What To Expect During Chimpanzee habituation Experience in Kibale National Park Uganda

During chimpanzee habituation experience in Kibale National Park, expect to find semi-habituated chimpanzee community. These chimpanzees are not yet fully used to human presence so expect them to act odd. Sometimes the chimpanzees may hysterically hoot at you especially the new community recruits but do not rush to get away.

Kibale National Park is home to more than 1500 chimpanzees living in communities but currently about 12 chimpanzee communities are fully habituated and open to the public. It is best to do chimpanzee habituation experience in Kibale in the wet season when fewer tourists are expected in the forest.

Chimpanzee habituation Experience allows tourists to have four hours with the semi-habituated chimpanzees. The habituators are in company of researchers and ranger guides who have prior background about the chimpanzee community so can tell in case something odd is about to happen.

For Kibale chimpanzee habituation experience, tourists must book a permit as an entry ticket allowing them to be with the chimpanzee community for atleast four hours.

Along the way and when with the chimpanzee community, the researchers may request tourists to assist with collecting some samples, observe and take notes about the chimpanzees and more.

How Much Is The Cost Of Chimpanzee Habituation Experience Kibale National Park

The cost of chimpanzee habituation Experience permit for Kibale National Park is currently $300 for foreign nonresidents, $250 for international residents and 300000shs for East Africans.

Inclusions in the cost of chimpanzee habituation experience permit for Kibale National Park are park entrance, conservation fees, ranger guide fees and more.

Procedure for booking chimpanzee Habituation Experience Permits in Uganda

Select the date when to do chimpanzee habituation Experience. The date may be confirmed or tentative

Note that the age limit for chimpanzee habituation experience safari in Uganda is 12 years and beyond.

Find chimpanzee permits availability but try to be flexible with the dates in case there is no static reason for choosing that date.

Purchase the chimpanzee permits as soon as you can because only four are open to the public per day. Selling the chimpanzee permits is on first come first served basis yet none is reserved without payment.

When Is The Best Time To Do Chimpanzee Habituation Experience In Kibale National Park

The wet season which is March, April, May and November is best preferred to book the gorilla habituation Experience Safari. The chimpanzees have less chances of getting disrupted by other tourists in the forest. The researchers have total attention towards the tourists in their company so you get more detailed information about the chimpanzee community.

The trails are however wet most of the time because it rains almost the entire day in Kibale during the wet season yet this area has soft volcanic soils. The chimpanzees keep most of the time up in the tree branches in the wet season so carry a pair of binoculars for a closer view is an added advantage.  

The dry season which is June to September and December to January is great for doing chimpanzee habituation Experience in Kibale. The chimpanzees keep most of the day closer to the ground away from the heat up in the trees. Food is scarce up in the trees because of competition from other primates so the chimpanzees have to keep close to the ground.

More sunlight filters through the dense canopy to the ground in the dry season providing a great ambience to take photos or film for forest inhabitants.

What To Do On The Way During Chimpanzee Habituation Experience

• When you start searching for the chimpanzees during chimpanzee habituation Experience have some patience and shift your focus to other forest dwellers.
• Do not do anything that can cause the chimpanzees to be suspicious of your presence in the jungle. Chimpanzees operate a spy network so they get to communicate with each other about your presence before tracing them. Chimpanzees are apprehensive with intruders in their presence.
• Lower your voices while on the search for chimpanzees so that you do not push them into hiding.
• Incase you wish to have a long call, request your ranger guide to dig a hole for you atleast 30 centimeters deep then cover beyond recognition.
• Do not dump garbage along the way or spit on leaves because this contaminates the foliage on which the chimpanzee and other primates feed on.
• When you want to eat or smoke, do it in about 200 meters from the chimpanzees so that they are not enticed to grab it from you. Chimpanzees are wild animals that must depend on supplies from the forest.

What To do When With The Chimpanzees During Chimpanzee Habituation Experience

• Maintain a distance of about 7 meters from the chimpanzees and even when they bridge the gap out of curiosity, move backwards without being noticed
• Do not surround the chimpanzees but stay in a tight group as they may look at you as through you are ambushing them
• Avoid staring in the eyes of the chimpanzees during chimpanzee habituation experience because they are shy primates.
• Do not use flash light on cameras when photographing during chimpanzee habituation Experience. The chimpanzees are scared by unfamiliar lighting.
• While with the chimpanzees take photos as you watch so that you enjoy every moment as it unfolds. Four hours are allowed with the semi-habituated chimpanzees.
• Sometimes the researchers may ask you show allegiance to the chimpanzees especially when they start acting odd. Do not panic but listen to the new instructions from the ranger guide or researchers so that the situation is not escalated.
• Get away without causing any suspension after the time allowed for chimpanzee habituation Experience.

How Safe Is Chimpanzee Habituation Experience In Kibale Uganda

Chimpanzee habituation Experience in Kibale National Park is safe even though the chimpanzees are semi habituated. Each chimpanzee safari in Uganda is conducted by ranger guides especially the well trained Uganda Wildlife Authority ranger guides.

