The Semliki Wildlife Reserve is a conservation protected area in the
Western Region of Uganda with headquarters at
Karugutu in
Ntoroko District.
Geography
Semliki Wildlife Reserve is located in
Kabarole
Kabarole District is a district in Western Uganda. Kabarole District is part of the Kingdom of Toro. Its main town was Fort Portal before 1st July 2020 when it was elevated to a city, separating it from Kabarole district Government.
The new Kaba ...
and
Ntoroko 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 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 the ...
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'' woodland and grassy savanna, interspersed with patches of ''
Borassus
''Borassus'' (palmyra palm) is a genus of five species of fan palms, native to tropical regions of Africa, Asia and Papua New Guinea.
Description
These massive palms can grow up to high and have robust trunks with distinct leaf scars; in so ...
'' 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 the ...
(''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.
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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