The Semliki Wildlife Reserve is a conservation protected area in the
Western Region of Uganda with headquarters at
Karugutu in
Ntoroko District
Ntoroko District is a district in the Western Region of Uganda. The district headquarters are in the Kibbuuku town council. It is the second least populated district in Uganda.
Location
Ntoroko District is one of the two Ugandan districts west ...
.
Geography
Semliki Wildlife Reserve is located in
Kabarole and
Ntoroko
Ntoroko is a town officially known as Kanara Town Council in Ntoroko District Western Uganda. It is one of the four town councils of Ntoroko District the others being Karugutu, Rwebisengo and Kibuku Town Council.
Ntoroko is the largest fishing ...
districts, in the
Toro sub-region
Toro sub-region is a region in Uganda that is coterminous with Toro Kingdom in Western Uganda. The districts that constitute the sub-region include the following:
* Bunyangabu District
* Kabarole District
* Kamwenge District
* Kyegegwa Distr ...
, on the floor of the rift valley, where
Lake Albert, the
Rwenzori Mountains
The Ruwenzori, also spelled Rwenzori and Rwenjura, are a range of mountains in eastern equatorial Africa, located on the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The highest peak of the Ruwenzori reaches , and the range' ...
and the
Kijura escarpment create backdrops. The reserve is about , by road, north of
Fort Portal
Fort Portal or Kabarole is a city located in the Western Region of Uganda. It is the seat of both Kabarole District and historically of the Toro Kingdom.
Location
Fort Portal in Kabarole District is located approximately by road, west of Kampal ...
, the nearest large city.
History
First established in 1926 by the British colonial Government, the reserve is one of the oldest protected areas in Uganda extending from the Kijura escarpment, north to the
River Muzizi
River Muzizi is a river in Uganda, in East Africa. It separates the Two Banyakitara Kingdoms of (Amakama ga) Bunyoro-Kitara and Tooro
Location
The River Muzizi is located in the western part of Uganda. It starts from the hills, northwest of th ...
and
Lake Albert to the low Butuku plains in the West.
Since 2005, the area is considered an
Lion
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, 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 dimorphi ...
Conservation Unit.
Flora and fauna
The dominant vegetation in Semliki is open ''
Acacia
''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...
-
Combretum
''Combretum'', the bushwillows or combretums, make up the type genus of the family Combretaceae. The genus comprises about 272 species of trees and shrubs, most of which are native to tropical and southern Africa, about 5 to Madagascar, but ther ...
'' woodland and grassy savanna, interspersed with patches of ''
Borassus'' palm forest. There is significant belts of riparian woodland along the main watercourses, and extensive swamps towards Lake Albert.
Wildlife has partially recovered from the poaching that took a heavy toll during the civil war. The Ugandan
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 ...
(''Kobus kob'') population, which plummeted below 1,000 in the early 1990s, today totals several thousand. More that 1,000
African buffalo are resident, up from about 50 in the early 1990s and elephant and waterbuck numbers are growing too. Leopards are still common, while lions at one point poached to local extinction, are gradually re-colonizing the area. Primates are well represented with black-and-white colobus, olive baboon and red-tailed and vervet monkey all visible in suitable habitats, while a community of perhaps 70 chimpanzees is resident in Mugiri River Forest. The reserve is highly alluring to birdwatchers: some 462 species have been recorded and it is one of the best places in Uganda to see the
shoebill
The shoebill (''Balaeniceps rex'') also known as the whalebill, whale-headed stork or shoe-billed stork, is a very large long-legged wading bird. It derives its name from its enormous shoe-shaped bill. It has a somewhat stork-like overall form ...
.
References
External links
IUCN Directory of Afrotropical Protected Areas
Populated places in Western Region, Uganda
Kabarole District
1929 establishments in Uganda
Albertine Rift montane forests
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