22 Giraffes to be transferred in Murchison Falls NP – Uganda Safari News
With an aim of continuous conservation of the giraffes in Uganda, the Uganda Wildlife Authority started a UShs.200 million project of moving the mammals from the northern part of Murchison to the southern part. This will also include the transfer of two giraffes to the Uganda Wildlife Education Center, UWEC which is found in Entebbe. This initiative was flagged off last Friday in Kampala by the acting executive director of UWA and it is expected to reduce the extinction of the mammals which are currently estimated to be around 900 in number in this East African country. This is a small portion of the world’s total number of the giraffes which is about 2,500 and this means that there is need to protect the small number in Uganda. There was also concern that with the discovery of oil near the northern part of the park, the free movement and existence of the giraffes would be affected and therefore calling for their transfer. The Executive director of UWEC said that moving the two giraffes to the center will not only conserve the mammals but also help to boost the attraction more importantly education as students from different schools in the country go there and have a closer look at the giraffes.
Murchison Falls National Park is among the three parks in the country where a visitor can spot the giraffes with others including Lake Mburo National Park and Kidepo Valley National Park. This shows how important it is to conserve the mammals especially when Uganda has started regaining its popularity when it comes to wildlife tours. In the past years, wildlife safaris in Uganda were becoming less opted for by visitors with gorilla trekking taking the number one position but this is steadily changing with the increases marketing of the activity and also the bringing in of more wild animals.
The Rothchild Giraffes of Uganda have greatly contributed to the increased number of tourists in the country attracting people especially nature lovers who come to look at them. These are rare and can be found in Uganda and Kenya with Uganda offering the best adventurous experience and best atmosphere to view them in its parks. The officials from UWA believe that the conservation programme which will take about 3 weeks will help to improve the country’s tourism hence its growth.
