Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Lake Victoria Uganda
Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary is 100-acre island in Lake Victoria where orphaned chimpanzees in Uganda are taken care of from. The chimpanzee sanctuary was established as a combined national and international initiative and a globally recognised collaborative conservation effort for developing and implementing a long-term strategy for conservation of chimps and their habitat. Ngamba Island is a home to over 50 orphaned and endangered chimpanzees species found in forests and 20 of which have been brought to the island from when the sanctuary opened. Uganda is a home to many chimpanzee and other primate species. Ngamba, a chimpanzee island in Africa is one of those many tourist places in Uganda where to see chimpanzees.
Ngamba Island is part of the Koome group of islands located 23 km south of Entebbe city. The Sanctuary activities include giving care to captive chimpanzees, managing the sanctuary for confiscated chimpanzees that cannot be returned to the wild, intervening in helping chimps in the wild when if necessary, educate Uganda public on chimpanzees and ecotourism and capacity building through training and building viable national, regional and international partnerships on chimpanzee conservation among others. Currently the major threats to survival of the species are illegal poaching for “bushmeat” and the pet trade, as well as deforestation for agriculture and logging.
Visitor amazingly watch the feeding of Habituated Chimps on Ngamba Island in Lake Victoria
This 100 acre Chimpanzee sanctuary was established 1998 for the care and welfare of entrusted animals while conserving as far as possible the ecosystem of the island. It was set up by the Born Free Foundation (UK), International Fund for Animal Welfare (USA), the Jane Goodall Institute (Germany and Uganda), The Uganda Wildlife Conservation Education Centre (UWEC) and the Zoological Board of New South Wales (Australia) to offer a secure home to orphaned chimps whose return to their natural habitat is not possible while educating the pubic about these animal species and the importance of conserving the fragile forest habitat. Ninety eight out of the 100 island acres are forested and separated from the area of the visitor by an electric fence. Do not miss a Day Trip to Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary, its an an incredible experience in the Lake Victoria waters!!
Where else to see Chimpanzees in Uganda?
- Kibale National Park: Found in Kibale district, this parks has the biggest number of chimps in Uganda.
- Kyambura Gorge: Chimpanzee tracking safaris in this magnificent gorge are also amazing ! The gorge is part of in Queen Elizabeth National Park
- Uganda Wildlife Conservation Education Centre (UWEC) Entebbe: This is a zoo setup where chimpanzees are confined to one place and are visible by visitors.
- Kalinzu Central Forest Reserve: This forest reserve is found in in Bushenyi district in Southwestern Uganda Near Queen Elizabeth National Park and Maramagambo Forest. Apart from chimpanzees, the forest is a habitat to numerous primate species like monkeys.
Chimpanzee Trekking in Rwanda.
- Nyungwe Forest National Park: This is the only place in Rwanda where chimpanzees are found. And many visitors who have done chimp tracking in Nyungwe forest have appreciated the quality of the experience plus a variety several primate species.
Other Holiday Islands in Uganda
There are other holiday islands in Uganda which include Ssese Islands, Samuka Island, Bulago Island and many more.