Maramagambo Forest is located in Bushenyi, Uganda. It is one of the enormous forests in Eastern Africa. [1] It adjoins the Queen Elizabeth National Park to the north. [2] It is jointly managed by the Uganda Wildlife Authority and the National Forestry Authority. [3]
It is associated with its bat cave where a tourist from the Netherlands was exposed to Marburg virus present in the bats that live in the volcanic tube cave and developed Marburg virus disease. [4] Following this outbreak, the cave was closed until the construction of a viewing platform with support from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The forest is bordered by two crater lakes named Lake Kyasanduka and Lake Nyamasingiri. Many chimpanzees, red-tailed monkeys, and Bates's pygmy antelopes can be found here. [5] [6]
In the year 2023, the government of Uganda made a move to convert the forest into a national park because of rumours of illegal deforestation and lumbering, [7] and for wildlife protection. [8]
A medium-altitude rain forest, Maramagambo supports a rich selection of birds, along with forest mammals, including a population of at least 300 chimpanzees, several types of monkey, [1] and the likes of potto, giant forest hog, and yellow-backed duiker. [9]
Marburg virus disease (MVD), formerly Marburg hemorrhagic fever (MHF) is a viral hemorrhagic fever in human and non-human primates caused by either of the two Marburgviruses: Marburg virus (MARV) and Ravn virus (RAVV). Its clinical symptoms are very similar to those of Ebola virus disease (EVD).
Virunga National Park is a national park in the Albertine Rift Valley in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was created in 1925. In elevation, it ranges from 680 m (2,230 ft) in the Semliki River valley to 5,109 m (16,762 ft) in the Rwenzori Mountains. From north to south it extends approximately 300 km (190 mi), largely along the international borders with Uganda and Rwanda in the east. It covers an area of 8,090 km2 (3,120 sq mi).
The Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is a national park in southwestern Uganda. It is part of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and is situated along the Democratic Republic of the Congo border next to the Virunga National Park and on the edge of the Albertine Rift. Composed of 321 km2 (124 sq mi) of both lowland and montane forest, it is accessible only on foot. It is a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization-designated World Heritage Site.
Queen Elizabeth National Park is a national park in the Western Region of Uganda.
Kibale National Park is a national park in western Uganda, protecting moist evergreen rainforest. It is 766 square kilometres (296 sq mi) in size and ranges between 1,100 metres (3,600 ft) and 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) in elevation. Despite encompassing primarily moist evergreen forest, it contains a diverse array of landscapes. Kibale is one of the last remaining expanses to contain both lowland and montane forests. In eastern Africa, it sustains the last significant expanse of pre-montane forest.
The Albertine Rift montane forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in east-central Africa. The ecoregion covers the mountains of the northern Albertine Rift, and is home to distinct Afromontane forests with high biodiversity.
Mount Elgon National Park is a national park in Kenya and Uganda that lies 140 kilometres (87 mi) northeast of Lake Victoria. The park covers an area of 1,279 square kilometres (494 sq mi). The Ugandan part of the park covers 1,110 km2 (430 sq mi) while the Kenyan part covers 169 km2 (65 sq mi). The Kenyan part of the park was gazetted in 1968, the Ugandan part in 1992.
The wildlife of Uganda is composed of its flora and fauna. Uganda has a wide variety of different habitats, including mountains, hills, tropical rainforest, woodland, freshwater lakes, swamps and savanna with scattered clumps of trees. The country has a biodiverse flora and fauna reflecting this range of habitats and is known for its primates, including gorillas and chimpanzees. There are ten national parks and thirteen wildlife reserves; some 345 species of mammal and 1020 species of bird have been recorded in the country.
Kyambura Game Reserve or Chambura Game Reserve, which includes the Kyambura Gorge, adjoins the Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda. It is home to a variety of wildlife. The area is an important water source for many animals and is surrounded by savanna, but is generally noted for its high concentration of primate life located in the gorge.
The Katonga Wildlife Reserve is a wildlife reserve in western Uganda, along the banks of the Katonga River. The reserve was established in 1998 and has approximately 211 square kilometres (81 sq mi). Many of the species of plants and animals in the reserve are unique to its wetland environment. Additionally the grass species at Katonga Wildlife Reserve include star grass, Bermuda grass and Rhodes grass.
The Kabwoya Wildlife Reserve is a reserve in Uganda. It was established in 1980, and covers 8,700 square kilometres (3,400 sq mi).
Kitum Cave is located in Mount Elgon National Park, Kenya. In the 1980s, two European visitors contracted Marburg virus disease there. It is one of five named "elephant caves" of Mount Elgon where animals, including elephants, "mine" the rock for its sodium-rich salts.
The Budongo Forest in Uganda is northwest of the capital city Kampala on the way to Murchison Falls National Park and is located on the escarpment northeast of Lake Albert. It covers parts of Hoima and Kikuube. It is known for its former abundance of East African mahogany trees as well as being home to a population of chimpanzees. An exceptionally large mahogany tree is still found here and is more than 80 meters tall and some 20 meters in circumference. The forest covers 82,530 hectares and is a catchment for Lake Albert. It is managed by National Forestry Authority (NFA).
The Semliki Wildlife Reserve is a conservation protected area in the Western Region of Uganda with headquarters at Karugutu in Ntoroko District.It is the oldest wildlife reserve.
Ihimbo Central Forest Reserve, located in western Uganda, is one of the protected forest reserves in Uganda which is found in Rukungiri district. The Forest Reserve is situated near the villages of Bwambara and Kikongi. The forest reserve is endowed with natural herbs that are medicinal and cure ailments in the human body and managed by National Forestry Authority. The forest reserve was gazetted in 1965.
Kalinzu Central Forest Reserve is a protected area located in Bushenyi district in south-western Uganda. Covering an area of 137 square kilometers, the reserve is characterized by its diverse ecosystem consisting of dense tropical rainforest vegetation and a wide range of wildlife.
Kasyoha-Kitomi Forest Reserve is located in Western Uganda, 35 kilometers from Bushenyi Town, South of Lake George and the Kazinga Channel, and covers an area of 433 square kilometers along the South of Lake George and Kazinga channel in the Albertine region. The reserve is situated in the administrative districts of Bushenyi, Rubirizi, Ibanda and Kamwenge.
Kasyoha-Kitomi Central Forest Reserve is located in Western Uganda, and has an area of 433-square-kilometre (107,000-acre). It is located south of Lake George and the Kazinga channel in the Albertine Rift eco-region, which is known for its abundance of endemic species. The forest reserve lies within the counties of Bunyaruguru, Igara and Buhweju in the administrative districts of Bushenyi, Ibanda and Kamwenge It was officially gazetted in 1932 and is controlled by Uganda's National Forestry Authority (NFA).
South Imaramagambo Central Forest Reserve is a protected area in Rukungiri District in the Western Region of Uganda. It covers an area of 152 square kilometres (59 sq mi).
Lake Kamunzuku is a Ugandan lake in Rubirizi district, Western Uganda, bordering Queen Elizabeth National Park. The lake is traditionally believed to have healing properties by the surrounding community. Lake Kamunzuku is a protected area managed by Uganda Wildlife Authority and Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities. It has clear fresh waters with active aquatic life.
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