square kilometers. Uganda is a home to 95 mammal species, 10 species of primates and about 618 bird species. Queen Elizabeth national park hosts the 6th highest bird diversity in the world and the highest in Africa, the trade mark wildlife in the park are the tree climbing lions found in the Southern Ishasha sector of the park. Tree climbing lions are only found in Queen Elizabeth national park and Lake Manyara national park on the African continent.
Kasenyi plains – Lion tracking in Queen Elizabeth national park is specifically done in the Kasenyi plains region of Queen Elizabeth national park. Kasenyi region is the most visited sector of the park where game drives are done. Kasenyi plains are found in the north Eastern of Queen Elizabeth national park, the plains are also called Mweya and they are positioned adjacent to Lake George and Kazinga channel boosting stunning views of Lake George. Kasenyi plains is an open savannah attracting a variety of wildlife species making it a perfect spot for game viewing and lion tracking, the plains is a major breeding area for the Uganda Kobs. Other animals swarming the Kasenyi plains include lions, leopards, elephants, warthogs, bush pigs, cape buffaloes among others.
Kasenyi plains also attracts a huge population of bird species such as grey crowned cranes, red throat spur fowls, yellow throated long crow among others.
Lions are attracted to the Kasenyi plains because of the abundance of the Uganda Kob which is the main prey for the lions and during the lion tracking experience you will enjoy watching the hunting session.
HOW LION TRACKING EXPERIENCE IS DONE
Lion tracking experience in Uganda is done in the Kasenyi plains hosting a large number of them, lion tracking experience is a unique experience and an active way of learning about lions making it to be more of a research experience. Lion tracking is a research program conducted by The Uganda Carnivore Program (UCP), a program committed to research and conservation of carnivores such as lions, leopards and hyenas in Uganda.
Tourists on a Lion tracking experience actively monitor some of the lions in the Kasenyi plains using locator devices under the supervision of a Senior Research Assistant with history of being involved in numerous wildlife interventions including the rescue and relocating of lions. During this experience you will learn numerous habituation calls of the lions, monitor the weather and the environment of the areas lions call home and their behaviors.
Lions tracked on this experience have radio collars attached in their necks and with a help of a directional antenna you are able to trace them, the antenna detects the movement of the lions and when they pass by the antenna is automatically alerted.
Lion tracking experience lasts for about 3 hours’ maximum offering 95% chances of spotting lions in their natural habitat, lion tracking is also used to monitor the lions thus helping in the conservation. This activity is done alongside researchers.
COST OF A LION TRACKING PERMIT
To do a lion tracking experience you need to have a lion tracking permit, these permits cost USD 110 for foreign non-residents and UGX 100,000 for East African residents. US $10 of the tracking fees is given to the community. A lion tracking permit is purchased only at the Uganda Wildlife Authority or through your tour operator, the advantage of your booking with a tour operator is that it is less stressful and it is included in the whole safari quotation.
10% of the money collected from the lion tracking experience and the lion tracking permits is given to the Uganda Carnivore Project responsible for conservation of carnivore’s animals such as lions.
WHEN TO BOOK FOR A LION TRACKING PERMIT
As you are planning on doing a lion tracking experience in Uganda, it is advisable to book your lion tracking permit and safari as early as possible so as not to miss out on the permits and low prices. On a daily basis, there are thousands of tourists interested in the lion tracking experience. So if you book your lion tracking permit late, it might cause delays and extra costs may incur.
WHEN TO DO LION TRACKING IN UGANDA
Lion tracking experience in Uganda is best done in the morning hours and the late evening hours, in these hours of the day the weather is cool forcing lions to get out of their hiding to go hunting. In these hours of the day, it is easy to spot lions as they hunt in the savannah plains of the Queen Elizabeth national park’s Ishasha sector, they can also be seen lounging and resting on branches of acacia trees
Morning lion tracking experience starts at 08:00 am and early evening lion tracking experience starts at around 04:00 pm, during this experience you will have an opportunity to watch other animals such as bush bucks, leopards, cape buffaloes, waterbucks, elephants, Uganda kobs and many birds inhabiting in the savannah plains of the Kasenyi plains region of Queen Elizabeth national park.
Note: During the day filled with scotching sun, the lions go into hiding for shade which makes it hard to spot them.
