A team from Help African Animals visited the Uganda Wildlife Conservation Education Centre (UWEC) commonly known as the Entebbe Zoo. The purpose of the visit was to acquire more knowledge about wildlife and appreciate the living conditions of the animals living in captivity in Uganda.
UWEC was opened in 1952 by the colonial government in Uganda as a reception centre for wild animals that were found as casualties. UWEC among others, rescues and treats injured or sick animals, provides quarantine services in order to prevent infectious disease transfer, and breeds species that are at risk of extinction in the wild.
Uganda mourns the death of six lions at Queen Elizabeth National Park. According to the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), the carcasses of the lions were found at Ishasha sector on the evening of March 19th, 2021 with most of their body parts missing. Eight dead vultures were also found at the scene which points to possible poisoning of the lions by unknown people. However, given the fact that some body parts of the lions were missing, UWA does not rule out illegal wildlife trafficking.
An investigation has been commenced with conservationists working with the local police to get to the root of the cause of the death of the lions.
Help African Animals condemns the illegal killing of wildlife because it impacts negatively on tourism in Uganda and threatens the survival of all species in the wild.
There have been a number of previous incidents where lions at Queen Elizabeth National Park were believed to have been poisoned. These include an incident in 2010 when five lions died and a similar incident in 2018 which led to the death of eleven lions including eight cubs.
Today, Ms. Gladys Kamasanyu the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Help African Animals met with Dr. Gladys Kalema – Zikusoka, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Conservation Through Public health and had a fruitful discussion on wildlife conservation issues in Uganda. Animals don’t speak. We are speaking for them.
Animals have been wonderfully made. They are so innocent and vulnerable. Their survival purely depends on us. We cannot afford to keep quiet. They don’t speak, let’s speak for them.
Today around 27,000 rhinos remain in the wild. Very few rhinos survive outside national parks and game reserves. Some species of rhinos are among the world’s most endangered animals. Rhinos are threatened by habitat loss and poaching. However, poaching which is driven by consumer demand for the rhino horn primarily in Asia, is the biggest threat to rhinos. Rhino horns are used as symbols of pride and high-value gift items by wealthy individuals in Asian nations.
Despite, the ban on international trade in rhino horn under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES), the demand for rhino horn has remained high. Rhino poaching levels hit a record high in 2015 when poachers slaughtered over 1,000 rhinos in Africa.
It is up to us to save the rhinos! Let’s speak out for them.
The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) has rescued a newly born elephant that was left by the main herd from Queen Elizabeth National Park that earlier strayed to Kasese town. The baby elephant was reunited with the main herd in the park.
As human populations expand and natural habitats shrink, people and wild animals are increasingly coming into conflict over living space and food. The resultant effect on both humans and wild animals is always negative. Many thanks to UWA for rescuing the baby elephant before any injury had been occasioned.
On August 2nd, 2020 Rhoda, a female baby rhino was born by a white rhino called Laloyo at Zziwa Rhino Sanctuary located in Nakasongola district in Uganda. This latest addition brings the total number of rhinos at the sanctuary to 31.
Back in the 1960s, black and white rhinos were widespread in Uganda. However, Uganda’s population of white and black rhinos were wiped out in the early 1980s due to poaching. The last rhino was seen in Uganda’s wild in 1983. The period between the 1970s and mid-1980s was characterized by turmoil and civil unrest that turned Uganda’s national game parks into battlefields and hence increased poaching. It was in the 1990s when the Uganda Rhino Fund was formed for the breeding of rhinos with a goal of reintroducing them back into the wild.
Poaching is real and it seriously threatens the survival of wildlife species. As a result of poaching, many wildlife species in Africa have become highly endangered while others have totally extinct. It is only a collective effort that will help to make the world a safe place for animals.
On 30th July 2020, the Chief Magistrate of Kabale Chief Magistrates Court in Uganda sentenced Byamukama Felix, one of the suspects in the gruesome murder of Rafiki, Uganda’s rare 25-year-old silverback to 11 years imprisonment. Felix and others were charged with three counts of illegal entry into Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, killing a gorilla, and killing a duiker. In another file, Felix was charged with killing a bush pig, possession of bush pig, and duiker meat.
Felix pleaded guilty to all the counts. He was sentenced to 5,6 and 5 years imprisonment respectively on each of the counts in the first file and to 5 years imprisonment on each of the counts in the second file. The imprisonment terms in each of the files are to run concurrently. However, Felix will serve the 5 years in the second file after the expiry of the 6 years in the first file. He will, therefore, serve an imprisonment term of 11 years. His co-accused persons were further remanded for the hearing of the case against them.
Rafiki went missing from his Nkuringo group which he headed on June 1st, 2020. His body was recovered the following day. Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) revealed that a post-mortem showed that a sharp device or object was used to penetrate Rafiki’s abdomen and pierced his internal organs. Investigations led to the arrest of Felix and three others. The men confessed to the killing of Rafiki by a spear allegedly in self-defense while they were illegally hunting other animals in the park from where he charged on them. They were also found in possession of bush pig meat and several hunting devices which included a spear, rope snares, wire snares, and a dog hunting bell.
Worldwide, mountain gorillas are found exclusively in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Southwestern Uganda and the Virunga Landscape in Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Mountain Gorillas are endangered with only about 1,004 individuals surviving in the wild. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is home to almost half the global population, with 459 individuals as recorded in December 2018. The remaining individuals live in Rwanda and DRC.
Mountain gorillas are almost extinct because of a lot of human activities that threaten their existence. These include habitat loss, hunting, war and instability, and diseases.
