Mammals
The park provides habitat for 120 species of mammals ten of which are primates and more than 45 small mammal species, 348 species of birds, 220 species of butterflies, 27 species of frogs, chameleons, geckos and many endangered species.
Mammal List for Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Primates in Bwindi
- Mountain Gorillas
- Chimpanzees
Other Wildlife
- Elephants
Bwindi is one of the most prominent forests in Africa in terms of mammal diversity. The mammal species living in the forest make Bwindi second only in mammal numbers to the vast Queen Elizabeth National Park.
It contains about half of the world’s mountain gorillas IUCN category ‘Endangered’. Bwindi has a population of around 340 gorillas of which an estimated 116 are habituated. Gorillas are intelligent, majestic, gentle giants that share over 90% of their genetic material with humans. All of Bwindi’s habituated gorillas are known individually by the rangers and have been given names in order to identify them. The males can weigh more than 500lb and some silverbacks exceed 6ft.
Another globally threatened primate is the Eastern Chimpanzee -Endangered. Bwindi also hosts Blue Monkey, Red-tailed Monkey , Black and White Colobus Monkeys (Colobus guereza), Baboon (Papio anubis) and L’Hoest’s Monkeys (Cercopithecus lhoesti) along with three nocturnal primate species namely the Potto (Perodicticus potto), Demidoff’s Galago (Galagoides demidoff) and the Spectacled Galago .
The park supports Elephants (Loxodonta africana; Vulnerable), Bush Pigs (Potamochoerus larvatus), Giant Forest Hog (Hylochoerus meinertzhageni), Black-fronted Duiker (Cephalophus nigrifrons), Yellow-backed Duiker (Cephalophus silvicultor), Clawless Otter (Aonyx capensis), Side-stripped Jackal (Canis adustus), Civet (Civettictis civetta) and numerous other species, especially of bats and rodents.
Primates of Uganda
Here are the notable species that are protected in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
The rare mountain gorillas
Uganda is exceptionally one of the only three famous destinations in the world where mountain gorillas are found. In Uganda, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park and Mgahinga National Park feature as the only two protected areas where visitors can realize their dreams. About 480 individuals of these rare apes are all confined in the jungles of Uganda which translates to almost half of all the individuals that thrive in the entire world. Mountain gorillas share about 95% of their DNA with humans making them very susceptible to human infectious diseases. For interested visitors, Uganda is one of the best destinations that you should consider in your bucket list when it comes to gorilla adventures. There are over 12 groups that have been habituated for visitor experiences and as well, you can also engage in mountain gorilla habituation experience which is only conducted in Uganda and there are two groups (Bushaho and Bikingi) that have been set for this extra ordinary experience. Permits in Uganda are sold at $600 per visitor.
Chimpanzees
Chimpanzees are described as our closest relatives; they share about 98.7 percent of their DNA with humans and more than 5000 individuals Uganda their home. There are many sites that you can visit to see chimpanzee but the most famous with the largest concentration is Kibale Forest National Park where over 1500 of all the individuals that thrive in Uganda and they make up part of the 13 distinct primate species in the park. Other areas for you to spot these remarkable primates include Budongo Forest at Murchison Falls National Park, Kyambura Gorge in Queen Elizabeth National Park Semuliki Valley National Park and Kalinzu Forest.