The Ajai Wildlife Reserve is a small conservation protected area in northeastern Uganda dominated by a large island surrounded by seasonally flooded swamps and wooded savanna.

Location

Ajai lies on the western bank of the

White Nile The White Nile ( ar, النيل الأبيض ') is a river in Africa, one of the two main tributaries of the Nile, the other being the Blue Nile. The name comes from the clay sediment carried in the water that changes the water to a pale color. ...

, approximately east of Arua.

History

Before Ajai was gazetted as a wildlife reserve in 1965, the Ajai Rhino Sanctuary was home to 60 of Uganda's 80 remaining

white rhino The white rhinoceros, white rhino or square-lipped rhinoceros (''Ceratotherium simum'') is the largest extant species of rhinoceros. It has a wide mouth used for grazing and is the most social of all rhino species. The white rhinoceros consists ...

. The WWF funded an anti-poaching project there in 1962. In 2002 were carved out of the reserve to make space for human settlements. In 2008 the

Uganda Wildlife Authority The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) is a semi-autonomous Ugandan government agency that aims to conserve, manage and regulate Uganda’s wildlife. "UWA is mandated to ensure sustainable management of wildlife resources and supervise wildlife a ...

privatized the operation of Ajai. The concession went to Uganda Wildlife Safaris Ltd, a hunting and photographic tour operator.

Wildlife

The reserve supports around 35 kilometers of papyrus swamp along with grassy floodplains and Savannah woodland. Large mammals present include

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...

, Uganda

Kob The kob (''Kobus kob'') is an antelope found across Central Africa and parts of West Africa and East Africa. Together with the closely related reedbucks, waterbucks, lechwe, Nile lechwe, and puku, it forms the Reduncinae tribe. Found along ...

sitatunga The sitatunga or marshbuck (''Tragelaphus spekii'') is a swamp-dwelling antelope found throughout central Africa, centering on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, parts of Southern Sudan, Equatorial Guinea, ...

hippo The hippopotamus ( ; : hippopotamuses or hippopotami; ''Hippopotamus amphibius''), also called the hippo, common hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extant ...

, black-and-white colobus and

warthog ''Phacochoerus'' is a genus in the family Suidae, commonly known as warthogs (pronounced ''wart-hog''). They are pigs who live in open and semi-open habitats, even in quite arid regions, in sub-Saharan Africa. The two species were formerly cons ...

, and there are reputedly long-term plans to introduce southern white rhinos.

Getting there

To get to Ajai from Arua, follow the surfaced Packwach Road south for 15 kilometers to Olevu, then branch left on to a 40 kilometer dirt road running east to the reserve.

References

{{Protected Areas of Uganda Important Bird Areas of Uganda