Trip Report By Jack Whetstone

The Pearl of Africa

Part Two: The Wildlife

Each of the group had slightly different hopes for what we’d see on the trip. Burt primarily wanted to see the big mammals as anyone on a first trip to Africa must. LeAnne, also a first-timer to Africa wanted to see the mammals but is a birder so she especially wanted to see the interesting birds. Beorn likes big, impressive birds and mammals. Having been dragged along on my birding trips since he was a kid a little of the passion has rubbed off. Jim's goals were to see the Gorillas and the Shoebill and to take lots of photos. Karen, like me, is primarily a birder. For us the list takes on some (though not crucial) importance. No one was disappointed.

Having been to Africa the large, reasonably common animals should be ordinary to me but I'll admit, every Elephant, every Giraffe is exciting. We had read of the slaughter of wildlife that followed the breakdown of society during the Idi Amin catastrophe and expected to see low numbers. This was not the case at all. We saw more Elephants and Cape Buffalo than we saw last year in Krueger Park (which has been protected for 70 years). Ugandan Kob and Waterbuck were abundant and even less common antelope like Topi and Jackson’s Hartebeast we saw frequently. The big parks are still full of game.

We encountered Lion three times. The first were 4 distant lionesses in tall grass at Murchison that afforded only occasional views. During our first game drive at Queen Elizabeth Park we weren't having luck finding Lion so Herbert called one of the other guides (having trained many of the site guides Herbert has contacts everywhere throughout the park system) on his cell phone and we took off to the opposite corner of the park where 5 lionesses awaited. As we started back to the lodge well satisfied we passed two men on bicycles with huge loads of bananas heading down the same road that would take them within 50 yards of the lions. A reminder that people live in close proximity to such creatures. Our final Lions were an even better reminder of this. These were the two half-grown cubs with their mom that we found only a quarter mile outside the gate of the lodge. Our Leopard was sitting in the road but ducked into bushes as we approached. It hid there about 20 feet from us, a patch of black-on-orange-spots, and had we not seen it in the open we likely would not have seen it at all.

Hooved animals were always a show. The Giraffes are Rothschild's Giraffe with more complicated spots. Older males can be almost black. There were Bushbuck and Oribi, Impalas and Zebras only at Lake Mburo and my own favorite the Black-faced Red Duiker or Ruwenzori Duiker in the Ruhija highlands. On our long forest walk we encountered one of these chestnut colored mini-antelopes quite closely. The area we visited in Ruhija has been designated the Elephant/Duiker project area. Warthogs were everywhere and in close proximity at Mweya Lodge in Queen Elizabeth Park. We got photos of Carmine Bee-eater riding on the back of one at Murchison, talk about Beauty and the Beast. We also were very lucky to see the Giant Forest Hog at QE. And the Hippos, dirt common but hard to ignore. The legend is that Hippos wanted to live in the water but it was feared they'd eat the fish so to show that they don't eat fish they flail their excrement with their tails to spread it out to show there are no fish bones. A comely habit, especially when you’re having dinner on the veranda of the lodge and one is eating the lawn right outside the rail.

But you don't go to Uganda just to see game animals, you go to Uganda to see primates. Obviously we wanted to see apes and Uganda offers the best great ape viewing. The Ugandan Wildlife Authority has put a great deal of effort into habituating Chimpanzee and Mountain Gorilla groups so that they can be viewed. Permits are expensive ($360 for gorilla permit) but the money is obviously being used to protect the Gorillas and Chimps. And it is a lifetime experience to stand 6 feet from the proverbial "400 lb Gorilla" or watch the expressions on the faces of Chimpanzees feeding on figs. But it wasn't just great apes, we also saw the beautiful Black&White Colobus, the Red-tailed, Blue and L'Hoest's Monkeys, Vervets, Macabeys and, of course, Baboons. Uganda has one of the biggest primate lists in the world.

In Kabale there were about 1000 Fruit Bats roosting in tall trees at the entrance to our lodge. With a 2 foot wingspan they're the biggest flying mammal I'd seen, The bat cave had Egyptian Fruit Bats by the hundred-thousands (and a resident Rock Python-we could only see one loop) and my all-time favorite bat was the Yellow-winged Bat that flew by several times looking like a huge butterfly.

And then there are the birds. In Part One I talked about "Bird of the Trip" and in truth there were dozens of BOTTs. From the tiny Batis to the huge Bustard. Rock Pratincoles at the base of Murchison Falls, the young Martial Eagle in the palm who turned his head sideways to get a better perspective on us, The Greater Kestrel at Murchison that was a lifer even for Herbert. I had particularly wanted to see Great Blue and Ross' Turacos. I’d loved the Turacos (Louries) in South Africa so seeing these two big blue ones was a high priority. Both seem almost like cartoon characters especially the Great Blue with its silly, feather duster crest and wild array of colors. Turaco are related to another favorite group the cuckoos. We had great looks at Emerald, Levaillant's, Klaus’and Red-breasted Cuckoo ( who's call is "It will rain") and after frustrating attempts at photographing the White-browed Coucal we had one perch in the Euphorbia right outside our room at Mweya.

