Banded mongoose tracking in queen Elizabeth national park
Banded mongoose tracking in queen Elizabeth national park
Banded mongoose tracking in queen Elizabeth national park: Queen Elizabeth national park is one of the most visited national parks in Uganda. The national park was gazetted in 1952 hence the oldest and the second largest after Murchison falls national park. The park is located in southwestern Uganda in Kasese, Kamwenge, Rubirizi and Rukungiri districts and covers a total land area of 1978 square kilometers. Queen Elizabeth national park is famous for the tree climbing lions which are found in Ishasha sector in the southern part of the park and harbors other wildlife animals such as elephants, leopards, buffaloes, waterbucks, bushbucks, giant forest hog, warthogs, hippos, Uganda kobs, crocodiles, primates like chimpanzees, red tailed monkeys, L’hoest monkeys, vervet monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, baboons, over 612 bird species such as open billed stork, African jacana, marabou stork, pink backed pelican, pied plover, long tailed cormorant, spur winged plover, squacco heron, white faced whistling among others.
Banded mongoose tracking
Banded mongoose are small mammals which are agile with a large head, small ears, long tail which is as long as its whole body, strong claws which are used to dig burrows and defend themselves, greyish-brown fur, clear bands at the back. Mongoose are creatures that are small in size just like a small cat and an adult mongoose weighs about 1.5 to 2.25kgs and live in groups of about 20 individuals and each group sleeps together every night in a communal underground den and change the den site every 3 to 5 days. Banded mongoose tracking in Queen Elizabeth national park is one of the breathtaking activities done on Mweya peninsular which overlooks Kazinga Channel and it’s done on foot with a guide and researchers. there are over 400 banded mongoose living on Mweya peninsular and are grouped into twelve groups and allows a maximum of 4 people to participate in the activity with a team of researchers as they move along the trails tracking the banded mongoose using a locator device.
during banded mongoose tracking you will go off track with the researchers as you learn more about the mongoose, monitor their behaviors, surrounding, habits, learn how to identify the females and males, register their weight, record weather, location among others and your observations will be added on the researchers database. Banded mongoose tracking allows a few number if people so as to reduce on the stress of the mongoose and increase on the visitor’s experience.
Banded mongoose tracking can either be done early in the morning at 7:00am or in the late afternoon though it’s best done in the morning because that when the mongoose are more active and takes about 1 to 3 hours. While at Mweya peninsular you will have spectacular views of Kazinga Channel a water channel that joins Lake Edward and Lake George, and view other animals such as elephants, leopards, buffaloes, waterbucks, bird species among others.
Cost of Banded Mongoose tracking
Banded mongoose tracking in queen Elizabeth national park costs $30 for foreign non-residents and foreign residents and UGX 30,000 for East African citizens. Reservations for banded mongoose tracking are done at the Visitors Information Centre in Mweya and visitors who want to engage in the activity can contact Achieve Global Safaris so that it can be included on the safari itinerary in Queen Elizabeth national park.
Banded mongoose tracking is a thrilling and exceptional activity and visitors can combine it with other interesting activities in Queen Elizabeth national park such as
Boat cruise, this is a fascinating activity in Queen Elizabeth national park which is done at Kazinga channel. boat cruise is carried out in scheduled sessions either in the morning or in the afternoon and you will have great views bird species of animals like lions, elephants, waterbucks, warthogs, buffaloes among others which usually gather along the water banks to drink water especially during the dry season, large herds of hippos and Nile crocodiles which will be viewed in water.
Game drive, game drive is one of the most done activities in the park where visitors get an opportunity to spot various animals like leopards, warthogs, elephants, buffaloes, waterbucks, Uganda kobs, bushbucks, tree climbing lions in Ishasha sector and different bird species.
Night game drive, this is an adventurous activity that is done at Mweya peninsular. During the night game drive you will get an opportunity to spot nocturnal animals and predators in the park such as civet, leopards, lions, serval cats, hyenas among others.
Nature walk, this is an activity which gives visitors an opportunity to explore the park on foot. nature walk in queen Elizabeth national park can be done in different areas such as Mweya peninsular, Maramagambo forest among others and during the nature walk, you will have beautiful views of scenery, landscape, animals like elephants, buffaloes, primates like chimpanzees, black and white colobus monkeys, L’hoest monkeys, bird species among others.
Birding, Queen Elizabeth national park is one of the best birding destinations in Uganda in that it harbors over 612 bird species. There are various birding spots such as Kasenyi plains, Kazinga channel, Maramagambo forest, Mweya peninsular, Katwe salt lake, Katunguru bridge among others and visitors who carry out birding should look out for bird species like African shoebill, African jacana, pink backed pelican, papyrus Gonolek, saddle billed stork, black crake, sacred ibis, African skimmer, martial eagle, double toothed barbet, African crake, striped kingfisher, grey backed fiscal among others.
Chimpanzee trekking, Queen Elizabeth national park is one of the destinations where chimpanzee trekking activity can be carried out. Chimpanzees in the park are found in Kyambura Gorge in eastern part of the park also known as the valley of apes. chimpanzee trekking in Kyambura Gorge takes about 2 to 4 hours and once the chimpanzee family is found you will spend one hour with the chimpanzees in their natural habitat learning about their behaviors, habitats, taking plenty of photos and recording videos.
How to get to Queen Elizabeth National Park
Queen Elizabeth national park is situated in southwestern Uganda and visitors who want to visit the park can either travel by road or air transport means
Air transport, there are several domestic airlines in Uganda such as Aerolink Uganda limited which operate scheduled and charter flights from Entebbe airport or Kajansi airfield to Mweya or Kasese airfield.
Road transport, when travelling to Queen Elizabeth national park you can either drive from Kampala via Masaka, Mbarara, Bushenyi and then to the park headquarters or use another route from Kampala via Mubende, Fort Portal, Kasese and then to the park headquarters which takes about 6 to 7 hours’ drive.
Queen Elizabeth national park can also be accessed by public transport means where you can board a bus from Kampala to Kasese and then hire a private taxi to the park headquarters.
Banded mongoose tracking is a thrilling activity in that you will be able to view and monitor the interesting and playful mongoose hence gaining incredible and lifetime experiences on your safari in Queen Elizabeth national park.
