UWA Rangers Provide Guidance – Protection for Visitors-Primates-Wildlife and Communities
Dedicated Uganda Wildlife Authority Rangers keep National Parks Safe-Secure and Protect Tourists – Wildlife.
Uganda Wildlife Authority Rangers Keep National Parks Safe-Secure. Men and Women committed to UWA’s Motto, “Conserving for Future Generations.” Rangers wear many hats, and they are partners in Uganda’s plan to be a Sustainable Tourism Destination.
They play the role of Conservationist, Protector of Parks and Visitors, Police Officers, Enforcers, Soldiers, Game Wardens, Educators to the local communities about living in harmony with wildlife, and teaching visitors about the natural Wonders they encounter while visiting the Parks and Wildlife Conservation Areas.
Uganda Wildlife Authority Rangers, like the police, protect and serve. They safeguard wildlife, conserving it and the parks for Future Generations. They protect visitors to the parks that are entering unfamiliar Territory to them and need someone capable of guiding and protecting them while Visiting the Parks.
Additionally, they share their knowledge about the parks, primates, wildlife, and birds with visitors and local communities.
Rangers have sometimes even given the ultimate sacrifice, their lives in battles with poachers. Most do not become Rangers because of Financial Gains but because they are moral men and women dedicated to preserving the natural wonders found in Uganda. Uganda’s National Parks are Safe and Secure because of Uganda’s Wildlife Rangers.
Uganda Wildlife Authority Rangers Keep National Parks Safe-Secure
UWA Rangers – Add that extra touch to your Safari:
You are in an unfamiliar Territory when trekking Mountain Gorillas, Chimpanzees, and Golden Monkeys in Uganda. You do not see what a Ranger sees while hiking along a Nature Walk Trail. It would be best if you had guidance climbing Volcanoes or the Rwenzori Mountains of the Moon.
The Rangers bring years of experience and common sense to your safari adventure in Uganda. Their presence enhances the knowledge that you will have participating in Primate Trekking, Wildlife Game Drives, Boat Rides, Climbs, and Hikes.
The absence of a UWA ranger could bring significant problems for hikers, climbers, and trekkers. Their presence is both necessary and required. Vital things such as warning you of danger such as a rare snake or nearness to a crocodile, hippo, or another animal that potentially could harm you.
UWA Rangers guide & Protect Gorilla Trekkers:
Your visit with the Mountain Gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest or Mgahinga Gorilla Park has a lot of behind-the-scenes actors in the form of UWA rangers behind it. There are the Pre-Trackers who head out looking for the Gorilla Group you will visit.
They also monitor the health and well-being of the various gorilla families. If any medical care is needed, they forward the information to the Gorilla Doctors.
Pre-trackers head out at dawn to locate the gorilla family you will be visiting. They also look for signs of poachers or others that might be problematic for trekkers.
UWA Rangers are the ones who lead visitors to the Gorilla Family that they are tracking. Everything is done to make trekking a safe and secure experience.
Rangers guide you to Gorilla, Golden Monkeys, and chimpanzees. Rarely, if ever, are the gorillas not seen on the day of a trek, and rangers play an essential part in your primate trekking experience.
UWA – Ranger – Marine Anti-Poaching Patrols:
The scene is late afternoon on Lake Albert bordering Murchison Falls National Park. From the shores, things look peaceful; there are only a few fishing boats not too far from shore, seemingly fishing for Tilapia and Nile Perch.
It is a cover for many of those seemingly innocent appearing fishermen. When the sun sets, and darkness takes over, their real purpose becomes apparent as they come to shore, unload their weapons, snares, etc. They are not fishermen but poachers, some coming from DR Congo across the lake.
The Marine Anti-Poaching Patrols monitor the so-called fishing boats and take action, such as arrests upon finding weapons, snares, etc.
The Anti-Poaching Boat Patrols have successfully stopped poachers from approaching the shores of different parks, such as Murchison Falls National Park, Queen Elizabeth Park, and Kabwoya Wildlife Reserve, targeted by Poachers. The UWA anti-poaching patrols take preventative actions to keep rangers court of parks and wildlife reserves.
Uganda Wildlife Rangers Anti-Poaching Efforts and Investigations:
Uganda Wildlife Authority is continuously in the news; poachers’ apprehension and trials make local headlines. Poaching has been significantly reduced in U,ganda with many species such as elephants, giraffes, chimpanzees, and gorillas growing in numbers.
Rangers are also involved in apprehending Wildlife Part Traffickers. Uganda is often used as a Transit point for Ivory, Pangolin Scales, and other wildlife parts.
Poachers ship ivory, rhino horns, and other wildlife from places like the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan to nearby Uganda. From here is shipped to other parts of the world through the Kenyan port of Mombasa.
Poaching Patrols deal with killing wildlife for bushmeat, and those who look at the value of a Hippo skin, ivory, pangolin scales, brown parrots, pangolin, turtles, and monitor lizards; the list is endless, and the battle continues.
Stricter anti-poaching laws exist now and are enforced in Uganda.
Uganda Wildlife Authority Rangers promote positive local Community Relationships:
Like the rest of Africa, Uganda is expanding, Uganda is a small country, and its population needs land. Communities and Wildlife Conflicts are frequent, and settlers and land-grabbers are making their presence known. UWA Rangers face many odds, including government officials; instead of conserving wildlife for future generations are turning a blind eye to people moving into areas where wildlife conflicts are prone to happen.
There is progress in educating local communities on dealing with human-wildlife Conflicts. Such conflicts are continuous and often cause locals living near the park to take radical and uncalled-for actions.
