Half Day Chimpanzee Habituation Safari
Gorilla tracking Africa is glad to introduce to you half day Chimpanzee habituation safaris in Kibale National Park – the park has one of the highest diversity and concentration of primates in Africa.
Chimpanzees have always been of special interest to tourists and the study of human biological and physiological characteristics and their evolution. As our closest living relatives, they provide the standard against which to assess human uniqueness and information regarding the changes that must have occurred during the course of human evolution. Given these circumstances, it is not surprising that Chimpanzee have been studied intensively in the wild.
What Exactly is Chimpanzee habituation Experience (CHEX)?
Chimpanzees in their natural habitat are a wild bunch and would not entertain human visitors within their territory. With chimpanzee habituation, the chimps over two years are continuously put in the presence of humans by expert researchers to make them get used to having them around then later more humans are allowed to come spend regulated time with the primates. This is what we call the habituation experience.
Most visitors visit the chimpanzees much like the Mountain Gorillas for one hour – there is however another option that allows you to be with chimpanzees all day long in the forests of Budongo or Kibale Forest – it is the habituation experience – all day with chimpanzees in their natural setting.
Uwanda Wildlife Authority, the body in charge of the whole experience recommends that Chimpanzee Habituation Experience is not for the faint of heart – it means an early breakfast – a packed lunch and you are off before dawn breaks into the forest. You meet your guide and you are off to where the chimpanzees built nests the night before. Dawn is just breaking and the chimpanzee community you are going to be with the rest of the day is rising from their sleep.
However you are here for the Chimpanzee Habituation Experience – which entails getting the chimpanzees used to the presence of humans (to remove the fear of humans from the group), a process that takes up to two years – and today you are part of that process by your all day presence in the forest. Years ago, it used to be that you had a 20% chance of seeing chimpanzees in the wild, today because of the habituation process that has increased to over 90%.
Your day will be full, your camera will fill up with quality pictures of the chimpanzees and you will get to learn to identify them as individuals by their markings, sometimes scars and other unique features that make them stand apart from rest.The day ends as the chimpanzees climb into their newly built nests for the evening and you head back to your lodging for the evening.
Half day Chimpanzee habituation cost USD 100 for both foreign non residents and foreign resident, and USD 25 for East African Citizens, this excursion usually starts early in the morning at around 6am and stops at midday, you are advised to wake up at 5am have an early morning breakfast then proceed to your evocative encounter in the jungle of Kibale National Park.
At least 13 primates can seen at the Park namely Chimpanzee, black and white colobus, olive baboon, De Brazza’s monkey, L’Hoest’s monkey, Red colobus monkey among others. The half day chimpanzee habituation encounter gives you an opportunity to accompany Kibale’s anthropologists and habitutors as they follow chimpanzees throughout their daily activities, a process which usually takes up to 2 years. Kindly contact us for more information about great Apes Habituation Safaris in Uganda.
Getting there
It is about 300 km with a tarmac road going to Fort portal and also a distance of 37 km on murram road to Kibale National Park.
Where to stay
Luxury
- Kibale Primate Lodge
- Ndali Lodge
- Crater Safari Lodge
Mid-range
- Chimps Nest
- Kibale Forest Camp
- Mountains of the Moon Hotel
Budget
- Nyinabulitwa Country Resort and Safari Camp
- Lake Nkuruba Nature Reserve and Community Campsite
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