Before proceeding into the forest to search for the chimpanzees, attending briefing is compulsory for every tourist. During briefing, the most recent information about the chimpanzees is communicated in details with the rules of chimpanzee habituation Experience. Some of this information is aimed at protecting tourists together with wildlife that you come across during the search.

Safety starts with you as a tourist so try to keep your precious belongings away from the public and incase you are afraid of losing them, do not carry these items into the jungle.

Wear jungle attire that covers your entire body during chimpanzee habituation experience incase you get in contact with biting nettles. Avoid clothes in colors that may attract stinging insects including Tsetse flies. Apply insect repellants were possible.

Try not to provoke the chimpanzees or touch their infants because they may charge and hurt you.

How Long Is Chimpanzee Habituation Experience In Kibale National Park

Time to take on chimpanzee habituation experience in Kibale National Park is quite hard to determine because its dependent on several factors. From the start of the search for the chimpanzees, it may take about 1 hour to more to locate the chimpanzees but you need to listen carefully to there calls as they communicate with each other.

Follow the clues the chimpanzees leave behind including foot prints, leftover foliage, fresh dung and more.

Each day a team of tracker wakes up earlier to follow the chimpanzees to trace their nesting point and estimate possible direction they may be taking for the day. Some of these clues are what ranger guides and researchers use to trace the chimpanzees.

To avoid giving up on the long search for chimpanzees tourists are encouraged to shift the focus to other forest dwellers.

Upon finding the chimpanzees, you may forget the huddles you have gone through to locate these primates. Enjoy the presence of the chimpanzees and watch the similarities that they have with humans in what they do.

Four hours are allowed with the chimpanzees during chimpanzee habituation experience but expect these primates to cowardice and run into hiding any time. The ranger guide is allowed to cut short the chimpanzee safari incase he or she notices that the chimpanzees are over agitated.

How Easy Or Hard Is Chimpanzee Habituation Experience In Kibale National Park Uganda

Chimpanzee habituation experience is in a tropical rain forest where tree canopies are thick and less sunlight filters through the dense leaves to the ground. Kibale forest is a water catchment area with several rivers and streams that leaves the ground wet most of the day but you can still walk in the forest.

There is protruding undergrowth that falls over obstructing the way but the ranger guide with a machete trims it to create a path.

Creepers and vines drape the tree trunks in Kibale National Park obstructing the way but these can be trimmed.

During the wet season, the chimpanzees keep most of the time up in the trees which necessitates using a pair of binoculars to observe them better.

Depending on the mood of the chimpanzees, sometimes they spend time closer to the trail head or deep in the forest.

Is Chimpanzee Habituation Experience safari in Kibale Uganda Worth The Money

Chimpanzee habituation Experience is worth the money as this brings you close to the endangered chimpanzees in a large community. Chimpanzee have the closest DNA to that of humans amongst animals. Chimpanzees use tools to help them in the wilderness a behavior known to humans.

Being a few meters from chimpanzees in the wilderness is like watching past history of human evolution come to life.

When you purchase the chimpanzee permit, it is a noble contribution the conservation of the endangered chimpanzees. Annually, profits accrued are shared with the community in the profit sharing project.

Beyond the chimpanzees, Kibale National Park is a primates have in Uganda hosting about 12 other primates including L’Hoest, bush babies, Potto, black and white colobus, vervet monkeys, red tailed monkeys and more.

Over 325 bird species are recoded as residents of Kibale forest including 7 species on the IUCN red list. While on a chimpanzee habituation adventure, you may encounter these birds.

Taking a community walk in areas close to Kibale forest gives you a glimpse into the life of the locals, when you purchase the crafts the locals make, you support them. You can choose to support the community based projects too like the Bigodi community initiative.

From chimpanzee habituation experience, you can connect to do a game drive in Queen Elizabeth National Park that sits on the floor of the Albertine rift valley. It is a scenic Uganda National park with the Rwenzori massif as its backdrop that stands as high as over 5100 meters above sea level.

Gorilla trekking or gorilla habituation experience in Bwindi Impenetrable National park can also be added to your itinerary from Kibale National Park.

Can Chimpanzees Turn Violent During Chimpanzee Habituation Experience

Even though the chimpanzee community is habituated for human presence, they can charge when provoked.

Some of the odd behavior the chimpanzees may show include hooting, throwing fruits, tree trunk beating and more. Do not panic upon observing this but stay calm as you wait for the ranger guide to provide new instructions.

Do not try to provoke the chimpanzees or touch their infants because they are very protective of these vulnerable members. The Alpha male may not acquire this position through inheritance but he takes charge of the security of the entire community.

Panicking may through the entire forest into a stampede which may end up disrupting other safari activities in the forest.

Why book chimpanzee habituation Experience in Kibale with Arch Safaris And Tours.

Arch safaris And Tours is an African safari company that has stood over 7 years of organizing African tours to different destination. Each trip we plan is well tailored to create everlasting memories with our clients.

Each trip Arch safari And Tours is a lesson we register and look forward to even make the next trip better than the previous. We understand the challenges people go through to save money and pay for their safari. At Arch safaris And tours, we would like to offer value for money and exceed our clients’ expectations. Book A safari Now