Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary Gets 2 Baby Rhinos in 2 Weeks
Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary gets 2 baby rhinos in a period of weeks, a development that the conservationists have described as good news for the endangered animal species.
According to Angie Genade, the Executive Director of the Rhino Fund Uganda, Rhino Bella gave birth to a bouncing baby at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary in Nakitoma, Nakasongola district on 18th August 2020. “Bella gave birth to the baby on Tuesday,” said Angie who heads the rhino project on 7,000 hectares of land. This is the only the only tourist destination in Uganda where rhinos are conserved and can be trekked by visitors. The sanctuary is one of the several tourist sites in Uganda and can be visited for rhino trekking during any month of the year. A one day rhino tracking trip from Kampala is the most itinerary that most tourists book to go rhino trekking at Ziwa rhino ranch located 168 kilometres from Kampala city along Kampala-Gulu Highway. 1 Day Ziwa rhino trip is one of the the many day trips in Uganda from Kampala.
The male calf produced by the 24-year-old Bella is the second to be born at the Rhino sanctuary in the last 14 days. Bella’s young rhino that has been named Jabali, is the 27th baby to be delivered at the sanctuary since its inception in 2005. Both Bella, the mother and Jabali, the baby are doing well.
Two weeks before Jabali was born, another rhino, Laloyo gave birth to baby Rhoda at the same sanctuary. Bella’s baby brings the number to 32 members at the tourist site. Biologically, mother rhinos carry a pregnancy for 16 months and deliver once in three years, but the mothers at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary uniquely produce a baby every two years. Rhinos life expectancy is 45 years. Bella was one of the four pioneer rhino groups brought from Solio Conservancy in Kenya in 2005.
The population of northern white rhinos and black rhinos was wiped out after persistent poaching in the early 1980s. This was due to political turmoil and civil unrest in the 1970s and mid-1980s that gave way to state-inspired poaching in the protected conservation areas including the national parks and wildlife reserves as well as other tourist attractions in Uganda.
Rhinos are members of the African Big Five Animals in Uganda which also include lion, leopard, buffalo and elephant. The sanctuary, which is one of the top tourist attractions in central Uganda can be visited when one is going for or coming from Murchison Falls safaris in Murchison Falls National Park, the biggest wildlife reserve in Uganda.