Where else could one see twelve species of Eagles? We did very well on diurnal raptors but, as usual, only one owl. If we'd been really hard-core birders we'd have been out most evenings chasing owls and nightjars but we’re not quite that intense a group. Besides, at our ages, we were usually worn out by the end of the day anyway. We did well on storks and ibis and shorebirds (ahh, the Lapwings, what an interesting group!) but saw few ducks. The Gray-crowned Crane is the National Bird of Uganda and centered on the flag and in the Kabale area they were common in the pastures and fields even within town. Doves are usually the most ignored group on any birding trip and Red-eyed Dove (says "Deep, deep catastrophe") and African Ring-necked Doves were everywhere but who could ignore the African Green Pigeon, there's a stunner of a dove. Or how about African Gray Parrot? Saw a dozen or so of those.

If I had to watch just one Order of birds in Africa it would be the Coraciiformes- Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Rollers. They were a high point on the South Africa trip and, once again, a high point in Uganda where we saw 26 species of this always spectacular group. I find I take a disproportionate number of pictures of bee-eaters, they're so photogenic. I finally saw a Hoopoe (it had been a standing joke about my "Hoopoe-block"), then Wood Hoopoes, then Scimitarbill, wow. We also did very well among the Hornbills (6 species) and Barbets (10 species).

In South Africa songbirds were a disappointment. Being mostly confined to the car in the parks limited opportunities and many of the groups were new, difficult and elusive. Herbert took us where he knew the birds were, he'd generally hear the bird then locate it and the birds were familiar to him like US birds are to us.

Among the songbirds Old World-only groups like Cuckoo-Shrikes (not related to Cuckoos or Shrikes), Greenbuls (maddeningly hard to identify if you don't know the calls), the Sylviids and Musicapids (that are like our warblers and flycatchers), Babblers (sort of like Thrashers in small flocks), Starlings (a surprisingly beautiful group), Sunbirds (a not-surprisingly beautiful group) and Weavers (with their woven straw nests) mixed with more cosmopolitan groups like Shrikes (we saw 12 species), Swallows, Thrushes and Canary.

I don't think we saw any turtles but Nile Crocodile was common at Murchison. Nile Monitor, Red-headed and Blue-headed Agama Lizards and a couple of slender, fast snakes (Paddy stepped on one) and dead Forest Cobra in a village as a reminder round out the fauna.

I don't think any country in Africa (in the world?) offers a more diverse fauna. That Uganda isn’t the top wildlife viewing destination is due to events in the past. The current reality is that Uganda is a safe destination with easily viewed wildlife and friendly people.

Part Three:Notes

If you drive through the average US neighborhood or village you might see a handful of people. Uganda is more like Mexico. There are people out on the streets everywhere and most of them walk where ever they go. The women obviously do most of the carrying. Most loads from 5 gallon water jugs to small firewood logs are carried on the head using a grass donut they fashion in the field for padding. As we passed through villages along our route there were always clusters of pre-school children who would wave almost frantically and shout "Howareyou". All of us did a lot of waving back and it always made us smile. I'm not sure if we were a curiosity being tourists or if they waved to any vehicle that passed. Everyone seemed friendly and to accept our presence.

Transportation throughout the country offers interesting contrasts to the US. There are relatively few passenger cars and SUVs are either Safari rigs or belong to an agency or the UN. Instead, the roads teem with bicycles being ridden or pushed, small motorcycles that act as taxis (in Kampala we often saw well dressed women riding side-saddle, even occasionally with babe in arms), small motorcycle bread "trucks", small pickups carrying anything from 4 tons of banana moonshine to 20 people or both (we envisioned a scenario where you have 2 small pickups collide with 40 killed), and big trucks up to 26 wheelers. I loved the stake trucks full of Ankole cattle. Each cow has to be tied carefully to keep all the horns up. Two men climb around on the roof-rack above this massive pungi trap making necessary repairs. We saw this twice but how else would you transport Ankole with their huge horns? Missing are such American staples as "full-sized" anything. In fact missing are American Cars of any sort. Toyota pretty-much has the country sewed up tight. There were a few Land Rovers and a few Nissans but no US imports. Added into the mix with all the vehicles were chickens and goats and all the people.

All of us (except Herbert and Paddy) rotated around the Land Cruiser. Some seats were better for photography, with the roof popped up the back seats were good for spotting and photographing, the side door seats were convenient for getting out quickly and the front seater had Herbert's view. The road system could stand a bit of improvement. It had been a month plus since the rainy season and few of the roads had been graded. This slows the flow of traffic pretty effectively which, given the mixture of vehicles, etc, is probably a good thing. To go to the places we did entailed a lot of back country driving though and it was always a workout regardless of what seat one was in. I felt sorry for Herbert as driver and was really glad it wasn't me.

I was asked it there was ever any danger. The most dangerous thing I did on the whole trip was drive home from Tucson when I got back Tuesday night. I was so fatigued I wasn't even aware of it and had a scary ride home desperately trying to stay awake. A lesson I intend to remember in the future. I never felt a sense of danger in Uganda, not from people, wildlife nor circumstances (well, there's my acrophobia but...).