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RedCany0n
Visited:
September 2013
Reviewed: May 14, 2015
Our Encounter with Chimpanzees in Kibale Forest National Park
At Kibale (as with the gorillas in Bwindi), a team of rangers had been tracking the chimpanzees and communicated their whereabouts via walkie talkies to the ranger guides, who led groups of visitors through the forest to find them. There were about a dozen visitors per group, and there were several groups. The duration of the hike depended on where the chimps were, and our hike through the forest that day was about an hour long, following a trail and slightly difficult, given the heat and humidity.
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An older man, carrying cameras and gear, seemed struggle with the hike, but the rest of the group, comprised of adults of various ages, managed it well.Once we reached the chimpanzees, we left the trail and cut through the forest to stand beneath them, as they were high in the trees. We used binoculars and watched the chimpanzees, up in the trees, eating, resting and mating. There were females with babies, and males. The chimpanzees seemed rather nonchalant about the human visitors, below, having grown accustomed to being observed by rangers and the daily crowd of tourists. Occasionally, they urinated from the trees and the group of humans would dodge the downpour.
We learned that the female chimpanzees freely roamed the forest, passing through the territories of the males as they wished. The dominant males spent much time and energy maintaining their territories and determining status with one another. A female in estrus approached a young male, who granted her request for mating, and one realized that chimpanzee reality did not match the prevailing patriarchal interpretation of males being “in charge,” like human autocrats.
The groups of visitors were spread out in the forest with our assigned guides and had one hour to be in the midst of the chimpanzees. During our experience, the older man, who had been struggling on the trail, had a diabetic seizure and collapsed. The other tourists assisted him as our guide called for help. He gradually recovered and was escorted back to where the vehicles were parked.
After that incident, some of the male chimpanzees descended from the trees and briefly paused near us before traveling together across the forest floor. One stopped near me, giving me the wonderful opportunity to be in his presence for a few minutes. The tourists rushed after the chimps, moving quietly yet quickly through the brush, snapping photos. The male chimps sat together for a moment in a group, surrounded by photographers, before dispersing into the forest. We felt fortunate to have been so close to them, as encountering them on the ground felt very different and more intimate than watching them from a distance in trees, silhouetted against the midday sky.
After our hour with the chimps, we hiked back to where our hired safari guide was waiting of us. Despite the eager tourists with their cameras, the human behavior -on the part of the visitors, rangers and guides at Kibale – felt relatively respectful, and we were satisfied with what appeared to be a good conservation effort on the part of the national park staff to sustain the forest and this wild population of chimpanzees. It was, overall, an exhilarating and beautiful experience. My husband and I will always treasure the memory of that moment of connection, in the wilderness, with our closest primate relatives.
Callan
AU
Visited:
February 2014
Reviewed: May 3, 2015
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Chimps were fascinating and the natural surrounds were really lovely. A nice stopover between Kampala and the seeing the gorillas.
LB
CH
Visited:
January 2015
Reviewed: Apr 18, 2015
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
The main attraction is the Chimp trekking, which is a very nice and interesting thing to do, but also a bit touristy and comparably expensive.
Trui
NL
Visited:
September 2009
Reviewed: Oct 13, 2013
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Uganda is amazing!
Visiting Kibale was part of our trip in Uganda.
We really loved Kibale. We were surrounded by chimps! They were everywhere, playing, fighting, screaming, grooming and mating.
One female stayed in her nest in the tree.
She had a young baby and we think she just didn't want to come out to join the rest of the group.
They were noisy!
It was very impressive, a completely different exerience than the gorilla's.
Our guide was really good. He had lived in the forest for years during the Amin-regime and told us really everything about plants, trees etc.
We stayed in the primate lodge which is only 5 minutes away from the startingpoint for the chimp-tracking. So very convenient.
We liked the lodge. Stayed in one of the cottages.
majzik viktor
CH
Visited:
August 2010
Reviewed: Jul 12, 2012
Email majzik viktor | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
originalribenababy
GB
Visited:
December 2010
Reviewed: Jun 9, 2012
Email originalribenababy | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
We were in Kibale with the view of tracking the chimpanzees, but our best experience was at Bigodi wetlands. We saw many primates there and they were given their own space. It felt a little like we were persuing the chimpanzees which felt a little exploitative.
Gerhard Mauracher
AT
Visited:
August 2011
Reviewed: Apr 20, 2012
Email Gerhard Mauracher | 50-65 years of age
we saw chimps in its own habitat, not enough time for birding or to lock for other monkeys
Meeting with chimpanzees
I was so excited seeing chimpanzees living without borders and boundaries - in freedom. As Kibale is a forest there was not too much light for filming of taking photographs but i managed to take some great photos.
Guide knew everything about wildlife and told us as much as he was able diuring our stay.
And the weather was so good during our stay there.
I would really recommend Kibale Forest as a great place to see wildlife in Uganda.
Jean-Pierre
Visited:
November 2008
Reviewed: Sep 10, 2011
See the Chimpanzees
A great way to get close to primates in the wild at a fraction of the cost of seeing the gorillas. The chimps that we met were incredibly active. They swung from the trees above and ran through the forest floor around us. Our guide gave us an excellent insight into the hierarchy and activities of the group. The forest is dense and this makes it a little difficult to take pictures, but it also acts as a blind that allows you to get very close to the animals.
Marcus Richardson
DE
Visited:
September 2006
Reviewed: Sep 6, 2011
Email Marcus Richardson | 35-50 years of age