Chimpanzees in the Kibale Forest of Uganda

It was Christmas Day and a truck of cow hides freshly removed from their bodies passed by our group in an open aired truck. We were bouncing down a jungle road with thick walls of vegetation on either side towards Kibale Forest National Park in Uganda. Every so often an opening appeared in the vegetation as we drove past, the path of an elephant. We were on our way to look for our first glimpse at chimpanzees in the wild.

I think I like chimpanzees even more because of Jane Goodall. She was one of the leading conservationists for the chimps. Back in 1960 at the age of 26 she started her research and dedicated her life to their understanding.

On this day I hoped my park fee would help the continued protection of the chimps and get the opportunity to see these animals up close.

More closely related to humans that any other creature, this park is home to around 500 chimpanzees. In the 795 sq kms of the park, it has the worlds’ highest concentration of primates in the world. To date, within the boundaries there are 13 species of primates, 250 species of butterflies, 350 species of trees and 375 species of bugs – and that’s just what has been discovered so far.

All walks have to be guided and the rangers bring everyone into a welcome room to give them an orientation. We are told to make sure we all keep at least 8 meters from the chimps and to remain calm if they come near us. Groups are broken down into about six people per group with a guide to minimize disturbance to the chimps. Each group can get one hour maximum with the chimps.

We made our way to the start of the trail –

– and started walking down the 4×4 trail under the canopy of the forest. All the guides have radios to get updates about where the chimps are located. Once a group has been spotted, the pace quickens and our guides dives into the forest. We quickly follow behind him ducking and throwing branches back from our faces. “Don’t leave your friends behind,” Eugene says to us.

We abruptly stop at a small trail junction while Eugene holds the radio up to his ear. Once what sounds to me like indistinguishable cackle is over, Eugene has the directions and takes off down the fork to the right. The entire time he never drops the radio from his ear.

The anticipation has built as sweat dripped down our faces and the guides pull us all in close and says, “Look up there.”

Slowly chomping away, we saw our first chimp in the wild. The rangers ensured people didn’t get too close to the chimps.

The chimps moved above a dingy pool of brown water and everyone spread out to view them.

We had to watch our head from falling seeds and see –

– the nest and bed of a chimp.

Then we held our head low too as it was time for us to go.

We said good bye to our guides, wished our guides a Merry Christmas and headed back to camp to have our own Christmas celebration as our travel family. Hopefully the Kibale Forest National Park will remain peaceful and conservation laws strong so the chimps can keep doing their thing in the forest.

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For more information:

Kibale Forest National Park

Jane Goodall