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 Districts of Uganda, district in the Western Region, Uganda, Western Region of Uganda. The district headquarters are in the Kibbuuku town council. It is the second least populated district in Uganda. Location Ntoroko Distric ...

. It is the oldest wildlife reserve.

Geography

Semliki Wildlife Reserve is located in Kabarole and Ntoroko districts, in the

Toro sub-region Tooro sub-region is a region in Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Con ...

, on the floor of the rift valley, where Lake Albert, the

Rwenzori Mountains The Rwenzori (also known as the Ruwenzori, Rwenzururu or 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 Kijura escarpment create backdrops. The reserve is about , by road, north of

Fort Portal Fort Portal formerly Kabarole () is a city located in the Western Region, Uganda, Western Region of Uganda. It is the seat of both Kabarole District and historically of the Tooro Kingdom. Etymology Fort Portal was named after British Diplomac ...

, 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 and Lake Albert to the low Butuku plains in the West. Since 2005, the area is considered a

Lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

Conservation Unit.

Flora and fauna

The dominant vegetation in Semliki is open ''

Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Austral ...

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 Tropics, tropical and southern Africa, about 5 to Madagascar ...

'' 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 (''Kobus kob'') population, which plummeted below 1,000 in the early 1990s, today totals several thousand. More than 1,000

African buffalo The African buffalo (''Syncerus caffer)'' is a large sub-Saharan African bovine. The adult African buffalo's horns are its characteristic feature: they have fused bases, forming a continuous bone shield across the top of the head, referred to ...

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 whale-headed stork, and shoe-billed stork, is a large long-legged wading bird. It derives its name from its enormous shoe-shaped bill. It has a somewhat stork-like overall form and has pre ...

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 Wildlife sanctuaries of Uganda Important Bird Areas of Uganda {{Uganda-geo-stub