Wildlife Found in Murchison Falls National Park : Murchison Falls National Park’s major appeal is wildlife, which is why the park is popular with millions of visitors from all over the world.
Murchison Falls National Park is home to over 73 animal species, four of which are the Big Five: buffaloes, leopards, lions, and elephants. The park also has three-quarters of the world’s population of Rothschild giraffes, as well as a healthy population of herbivores, including the Uganda. There are also primates living in Budongo’s verdant forests, including over 610 chimps and over 451 bird species, including 23 Albertine Rift species.
Wildlife Found in Murchison Falls National Park.
Murchison Falls National Park is home to approximately 76 species of animals, including four of the Big Five (only rhinos are missing); however, visitors who wish to see the entire Big Five can make a stopover at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, which is located along the way to Murchison Falls National Park.
Lions, leopards, cape buffalos, and elephants are among the Big Five species present at Murchison Falls National Park. Other creatures found in Murchison Falls National Park include Rothschild giraffes, warthogs, bushbucks, Jackson’s hartebeests, waterbucks, hippos, and oribi.
Murchison Falls National Park’s big game creatures may be seen on game drives, which are best done in the park’s northern sector, which has the highest densities of animals. Game drives are conducted along many paths. Tracks include Buligi, Victoria, and Albert, among others. Murchison Falls National Park offers morning, afternoon, and night game drives, with open windows and the rooftop of your vehicle allowing you to see as many animals as possible as they graze in the savannah grasslands.
These creatures may also be spotted on the boat tour upstream to the foot of the falls and downstream to the Victoria Nile delta. The boat excursion is done in morning and afternoon sessions that last from 2 to 4 hours. You will see hippos and crocodiles in the rivers, vast herds of elephants along the riverbanks, waterbucks, buffaloes, and other animals drinking water.
During the night/nocturnal game drive at Murchison Falls National Park, you will observe predators such as lions and leopards hunting, hippos grazing, and other nocturnal species such as genets, hyenas, civets, porcupines, bush babies, and night jars.
Primates
Uganda’s Murchison Falls National Park is another fantastic primate destination in the country, home to over 600 chimps, olive baboons, red tailed monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, and red tailed monkeys, among others. Primates in Murchison Falls National Park may be monitored in Kaniyo Pabidi – Budongo Forest, which is located in the park’s southern section. Chimpanzees are the main attraction of the park’s southern sector, and tourists can go chimp trekking in the morning or afternoon.
Chimpanzee trekking in Murchison Falls National Park is the second most popular safari activity, beginning with a briefing at the park’s headquarters and lasting about 2 to 4 hours depending on where the chimps spent the night before and their movement; chimps tend to move deeper into the forest in search of food, particularly during the dry season.
Other primates to view at Murchison Falls National Park include olive baboons, black and white colobus monkeys, blue monkeys, red tailed monkeys, and Patas monkeys, all of which are indigenous to the park. Primate habitats in Murchison Falls National Park include Kaniyo-Pabidi Budongo Forest and Rabongo Forest.
Birdlife in Murchison Falls National Park.
Murchison Falls National area is an excellent birding site, with over 450 bird species, including migratory and endemic species. The area is home to water birds, forest birds, savannah birds, and Albertine birds.
Bird species that bird enthusiast like yourself can find in Murchison Falls National Park include Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, African Darter, African Fish Eagle, African Jacana, African Quail-Finch, African Skimmer, Bar-breasted Fire finch, Beautiful Sunbird, Black Crake, Black Scimitar bill, Black-billed Barbet, Black-billed Wood-Dove, Black-faced Waxbill, Black-headed Batis, Black-headed Gondola, Black-headed Gonolek, Black-headed Plover, Black-lored Babbler, Blue-headed Coucal, Blue-napped Moosebird, Bluff-bellied Warbler, Chestnut-crowned Sparrow Weaver, Dark Chanting-Goshawk, Denham’s Bustard, Double-toothed Barbet, Eastern Grey Plantain-Eater, Fawn-breasted Waxbill, Giant Kingfisher, Goliath Heron, Gray Crowned crane, Green-winged Pytilias, Grey Crowned Cranes, Grey-headed Bush Shrike, Hugli’s Francolin, Long Tailed Nightjar, Long-toed Plover, Malachite Kingfisher, Martial Eagle, Northern Carmine Bee-eater, Northern Crombec, Osprey, Pel’s Fishing Owl among others.
Birds may be spotted in Murchison Falls National Park on a boat tour to the falls’ bottom and downstream to the Nile Delta, as well as during wildlife drives along many routes.
The best time to see wildlife in Murchison Falls National Park.
Murchison Falls National Park is an equatorial park, which means it has a tropical temperature and is hot all year, making it a year-round attraction. However, the greatest time to visit the park is during the dry season, which runs from December to February; the best time to observe animals is from June to September and January to March. During these months, animals tend to gather around the Nile and other water sources
