Kibale

Kibale National Park was established in 1993 in western Uganda and protects some 795 km² of tropical rainforest that extends southwards to link up with Queen Elizabeth National Park, forming a continuous wildlife corridor some 180 kilometres long.

Its singularity is transition: Kibale occupies the belt where the lowland forest of the Congo meets the montane forest of the Albertine Rift, and species of both worlds live side by side in it. That mixture explains why it is the place in East Africa with the greatest diversity and density of primates: it holds thirteen species, among them a population of more than a thousand chimpanzees, the largest in Uganda, as well as Uganda red colobus, grey-cheeked mangabey, black-and-white colobus and l'Hoest's monkey.

Monitoring of the Kibale chimpanzees goes back to the 1980s and has produced much of what is known about the species' social behaviour, diet and use of medicinal plants. The park is also home to forest elephant, buffalo and a birdlife of more than three hundred species. On its southern edge, the Bigodi wetland is managed by the local community and is one of the most cited examples of community ecotourism in East Africa.