Chimpanzee trekking in Kanyanchu – Chimpanzee tracking in Kibale Forest National park – Booking Chimpanzee permits in Uganda
Chimpanzee trekking in Kanyanchu – The most favorite Chimpanzee walks embark from the Kanyanchu visitor’s center. Chimpanzees are the most sought-after primates by most tourists, but you should look out for the black and white colobus, red-tailed monkey, and grey-cheeked mangabeys. Your ranger guides will be able to show you different bird species and will give details of different plant species within the forest.
Thirteen species can be sought, and a good variety of diurnal monkeys invariably encountered, but the stars of this trail are the Chimpanzees. Chimpanzee trekking in Kanyanchu begun since 1993 and the chances of locating them are excellent. Guided walks start at 8 am and 2 pm and last an average of three hours, depending on various factors.
The perennially popular primate walk provides the chance to observe Chimpanzees in their natural habitat. These Chimpanzees are accustomed to human presence some have been observed for over 25 years and the chance of locating them is over 90%. Early arrival to allow for registration and briefing is recommended. Contact time with chimpanzees is limited to one hour; group size is limited to six visitors; participants must be aged 12 or over.
Chimpanzee Habituation Experience
The Chimpanzee Habituation Experience (CHEX) enables visitors to accompany researchers and park rangers into the forest. The Chimpanzee groups involved are less accustomed to human presence than those visited on the Primate Walk and following and viewing them is both exciting and challenging.
Chimpanzee Habituation Experience is available on a full or half-day basis starting and booking for this activity is required. Early visitors can watch chimps leaving their overnight nests between 6:00 – 6:30 am before feeding, copulating, hunting, breastfeeding, resting, patrolling, and displaying until it is time to build new nests around 7 pm.
About Chimpanzees
The average weight of an adult well grown male chimpanzee is between 35 and 70 kilograms, with a height of approximately 3 meters whereas a tan adult female chimpanzee weighs between 26 and 50 kilograms and a height between 2 and 4 feet.
A chimpanzee’s life expectancy is at 40 years whereas that for those living in captivity can extend up to 60 years.
In Uganda today, Efforts to conserve the chimpanzees are extensively acknowledged and well supported. The Jane Goodall Foundation has played a major role in the overall conservation of not only these Chimpanzees but the Gorillas as well found in Uganda. By going for Chimpanzee tracking, you directly contribute to the conservation efforts.
Chimpanzees are the closest relatives to humans sharing about 98% of their DNA composition with humans. They are Sociable, intelligent as well as communicative, and among their very fascinating traits is the ability to utilize tools like rocks for crushing nuts, empty pods for hollowing out water plus sticks for capturing termites from their holes. These skills are for long been passed on from generation to another and researchers say that different troops have specialist tasks, based on their habitat as well as diet.
Chimps stay in groups of 10 – 100 members. They can babysit each other’s young, kiss, groom one another, and even hold hands. The young chimps become independent at the age of 4 years. Nonetheless, chimps can be aggressive and unsociable, mainly if disturbed.
Although they spend some time on the ground, they normally feed and do make their sleeping nests up in the trees. Their diet varies comprising leaves, seeds, fruit plus flowers.