LIONS IN UGANDA

The lion is one of the things tourists look out for while on the tour and one of the most impressive to observe. Uganda harboring around 15 individuals, lions consists of related females and their cubs, which are often born around the same time and raised communally. New mothers, however, will live in dens with their cubs for the first few weeks, moving them one by one to a new den every few days to avoid building up a scent which would attract predators. A new male taking over a pride will often kill all cubs, and mate with each of the females. The male’s distinctive mane plays a role in making it look much larger and more intimidating to other lions and spotted hyenas which are the lion’s main rivals. It is the lionesses, however, who are responsible for around 90% of the hunting, doing so in coordinated groups which can allow them to pursue larger species such as buffalo and giraffes as well as smaller antelope. The kill is not shared evenly, however, and only the larger prey is brought back to the pride, making survival difficult for cubs during times of hardship.

Due to the difficulties involved in their population surveys of lions, monitoring of their population growth or decrease never existed in the past. However, in 1997, Lion Project was conceived in Uganda because of deaths of lions reported in Queen Elizabeth national park and to address the uncertainties surrounding the population status that time. Therefore as of to date Uganda is partly believed to have 5 lion population.  

How can we talk of lions in Uganda and forget the incredible tree climbing lions of Ishasha, its very rare and uncommon for lions to actually climb a tree. It is believed that there are only 2 populations of the climbing lions in the world and one of these two populations is found within the Ishasha sector which is found in the south part of the famous Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda.

BEST PLACES TO FIND LIONS IN UGANDA

Kidepo Valley National Park is ranked as the number 3 in Africa. CNN called Kidepo the best destination and it’s indeed the best destination in Uganda to see Lions. Kidepo Valley is the most remote park in the all of Africa despite that it’s a place with rugged beauty.

Murchison Falls National Park is a park with a very incredible savannah studded with Borassus Palm trees which provide a great spot for lions sighting in Uganda. In additions to beauty of the River Nile, powerful Murchison falls and this the best place in Uganda to see lions.

Queen Elizabeth National Park, at this park early morning hours are the best for sighting lions, it’s a popular place for climbing lions at Ishasha. Lions at Queen are very famous at the Kasenyi plains and it’s a very fruitful area for those on a photographic lion hunt.

Lions can also be sighted at Lake Mburo National Park and Semuliki Wildlife Reserve.