Safari Uganda
- Africa
Uganda Safaris - Gorilla Trekking Safari Tours Uganda, Winston Churchill, in the
early 20th Century was so struck by the natural beauty of Uganda that he said
the now famous words, Uganda is from end to end one beautiful garden... The Pearl
of Africa! As the 21st Century begins Uganda, the Pearl is now a shining and increasingly
popular tourist destination. We, at Sun and Sandals cannot overemphasize the natural
beauty of this tropical country jam-packed with wild animals, birds, rivers, waterfalls,
primates and some of the friendliest people on God's earth.
Uganda
Safari Packages:
What
we offer on safari in Uganda -
We
offer numerous types of tours, catering for any taste and budget. From luxury
safaris to pleasant camping/ trekking/ walking routes, with its vast wilderness
areas and perhaps the continent’s most diverse range of Wildlife Uganda makes
for utterly exciting travel. The country offers top wildlife destinations, fantastic
adventure holidays and the best bird life anywhere. It is a tremendously lush
country, dotted with lakes and rivers the most famous being the Nile and the West
is fringed by the glacier-capped Rwenzori Mountains. Best time to visit: The climate
is good in Uganda all year round, daytime temperatures generally hovering between
24-28 C. It cools down considerably at night, enough for a jersey but woollens
are not necessary.
Safari
Packages to See Primates -
Gorillas
For many years gorillas were classified as a single species within the genus Gorilla.
However, recent genetic evidence suggests that this classification should be modified
to distinguish two separate species: the western and eastern gorillas, each represented
by several subspecies. The adult gorilla has a large head, a broad, flattened
nose with flared nostrils, long arms with massive forearms, short and stocky legs,
and a protruding abdomen. Its eyes, ears, and genitals are small relative to overall
body size. Gorillas are chiefly land animals. They walk quadrupedally (using both
feet and hands), with the knuckles of the hands carrying the weight of the upper
body. In lowland regions with many fruiting trees, gorillas tend to spend more
time off the ground, climbing trees and sometimes brachiating (swinging by their
arms).
Unlike
the other great apes, gorillas travel, eat, play, and sleep in stable family groups.
Gorillas spend much of their day eating, consuming a primarily vegetarian diet
of leaves, stems, shoots, and fruit. They travel between feedings, covering a
distance of several hundred yards to a mile or more in a day. In lowland forests
where gorillas eat a substantial amount of fruit, the slow passage of seeds through
their digestive tracts serves an important ecological process: the widespread
dispersal and propagation of trees. At dusk a family settles wherever it has finished
feeding.
The female menstruates about every 28 days and may mate in any season.Young adults
normally leave their families when they reach breeding age and thereby avoid breeding
with kin. Generally males travel alone until they are able to attract females
from other groups and begin their own families, while females transfer to already
existing groups or to lone males. Experts estimate that the gorilla life span
is 35 to 45 years. Prior to old age, most gorilla deaths take place in the first
two years of life, during which time 25 percent of infants die due to illness.
Gorillas are legally protected in all countries in which they live.
Despite
this, gorillas are threatened with extinction as a result of the clearing and
destruction of the tropical forests on which they depend, and the illegal hunting
of gorillas for meat, trophies, or subsequent sale of live young. Mountain gorillas
living on the borders of the DRC, Rwanda, and Uganda, along with a small population
of gorillas on the Nigeria and Cameroon border, are most at risk. Each of these
populations numbers only in the hundreds. Prominent gorilla conservation projects
have been established in selected areas in an attempt to reverse the trend of
declining population sizes. These programs have pioneered the development of ecotourism,
in which tourists pay to visit areas with interesting natural and cultural features.
Conservationists also work with local communities to educate people about the
value of the wildlife in the area, to eliminate illegal hunting, and to assist
communities in developing farming and logging methods that are habitat and gorilla
friendly.