On the other hand, Rangers educate the local community on how to prevent human-wildlife conflicts with Electric Fences, Beehive Fences for elephants, to revenue sharing, from educating local communities on how the parks do and benefit communities. Another hat that UWA Rangers often wear is that of a negotiator when the locals’ land, their crops, and even humans have been attacked by wildlife.
Uganda Wildlife Authority Rangers Prevent and deal with Human-Wildlife Conflicts:
Human-Wildlife Conflicts inevitably occur among those living near the national parks, even in areas away from parks, such as Lake Victoria, where crocodiles often terrorize communities.
And UWA Rangers play a vital role in blocking and preventing such conflicts. Conflicts where local communities might suffer.
UWA Rangers capture man-eating crocodiles and translocate them to Murchison Falls National Park. They are part of building electrical fences, Elephant Trenches. Beehive Fences.
They will also capture or even kill Lions, Leopards with tranquilizing guns and return them to the parks where they came from.
It is an essential part of being a UWA Ranger, benefitting local communities. It also involves educating the communities on how to live near National Parks and Wildlife Reserves.
The Conservation Efforts of the Uganda Wildlife Authority Rangers
“Conserving for Future Generations” is the Motto of UWA, and it is the rangers, for a large part, who make that happen.
The transfers of Rothschild (Uganda-Baringo) Giraffes from the north-side of Murchison Falls Park to Lake Mburo and the south-side of Murchison Falls Park is just one example.
The rare Roan Antelopes in Kidepo Valley Park are doing well and are another example that conservation works. Even harvesting the eggs from Ostriches furthers the goal of increasing the number of ostriches in Kidepo Valley Park and potentially transferring them to other wildlife reserves and parks in the country.
R rangers’ conservation work is a daily routine and includes dealing with Tourists whose entrance permit fees pay much of the conservation cost, which is often not realized.
Additionally, the restoration of Rhinos in Uganda shows promising results in the Ziwa Rhino sanctuaries. The number of the southern white Rhino population is steadily increasing, intending to release some of them in northern Uganda.
UWA Rangers – Role Models for Future Generations:
Uganda Wildlife Rangers have become Role Models to Ugandan Children. It is not uncommon for Ugandan Children to want to become Rangers.
It is not about money, and rangers do not become rich; it serves as a Ranger conserving Uganda’s Natural Wonders, its National Parks, and Wildlife Reserves.
Children are aware of the harm that poaching brings to Elephants, Primates such as Gorillas, and Chimpanzees. Some may know about the abundance of wildlife that used to be in Uganda, and they want to restore what was lost. Conservation of Uganda’s wildlife, primates, wetlands, and forests is taught in Uganda’s Schools, and children are catching on.
The Motto of Uganda is “For God and my country. Many Ugandan Children take that more to heart than the adults around them, and they wish to serve the country by being Rangers and “Conserving for Future Generations.”
UWA Rangers – Paying the Ultimate Price:
The life of an Uganda Wildlife Authority Ranger is not easy, and some pay the ultimate price for their service.
Poachers kill them, fall in traps set by poachers, shot by land-grabbers and squatters, attack by animals of which buffaloes are the most dangerous, bitten by poisonous snakes, and fall off cliffs in other hazardous places.
Uganda celebrates Heroes Day on June 9th each year, honoring those who have made a difference in the lives of Ugandans.
An appropriate memorial widows and orphans fund would be appropriate. At this time, there is the annual UWA Marathon that assists orphans with schooling.
We in the tourism industry honor the men and women who daily put their lives on the line in their quest to conserve the Wild of Uganda for Future Generations. Some of them pay the Ultimate Price – strengthening the resolve of others to pick up their mantle and carry on their work. Rangers have gained both local and international respect for their heroic efforts to preserve Uganda’s wild spaces despite that, in some cases, it may mean harm or even death to those opposed to conservation.
Support UWA Rangers on your Safari:
Rangers receive a Salary from Uganda Wildlife Authority, and the salary is similar to what soldiers receive in the Ugandan Army. By Western standards, the pay is meager, and even by Ugandan means, the wages are low and limit what they can do for their families.
Rangers do not join UWA to become rich but to serve. Many become Uganda’s often unsung heroes.
Rangers have families and children with school fees and medical care needs.
Visitors to Uganda on Safari use the services of Uganda Wildlife Rangers. At the same time, Primate Trekking or Nature Walks, Game Drives, and a boat ride on the Nile in Murchison Falls Park, on the Kazinga Channel in Queen Elizabeth Park, and Lake Mburo in Lake Mburo National Park.
We suggest that you tip appropriately in a respectful manner. Your appreciative tip will empower a ranger to keep serving. See it as an investment in the life of a Ugandan. Care for Rangers Facebook Page.
Uganda Wildlife Authority Rangers Keep National Parks Safe-Secure
Kabiza Wilderness Safaris offers Safaris in Uganda. We are grateful to the dedicated Rangers that serve our clients on primate treks, game drives, hikes, nature walks, climbs, and boat rides. The Rangers give their all to make Safaris safe, secure, and enjoyable for our clients.
We know the vital part that they play in protecting both parks and visitors. R rangers do many more things, but this gives you an idea of what is involved.
A UWA Ranger’s primary role is conservation; however, keeping domestic and international tourists safe is equally important.
The COVID-19 Pandemic has negatively affected those involved in tourism, including Uganda Wildlife Authority. Their conservation efforts are due to fewer tourists entering the parks and partaking in activities such as primate trekking.
Rangers have also suffered since their low salaries are not supplemented by appreciative tips from visitors. You are needed to travel to Uganda on a safari and support the conservation efforts of Uganda Wildlife Authorities, the ranger, local lodges, and communities. We invite you to Uganda on a midrange or luxury Safari, a safer pandemic Safari destination. Uganda’s National Parks are safe because of the Uganda Wildlife Authority Rangers that protect them.