Here are the Best Places to see Forest Elephants in Uganda
Forest Elephants and the places in Uganda where you can see them
The Best Places to visit the African Forest Elephants are parks such as Kibale Forest. The Rwenzori Mountains Foothills, Mgahinga Gorilla Park, Semliki Park, Mount Elgon, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, and the Ishasha Sector of Queen Elizabeth Park, where you will find Savannah, Forest Elephants, and Hybrids.
Most Visitors are unaware of Forest Elephants, and when they think of Elephants, the Savannah Elephant comes to mind.
Uganda is a bio-diverse country blessed with the Forest and the more common Savannah Elephants. Forest Elephants can be seen in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Kibale Forest, the Rwenzori Mountains of the Moon, Mount Elgon, and along the wildlife corridor that passes from the Ishasha area of Queen Elizabeth Park to Kibale Forest.
Best Places to see the African Forest Elephants in Uganda:
Uganda is not only home to the African Savannah Elephants but also to its more minor brother, the African Forest Elephant.
You will most likely not see the differences between the Elephants unless you pay close attention. They have five toes on their front feet and four on the back ones, and they have a covering of hair and are gray.
They have smaller tusks. Tusks that are straight and point downwards so that they can navigate around the tropical rainforest. It helps them to navigate through the jungles of Uganda. In Uganda, there are native and migrant ones that enter through a wildlife corridor from the Democratic Republic into the Ishasha region of Queen Elizabeth Park and extend as far as Kibale Forest.
Even though the Forest Elephants are smaller than their Savannah Cousins, they are still massive and weigh up to three tons – the length of their body is between 3 and 4 meters. They have large rounded ears.
They are a sight to behold when you come across them in the southern sector of Bwindi, Mgahinga Gorilla Park, and Kibale Forest. If you have a helpful guide, they can point out the trails that the Forest Elephants set up and lead to their watering holes and grazing areas. Forest Elephants will feed on large quantities of grass, leaves, fruit, and other vegetation. They will also dig into the soil in search of mineral salts. As far as a drink, they can take a draw in up to 15 liters of water at once.
Forest Elephant Tusks are of the highest quality. Ivory Poachers favor them because ivory is more complicated and retains its elastic qualities. Unfortunately, poaching is rampant in the Democratic Republic of Congo and on the increase in Uganda, and Elephants are killed for their ivory, including Forest Elephants.
This kind of Elephant communicates with others over long distances through calls that are often too low to be heard by humans. As far as living in harmony with the Forest, these elusive rainforest animals can cause much more destructive manage than their Savannah cousins – taking down trees, digging up the ground, and destroying the underbrush for their trails.
Forest Elephants can breed any time of the year – the gestation period is 22 months in length and typically give birth to a single calf. As far as predators are concerned – the main ones are humans, both poachers and those who infringe on the parks destroying the Forest Elephants’ habitat.
Best Places to see the African Forest Elephants. The best park to see them is Kibale Forest. Still, you might spot other parks such as Rwenzori Mountain Foothills, Mgahinga Gorilla Park, Semliki Park, Mount Elgon, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, and definitely in the Ishasha Sector of Queen Elizabeth Park. The Rainforest Elephants of Uganda – another reason to visit the Pearl of Africa.
Best Places to see the African Forest Elephants while in Ugana – contact us for more information.