Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary is a private,

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

animal sanctuary An animal sanctuary is a facility where animals are brought to live and to be protected for the rest of their lives. Pattrice Jones, co-founder of VINE Sanctuary defines an animal sanctuary as "a safe-enough place or relationship within the cont ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

. Established in 2005 to re-introduce

Southern White Rhino The southern white rhinoceros or southern white rhino (''Ceratotherium simum simum'') is one of the two subspecies of the white rhinoceros (the other being the much rarer northern white rhinoceros). It is the most common and widespread subspecies ...

s in the wild, the sanctuary is the only place in the country, where one can observe these endangered creatures in the wild. The sanctuary is collaborative effort between ''Ziwa Rhino and Wildlife Ranch'', who own the land on which the sanctuary sits and 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 ...

, the government agency responsible for protecting Uganda's wildlife resources. As of June 2021, the ranch was home to 33 rhinos.

Location

The sanctuary is located approximately , by road, north 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 Ruba ...

, Uganda's capital and largest city. This location is near ''Mukerenge Village'',

Nakasongola District Nakasongola District is a district in the Central Region of Uganda. The town of Nakasongola is the site of the district's administrative headquarters. Location Nakasongola District is bordered by Apac District to the north-west, Amolatar Dist ...

, in the Kafu River Basin, off of the

Kampala–Gulu Highway The Kampala–Gulu Highway, also Kampala–Gulu Road, is a road connecting the capital city of Kampala, in the Central Region, with the city of Gulu, the largest urban centre in the Northern Region of Uganda. Location The road starts in Kamp ...

. The geographical coordinates of the ranch are:1°29'08.0"N, 32°05'43.0"E (Latitude:1.485556; Longitude:32.095278).

Overview

Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary is a collaborative effort between the

, and '
Ziwa Rhino and Wildlife Ranch Limited
'', a private land management company committed to the restoration of Uganda's rhinoceros population. The sanctuary offers a secure place where rhino populations can be expanded by breeding, protected from human and non-human predators and gradually re-introduced into Uganda's

national parks 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 ...

, while at the same time, allowing the public to enjoy these majestic animals, as the project moves forward. A team of approximately 78

park rangers A ranger, park ranger, park warden, or forest ranger is a law enforcement person entrusted with protecting and preserving parklands – national, state, provincial, or local parks. Description "Parks" may be broadly defined by some systems in th ...

and

security guards A security guard (also known as a security inspector, security officer, or protective agent) is a person employed by a government or private party to protect the employing party's assets (property, people, equipment, money, etc.) from a variety ...

keep watch on the rhinos 24 hours daily, seven days a week, to ensure their safety. The sanctuary is surrounded by a electric fence to keep the rhinos in and the intruders out. The sanctuary is home to at least 40 mammal and reptilian species including

monkeys Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...

antelope The term antelope is used to refer to many species of even-toed ruminant that are indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia. Antelope comprise a wastebasket taxon defined as any of numerous Old World grazing and browsing hoofed mammals ...

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 extan ...

es,

crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to inclu ...

s and numerous

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

species. Tourist facilities at the sanctuary include a safari lodge, guest house, budget accommodation, and camp grounds. The accommodations are two separate businesses and both have restaurants that offer meals to tourists. In addition to on foot rhino trekking, tourist activities include birding, canoe rides and nature walks.

History

Both the

Black Rhinoceros The black rhinoceros, black rhino or hook-lipped rhinoceros (''Diceros bicornis'') is a species of rhinoceros, native to eastern and southern Africa including Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Tanzania ...

(''Diceros bicornis michaeli'') and the

Northern white rhinoceros The northern white rhinoceros or northern white rhino (''Ceratotherium simum cottoni'') is one of two subspecies of the white rhinoceros (the other being the southern white rhinoceros). Formerly found in several countries in East and Central Afr ...

(''Ceratotherium simum cottoni''), are indigenous to Uganda. However, due to a number of factors, including prolonged armed human conflict, poaching and the mismanagement of their natural habitat, by 1982, both species had been wiped out in the country. Ziwa Rhino sanctuary was established in 2005 to reintroduce the

southern white rhinoceros The southern white rhinoceros or southern white rhino (''Ceratotherium simum simum'') is one of the two subspecies of the white rhinoceros (the other being the much rarer northern white rhinoceros). It is the most common and widespread subspecies ...

to Uganda. The long-term goal of the sanctuary is to "build a sustainable rhinoceros population and relocate rhinos back to their original habitat in Uganda's protected areas". As of January 2010, Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary was the only location in Uganda, where rhinos can be observed in their natural habitat. Starting with a total of six animals, four that were bought from

Solio Ranch Solio Ranch or Solio Game Reserve is a privately owned wildlife conservancy located in Kenya's Central Province. The ranch is a fenced, privately owned protected area geared toward rhino conservation. The 17,500-acre reserve, 22 km nor ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

and two donated from

Disney's Animal Kingdom Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park is a zoological theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. Owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division, it is the l ...

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, the rhino population had grown to thirteen as of June 2013. Following the birth of another calf in April 2014, the total rhino population at Ziwa Ranch rose to 15. As of March 2018, the rhino numbers at the sanctuary had increased to twenty-two animals, and 33 in December 2021

References

External links

Official Website
{{Protected Areas of Uganda Animal sanctuaries Nakasongola District Protected areas of Uganda Dairo Air Services 2005 establishments in Uganda

Location

Overview

History

See also

References

External links