One may wonder what are the big five animals and why are they called the big five animals. Here we come with the answers to your head scratching questions, the big five animals are the lions, elephants, leopards, rhinos and the buffaloes. These amazing exotic animals are called the big five animals not because of their strength and dominance in their jungle but because during the African traditional society, these animals could give a bloody nose to hunters to curb them down. More interestingly, the tourists have carried on the trend as these animals are hard to capture by photography while on the safari.
The big five animals are rarely found in the jungles of the world as they are found in the jungles of east and southern Africa. The big five animals are very interesting animals to watch due to the fact that they are the greatest survivors of the jungles and these animals are the ones that make the jungle the wild place to be.
Uganda is one of the countries that are lucky to have the big five animals in the wild. These animals are almost found in each and every national park though not as complete package since some of them have two or one of the big five animals in the wild. On the other hand, if a tourist wants to experience the most of the big five animals in Uganda, there are three national parks to make it happen for him/her namely Murchison falls national park in the north, Queen Elizabeth national park in the west and Kidepo Valley National Park in the northeast.
It should be noted that these three national parks have four animals of the big five which are the lions, leopards, elephants and the buffaloes. The rhinos in Uganda are only found at Zziwa rhino sanctuary which is almost in the same locale as Murchison falls national park. Zziwa rhino sanctuary is found in Nakasongola district which is a few miles away from Murchison falls national park. Thereby when a tourist takes a trip to Murchison falls national park is in position to encounter the big five animals when he/she makes a stopover at Zziwa rhino sanctuary.
We bring to you a list of the big five animals and where a tourists can encounter them while on a safari trip:
Lions in Uganda; the most majestic animals in the wild, they behavior and live with a lot of pride and it is why they are called the kings of the jungle. the lions are readily available in very many national parks of Uganda namely Murchison falls national park, occasionally in Kidepo national park, Semliki national park and they were spotted in lake Mburo national park. Queen Elizabeth national park also have the lion at the Ishasha area and there is something unique about the lions in this area as they climb trees and they are popularly known as tree climbing lions. Thousands of tourist seek after them when they come to Uganda.
Leopards: these are the quickest and most indefinable of the big five animals. They are most alive at night and rare during day and it is why they are called nocturnal. The leopards are found in Queen Elizabeth national park, Murchison falls national park, Lake Mburo national park, Kibale forest national park, Kidepo national park and Mgahinga national park. Tourists have the best view of the leopards during the night game drives at Murchison falls and queen Elizabeth national parks.
Buffaloes: Uganda has both the Cape buffalo and the small reddish forest buffalos. The buffalos are very powerful animals and are always found in group of 50-100 individuals. These are normally found in the river blanks and this is why in Uganda, there are only found in national parks with water bodies that is Lake Mburo national park, Queen Elizabeth national park, Murchison falls national park and Kidepo national park. Uganda is one of those countries with the highest concentration of buffaloes and this can be witnessed at Kazinga channel where hundreds of buffaloes line up to quench of their thirst in the evening.
Elephants: African elephants are the largest mammals, one can ever encounter in the wild. In Uganda, there are both the savanna elephants and the forest elephants and these elephants are distinguished by their locale as one is found in the savannah grasslands and the other is found in the tropical rain forests. The elephants in Uganda are found in almost every national parks in Uganda but the best atmospheres to view them are Kidepo national park, Queen Elizabeth national park and Murchison falls national park.
Rhinos: these flabby animals were indigenous to Uganda but due to a number of diverse factors like poaching, civil wars and mismanagement of their habitats the rhinos were extinct in Uganda by 1982. However, in 2005 they were reintroduced at Zziwa rhino sanctuary and six southern white rhinoceros were brought from the South African park to Uganda. Their number is immensely increasing and by now (2018) Uganda has 20 rhinos and these are available for tourists to track.
Uganda does not only have the big five animals in the wild but also some other interesting mammals like the giraffes, zebras, different species of antelopes and hyenas to mention but a few. These wild mammals are encountered on a game drive or on a nature walk around the different national game parks in Uganda.