chimpanzee habituation uganda safarisThe Chimpanzee habituation experience is one of the prime Uganda safari activities that have taken the world by storm presenting an uninterrupted full day encounter with the Chimpanzee Primate Species in the forest of Kibale National Park in Uganda
Unlike the chimpanzee trekking encounter which involves one hour of viewing chimpanzees putting the time spent trekking aside, the Chimpanzee Habituation is a whole day experiential tour with the chimpanzees where on catches up with them as they set out of their nests to embark on their daily routine. The experience involves exploring the chimpanzees set out to hunt, feed on the natural fruit and the delicious foliage, copulate and mate, the young ones play and the entire group traverse the forest as they socialize, make panting hooting calls and charge against any intruder which is an exciting momentous epoch that generates lifetime memories on Uganda safaris.
The process of Chimpanzee Habituation involves taming the Chimpanzees to get associated with the people as part of their lives and not a wild thing to them. It is the habituation process that breeds trekking experience. It is actually hard if not impossible to track the unhabituated chimpanzee groups. The extensive habituation activity in Kibale National Park which is also known as the world’s primate capital has derived the tamed chimpanzee groups that present 95% chances of being seen by the travelers on Uganda tour undertaking the chimpanzee trekking activity.
The Common Chimpanzees which are noted to be sharing close to 99% of the humans DNA justifying the common ancestry in terms of origin together with the gorillas that are always encountered on gorilla safaris in Uganda present the best primate tracking encounter in the continental lands of Africa. It is a rewarding moment to explore these precious apes thriving in the natural dense habitats assured of their naturally provided food and protection from the concerned authorities.
The Chimpanzee habituation experience starts with securing the permit from the Uganda Wildlife Authority which can be done directly or through the local agents including Wild Gorilla Safaris or Prime Uganda Safaris. The permit for habituating Chimpanzees is higher than that of Chimpanzee trekking in terms of price with a difference of $70. The Chimpanzee Habitation permits costs $220 per person while the Chimpanzee trekking permit costs $150 per person. From the permit booking, the transportation to Kibale National Park follows covering a distance of 326km about 7 hours’ drive from Kampala. The accommodation is up to your choice ranging from camping, budget, midrange and Luxury but what is important is to book the facility that is closer to Kanyanchu Tourism Center to facilitate your early connection to the park tourism center in the morning. The habituation commences at 6am and comes to an end at 7pm.
Kibale National Park features other 12 Primate types / Species including the Black and white Colobus Monkeys, the Red tailed Monkey, the Blue Monkey, the Olive Baboons, the Bush babies, the vervet monkeys among other species. The forest also supports 375 bird species including the endemic Kibale ground thrush. The remarkable flora with magical trees that stretch to 55m in height dating back to 200 years combine to supplement the moments with chimpanzees thus deriving lifetime memories