Uganda

África

Capital: KampalaDecember to February

213

Documented species

Parks and reserves

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Uganda sits at the meeting point of the forests of central Africa and the savannahs of East Africa, which makes it one of the continent's richest countries in birds and primates relative to its size. To the west, the Rwenzori mountains, the legendary Mountains of the Moon, keep equatorial glaciers and an outsized afroalpine vegetation, with giant lobelias and groundsels. Bwindi, an impenetrable and very ancient montane forest, holds close to half the mountain gorillas left in the world. In Kibale the density of primates is among the highest on the planet, with thirteen species. The plains of Queen Elizabeth and Murchison Falls combine savannah, lakes and the Nile, which at Murchison is squeezed into a gorge barely seven metres wide.

The nature of Uganda

National animal: The grey crowned crane, the national bird, on the country's flag

Did you know?

The shoebill is one of the strangest birds in the world: it stands more than a metre tall, has an enormous clog-shaped bill with a hook at the tip, and hunts by standing completely motionless for half an hour or more until a lungfish comes up to breathe. Then it throws its whole body at the water. The papyrus swamps of Mabamba, beside Lake Victoria, are one of the most reliable places on the planet to see it.

Biodiversity profile

Africa Oriental (pais sin litoral, corazon del Rift Albertino)Dato no disponible con precision agregada nacional en fuentes verificadas consultadas

Climate

•Tropical humedo (Af/Am) en el sur y suroeste
•Tropical con estacion seca (Aw) en el norte
•Clima de montaña en el Rift Albertino y el Monte Elgon

Main biomes

•Bosque montano del Rift Albertino (suroeste, uno de los hotspots de mayor endemismo de Africa)
•Sabana y mosaico de bosque-sabana de la Cuenca Victoria (centro-norte)
•Bosque tropical humedo (oeste, Cuenca del Congo)
•Selva de montaña
•Páramo afroalpino con glaciares
•Sabana de acacias
•Humedal de papiro
•Lago tropical
•Bosque de transición
•Cráter volcánico

Marine and coastal ecosystems

•No aplica (pais sin litoral); el Lago Victoria (segundo lago de agua dulce mas grande del mundo) es un ecosistema acuatico de gran relevancia regional

Flagship wildlife

•Gorila de montaña (mas de la mitad de la poblacion mundial en Bwindi y Virunga)
•Chimpance
•Mono dorado (Rift Albertino)
•Elefante de sabana y de bosque
•Picozapato
•Grulla coronada cuelligrís
•Elefante africano de sabana
•Hipopótamo
•León africano
•Colobo rojo de Uganda
•Antílope kob de Uganda
•Sitatunga

Notable endemic species

•Mas de 5.000 especies de plantas, 345 mamiferos, 1.015 aves, 165 reptiles y 43 anfibios registrados
•Mayor endemismo concentrado en las montañas del Rift Albertino y el este de Uganda, con mas del 90% de la flora endemica ya evaluada, de la cual 58% catalogada como amenazada
•Colobo rojo de Uganda

Notable threatened species

•Gorila de montaña (En Peligro, poblacion mundial en recuperacion gracias a decadas de conservacion transfronteriza)
•58% de las especies vegetales endemicas de Uganda evaluadas catalogadas como amenazadas (Vulnerable, En Peligro o En Peligro Critico)

Notable protected areas

•Parque Nacional del Bosque Impenetrable de Bwindi (Patrimonio Mundial, gorila de montaña)
•Parque Nacional de los Montes Rwenzori (Patrimonio Mundial)
•Parque Nacional Reina Isabel
•Parque Nacional Impenetrable de Bwindi
•Parque Nacional de Kibale
•Parque Nacional Queen Elizabeth
•Parque Nacional de Murchison Falls
•Humedal de Mabamba

Main conservation threats

•Perdida de habitat y sobreexplotacion de recursos naturales sobre plantas endemicas del Rift Albertino
•Presion demografica sobre bosques montanos aislados
•Fragmentacion de corredores de fauna entre areas protegidas

Notable natural phenomena

•Uganda alberga mas de la mitad de la poblacion mundial de gorilas de montaña, gracias a decadas de exito en conservacion transfronteriza con Ruanda y la RD Congo

Conservation

Gorilla-watching tourism funds much of the country's conservation and of the communities neighbouring Bwindi. The tree-climbing lions of Ishasha, which rest in the fig trees, are a population in decline through poisoning and poaching.

Where and when to watch wildlife

Bwindi year-round for mountain gorillas, with limited permits. Mabamba at dawn for the shoebill. Kibale in the dry season for chimpanzees and primates.

Sources: PMC - Uganda's endemic flora discovery diversity distribution threat status | eac.int - Biodiversity East African Community

Savanna Rainforest Mountain Freshwater