Eco-Tourism and Conservation Sites

UGANDA WILDLIFE EDUCATION CENTRE (The Zoo)

Uganda Wildlife Education Centre was opened in 1952 by the Colonial Government then, as an animal Orphanage that offered sanctuary to young animals found abandoned in protected areas due to the death or poaching of parent animals. In the early 1960s, it became a traditional ZOO and became commonly known as Entebbe ZOO in which even non-indigenous species like bears and tigers were kept as an attraction. Numerous animals are here introduced to visitors in their natural habitat. The Uganda Wildlife Education Centre is an orphanage home for animals and birds that cannot fend for them-selves in the wild. In store are birds, chimpanzees and reptiles saved from poachers.

The Uganda Wildlife education center main purpose is to specialize in conservation education, wildlife rescues and rehabilitation, and captive breeding of endangered wildlife species.

UWEC is under the umbrella of the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities and is recognized as a true success story and model institution for others to follow. The centre’s strategic location on the shores of Lake Victoria, its rich biodiversity consisting of birds, butterflies and other wildlife species makes it an attractive venue for education and tourism for leisure.

NGAMBA CHIMPANZEE SANCTUARY ISLAND

Ngamba is a home of orphanage chimps. It is located on Lake Victoria. Chimpanzee viewing goes at specific time in the day. It requires a day’s excursion from Entebbe.Ngamba Island is part of the Koome group of islands located on Lake Victoria 23km south of Entebbe, Uganda. It consists of approximately 100 acres, 98 of which are forested and separated from the visitor’s area by an electric fence. Ngamba Island was officially opened to visitors in October 1999 and is currently home to 40 orphaned chimpanzees, almost half of which have been confiscated and brought to the island since its opening.

Ngamba Island is a project as result of increasing pressure at the zoo(UWEC) in Entebbe that led to the formation of the Chimpanzees Sanctuary and Wildlife Conservation Trust (CSWCT), established in 1997 by the Born Free Foundation (UK), International Fund for Animal Welfare (USA), the Jane Goodall Institute (Germany and Uganda), The Uganda Wildlife Education Centre Trust (UWECT) and the Zoological Board of New South Wales (Australia) and it provides these orphaned chimpanzees with a secure home to live out their lives, since a return to their natural habitat is not possible, while educating visitors and local communities about their remarkable species and the importance of conserving their fragile forest habitat.