UWA to translocate 15 giraffes from Murchison Falls to Pian Upe
Giraffes in Kidepo valley national Park. Uganda Wildlife Authority has commenced the translocation exercise of 15 giraffes to Pian Upe wildlife reserve from Murchison Falls National Park. Courtesy photo
What you need to know:
- In June 2019, 15 giraffes were translocated from Murchison Falls National Park in northern Uganda to Lake Mburo National Park in western Uganda.
- The Rothschild's Giraffes are estimated to be not more than 1600 in the world, 700 in captivity around the world and about 800 can be found in the wild with the biggest population in Uganda.
Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) is set to translocate 15 giraffes from Murchison Falls National Park to Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve in Karamoja Sub Region.
UWA’s Communication Manager, Mr Bashir Hangi, said this is one of the strategies to ensure wider range and distribution of the animals for conservation purposes and ensure survival of this endangered species.
“We have started on the translocation exercise for 15 giraffes to Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve from Murchison Falls National Park. It is one of our strategies to ensure that we have a distribution of this wildlife,” he said.
Mr Hangi said this move is also aimed at increasing the variety of wildlife in Pian Upe which will eventually increase interest by tourists in this reserve. The exercise is expected to take three weeks with the first phase of capturing currently underway.
“We have captured about six so far and they are being placed in the holding bomas as they wait to be transported to their new home” he said.
This is not the first time the Authority has translocated the giraffes. In August 2017, the Authority successfully concluded translocation of 19 giraffes (13 females, 6 males) from the Northern bank of Murchison Falls National Park to its Southern Bank. Two female giraffes were moved to Uganda Wildlife Conservation Education Center (UWEC), Entebbe for conservation education purposes.
In August 2018, UWA together with the Giraffe Conservation Foundation translocated 15 giraffes to Kidepo Valley National Park.
In June 2019, 15 giraffes were translocated from Murchison Falls National Park in northern Uganda to Lake Mburo National Park in western Uganda.
The Rothschild's Giraffes are estimated to be not more than 1600 in the world, 700 in captivity around the world and about 800 can be found in the wild with the biggest population in Uganda.
