Uganda

The country of Uganda is located in East Africa on the shores of Lake Victoria, the source of the mighty Nile River. Though the equator runs through this small landlocked nation, the country features snowcapped mountains, lush jungles, and vast savannahs.  Its stunningly diverse landscapes are matched only by the country’s even more impressive and varied wildlife.  The areas where the animals and people alike were encountered during these photo sessions were Murchison Falls National Park, the Nile River, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Kibale National Park and the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park.

The animals captured in these photos were as follows: African lions, giraffes, hippopotami, jackals, chimpanzees, mountain gorillas, black and white colobus monkeys, African elephants, vervet monkeys and hartebeests.  The Busingye mountain gorilla family followed and photographed were one of  the eight existing families that make up the Rushaga group of families found in the southern sector of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park.  The Busingye family consists of one silverback, one black back and three infants.  The Batwa tribe originally lived alongside the mountain gorillas for millenia until the government of Uganda moved members of the tribe outside the forest once the abode of the mountain gorillas was reclassified as a national park in 1991.  Part of their story is told in the 1988 movie, “Gorillas in the Mist,” starring Sigourney Weaver.

The indigenous groups living near many of the animals shown here are the:  Alcholis, Banyoro, Alur, Boomu, Batooru, Bakiga and the Batwa.