Queen Elizabeth National Park is a

national park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The ...

Location

Queen Elizabeth National Park (QENP) is in the Western Region of Uganda, spanning the districts of Kasese, Kamwenge,

Rubirizi Rubirizi, sometimes spelled Rubiriizi, is a town in Rubirizi District, Ankole sub-region, Western Uganda. The town is the main municipal, administrative and commercial center of Rubirizi District. The district is named after the town. Locat ...

, and

Rukungiri Rukungiri is a town in Rukungiri District of the Western Region of Uganda. It is the site of the district headquarters. Location Rukungiri is approximately , by road, north of Kabale, the largest city in the Kigezi sub-region. This is about ...

. The park is approximately by road south-west of

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and R ...

, Uganda's capital and largest city. The city of Kasese lies to the northeast of the park, while the town of

is to the southeast. The park adjoins

Kyambura Game Reserve Kyambura Game Reserve or Chambura Game Reserve, which includes the Kyambura Gorge, adjoins the Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda. It is home to a variety of wildlife. The area is an important water source for many animals and is surrounded by ...

to the east, which itself adjoins the Kigezi Game Reserve (including the

Maramagambo Forest Maramagambo Forest is located in Bushenyi, Uganda. It adjoins the Queen Elizabeth National Park to the north. It is jointly managed by the Uganda Wildlife Authority and the National Forestry Authority. It is associated with its bat cave where a t ...

) and thus the

Kibale National Park Kibale Forest National Park is a national park in western Uganda, protecting moist evergreen rainforest. It is in size and ranges between and in elevation. Despite encompassing primarily moist evergreen forest, it contains a diverse array o ...

to the northeast. The Virunga National Park in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

lies across the border to the west. Together, these protected places completely encircle Lake Edward. The

Rwenzori Mountains National Park Rwenzori Mountains National Park is a Ugandan national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the Rwenzori Mountains. Almost in size, the park has Africa's third highest mountain peak and many waterfalls, lakes, and glaciers. The park i ...

in Uganda lies not far to the northwest. Confusingly, during the 1970s and 1980s, Western conservationists usually referred to the park as

Rwenzori National Park Rwenzori Mountains National Park is a Ugandan national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the Rwenzori Mountains. Almost in size, the park has Africa's third highest mountain peak and many waterfalls, lakes, and glaciers. The ...

History

In 1921, a rinderpest epidemic and sleeping sickness among the indigenous inhabitants of the region, the pastoralist Basongora, caused great death and emigration from the region. The epidemic was believed to be caused by the colonial government under the guise of a livestock vaccination campaign. The game increased, and the British colonial government decided to evict the remaining people from perhaps 90% of their lands to create game reserves. Their homes were torched and their livestock slaughtered, causing them to flee across the border and seek refuge in what is now the

. The park was founded in 1952 as Kazinga National Park by combining the Lake George and Lake Edward Game Reserves. It was renamed two years later to commemorate a visit by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

, and the last remaining communal grazing rights of the Songora herders were rescinded, causing thousands more to move across the border with their herds into the Virunga National Park, most only beginning to return after 1964 due to the strife caused by the

Mulele Pierre Mulele (11 August 1929 – 3 or 9 October 1968) was a Congolese rebel active in the Simba rebellion of 1964. Mulele had also been minister of education in Patrice Lumumba's cabinet. With the assassination of Lumumba in January 1961 and ...

rebellion there. In 2006 the Basongora were forced to flee across the border from the DRC, settling in the park to the north of Lake Edward with their livestock. Attacks by predators on their property, and lack of compensation when their animals are killed, caused them to leave out carcasses laced with poison out to solve the problem, killing off eleven lions in 2018, among numerous incidents. This caused those in the international tourism and conservation industry to refer to the situation as "national disaster". Previously, poachers killed six elephants in the park in 2015, triggering both anger and frustration within the Ugandan conservation community.

