I recently had the privilege of visiting the Murchison Falls National Park in Uganda. It was my first visit to this beautiful country and I can honestly say I had one of the best wildlife viewing experiences to date.

The purpose of my visit was to spend time with the Uganda Conservation Foundation (UCF) who have been operating there for approx 20yrs and are dedicated to protecting Uganda’s national parks, protected areas and conservancies.  Uganda has 10 national parks, Murchison Falls being the biggest, which is 3,800sq kilometres.

In the 1960’s Murchison NP was one of the best places to see wildlife on the African continent due to its abundance of wildlife. Sadly over the last few decades poaching has taken its toll and wildlife numbers have been drastically reduced.

I met and spent time with various members of UCF and The Uganda Wildlife Authority UWA  including Mike Keigwin Trustee & Project Lead of UCF and UWA’s (Uganda Wildlife Authority) senior wardens and wildlife veterinarian.  I was also privileged to meet Julias Obwana, the warden in charge of law enforcement for Murchison Falls Conservation Area and winner of Africa’s Best Ranger at the 2018 Tusk awards 👍🏻😀.

UCF were seeking support to set up a mobile veterinary clinic (vehicle + equipment) that will patrol Murchison Falls NP on a daily basis and be available to respond to wildlife in need.  The UWA constantly receive calls from tourists and park rangers reporting snared and injured animals, but sadly they are seldom in a position to attend to these victims due to the lack of a vehicle and equipment. In addition, UCF anticipate a further increase in wildlife injuries and displacement due to numerous mining developments in an around the park.

Subsequent to my visit OAT has agreed to support UCF & UWA in this area and we are hopeful that a fully equipped veterinary vehicle will be up and running within the next month or so. I will post pics when we receive them. 👍

OAT are very proud to be supporting UCF and UWA and we look forward to developing a long and successful relationship.  We wish them every success with the wonderful work they do, protecting Uganda’s wilderness and the beautiful wildlife that inhabits it.

Just returned from Zambia visiting the Elephant Orphanage Project, more on this shortly……🐘