Project overview

Weismann Safaris Chimpanzee Conservation & Habituation trust project is a community based project that aims at working with Uganda Wildlife Authority and the local community to protect and habituate the Eastern chimpanzee in their natural habitats in the Rwenzoris.

The population of the current number of the Chimpanzees in the Rwenzoris is estimated at 231 individuals according to the survey that was made in 2016. Weismann Safaris Chimpanzee Habituation Trust project focuses on increasing the population of the chimpanzees to the presence of humans. This process is not a one day activity but a continuous activity that needs a holistic approach of understanding and protecting the chimpanzees in their natural habitats. This also calls for use of best conservation practices to establish, develop and implement sustainable livelihoods and protecting their habitats. The increasing population in Uganda is exerting a lot of unsustainable pressure on land and the existing protected areas mostly for the commercial trade in timber, firewood, which needs strict and early interventions that are aimed at safeguarding and conserving the chimpanzees to avoid total extinctions and solve the drastic human- wildlife conflict as competition for natural resources intensifies. Habituating the chimpanzees requires an integrated approach and strategies that are designed to establish and make chimpanzees friendly to humans in Rwenzori Mountains National Park

About Rwenzori Mountains National Park

Rwenzori Mountain was declared a Forest Reserve in 1941 and later it was gazetted in 1991 as Rwenzori Mountains National Park and designated as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994 because of its outstanding natural beauty. The park was also designated as Ramsar site in 2008 because of its constant water flow all the year around. Rwenzori Mountains National Park covers nearly 100,000 ha in western Uganda and comprises the main part of the Rwenzori mountain chain, which includes Africa’s third highest peak (Mount Margherita: 5,109 m). It covers the districts of Kasese, Fortportal, Bunyangabo, Ntoroko and Bundibugyo of which Kasese takes the largest part. The park is contiguous with the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The region’s glaciers, waterfalls and lakes make it one of the most fascinating afro-alpine areas. The park is known for its rich and unique flora;where some of the world’s rarest vegetation can be found. Some unusual flora found here include the giant heather, and two species of forest tree, Hypericumbequaertii and Schefflerapolysciadia. In addition, the site is home to 70 mammals and 217 bird species, including 19 Albertine Rift endemics, 25 invertebrate species from the area have been described in the last 15 years. Mammal species of conservation concern include the Eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii), Rwenzori duikers (Cephalophusrubidus), forest elephants (Loxodontacyclotis), Ruwenzori colobus (Colobus angolensisruwenzorii) and L’Hoest’s monkey (Cercopithecusl’hoesti), subspecies of blue monkeys (Cercopithecusmitis) and rock hyrax (Procaviacapensis) are only known from Rwenzori Mountains National Park.

Rwenzori mountains national park is known as the best mountaineering destination in the world and the only mountain in Africa that covers all the 5 vegetation zones.

This will contribute greatly to the species conservation and increase on the number of tourists in the Rwenzoris therefore to enhance this effort, there is need to develop a chimpanzee tourism trail which is also ideal for watching other primate species, bird watching and sightseeing.

Problem statement

Chimpanzee habituation is the process of getting the chimpanzee used to the presence of humans. This involves tracking out early each morning to find out where the chimpanzees have spent the night and then slowly introducing them to the presence of humans in a nonthreatening way. In Rwenzori mountains national park, the current number of chimpanzees are not well known and are considered to be one of the endangered species majorly due to uncontrolled hunters, human-wildlife conflicts as humans kill them in retaliation, protect their families from future attacks, encroachment on their habitats, and natural diseases which threatens their existence and sustainability. Rwenzori being a re-knowned mountaineering destination more efforts have been put on mapping it as a unique trekking place and little or no efforts have specifically been put in place to habituate these endangered species that would face extinction if not well preserved. This could as well be attributed to the fact that this activity is not a one-time event but a continuous process that needs a lot of resources, concerted efforts, commitment and time to be successful. Weismann Expeditions Foundation through Weismann Safaris& Expeditions-Uganda being one of the key players/promoters of the Rwenzoris has started an initiative titled as WEISMANN SAFARIS CHIMPANZEE CONSERVATION &HABITUATION TRUST through which it intends to conserve and habituate these primates as a way of protecting them from extinction and ensuring that they co-exist with humans and eliminate human-wildlife conflicts, illegal hunting and also be able to closely monitor their daily life health status and births to ensure continuity and security. The foundation therefore through this project proposal calls upon all individuals, organizations/companies and all well-wishers from across the world to support this initiative technically, materially, spiritually and financially to implement this nature conservation project.