Overview

QENP occupies an estimated . The park is known for its abundant wildlife, including African elephant, African buffalo, Ugandan kob,

hippopotamus 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 exta ...

topi ''Damaliscus lunatus jimela'' is a subspecies of topi, and is usually just called a topi. It is a highly social and fast type of antelope found in the savannas, semi-deserts, and floodplains of sub-Saharan Africa. Names The word ''tope'' or ''t ...

waterbuck The waterbuck (''Kobus ellipsiprymnus'') is a large antelope found widely in sub-Saharan Africa. It is placed in the genus '' Kobus'' of the family Bovidae. It was first described by Irish naturalist William Ogilby in 1833. Its 13 subspecies a ...

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 con ...

, giant forest hog,

Nile crocodile The Nile crocodile (''Crocodylus niloticus'') is a large crocodilian native to freshwater habitats in Africa, where it is present in 26 countries. It is widely distributed throughout sub-Saharan Africa, occurring mostly in the central, eastern, ...

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, ...

spotted hyena The spotted hyena (''Crocuta crocuta''), also known as the laughing hyena, is a hyena species, currently classed as the sole extant member of the genus ''Crocuta'', native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is listed as being of least concern by the IUC ...

chimpanzee The chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes''), also known as simply the chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. When its close relative t ...

and

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adu ...

. Overall, the park is home to 95

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur ...

species and over 600 bird species. The area around Ishasha in Rukungiri District is famous for its tree-climbing lions, whose males often sport black manes. In 2020, Uganda Wildlife Authority executive director Samuel John Mwandha stated that the wildlife in park has been increasing in the last five years. QENP, together with the adjacent Virunga National Park, was designated as a 'lion conservation unit' by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

in 2006. The area is also considered a potential lion stronghold in Central Africa, if poaching is curbed and prey species are allowed to recover. The resident lion population (including hyenas and leopards) are actively monitored by the Uganda Carnivore Program and the Uganda Wildlife Authority through the use of radio collars and other conservation initiatives. The park is also famous for its volcanic features, including volcanic cones and deep craters, many with crater lakes, such as the Katwe craters, from which salt is extracted. Services in the park include a telecenter run by

Conservation Through Public Health Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH) is a non-profit organization based in Uganda and the US that conducts programs to protect gorillas and other wildlife from human and livestock disease risk; to reduce human and livestock diseases in the vi ...

Tourism

Queen Elizabeth National Park is one of Uganda’s most popular tourist destinations, annually receiving one of the highest number of visitors of any of the country's national parks. Popular activities include chimp tracking in Kyambura Gorge, boat cruises, guided game drives including to view tree climbing lions in the Ishasha sector, night drives and nature walks. Visitors can also go on a lion experience with the Uganda Carnivore Program, with proceeds going toward carnivore conservation. Tourists visiting Queen Elizabeth National Park make a 7 hours 30 minutes drive from Kampala to reach the park. The park is also connected by daily domestic flights from Entebbe International Airport, which land at Mweya Airstrip, Kihihi Airstrip and Kasese Airstrip. Tourist accommodations at the park include a range of lodges and tented camps.

Twinning

QENP and the

Queen Elizabeth Country Park Queen Elizabeth Country Park is a large country park situated on the South Downs in southern England. It is located on the A3 road three miles south of Petersfield, Hampshire and lies within the South Downs National Park. The park contains 1,40 ...

in England are twinned in a project of "cultural exchange, mutual support and has its main emphasis on supporting Conservation through working closely with and empowering local communities".

References

External links

*
QENP Map
Uganda Dept of Lands and Surveys, 1961
Queen Elizabeth National Park
Official Tourism Website of Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Queen Elizabeth Conservation Area
Official Information from the UgandaParks.com website.
Uganda Carnivore Program
Official website of the Uganda Carnivore Program.
Queen Elizabeth Game Park
Information about Queen Elizabeth National Park, Kyambura Game Reserve and Kalinzu Forest. {{Authority control National parks of Uganda Western Region, Uganda Lake Edward Lake George (Uganda) Biosphere reserves of Uganda Important Bird Areas of Uganda Bushenyi District Kasese District Kamwenge District Rubirizi District Rukungiri District Protected areas established in 1954 1954 establishments in Uganda Victoria Basin forest–savanna mosaic Albertine Rift montane forests