Bwindi Impenetrable Rainforest
Bwindi Impenetrable Rainforest is located in south west Uganda, within the triangle of mountains where Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) converge. It is about 25km nnorth of the Virunga volcanoes and on the western edge of the Great Rift Valley, about 600km from Uganda's capital Kampala.
'Bwindi' means a dark, difficult and fearful place in the local Bakiga language - so Bwindi Impenetrable Rainforest actually means 'impenetrable impenetrable rainforest'! In some places the canopy is so thick that no light gets through. There is a large swamp deep in the forest.
In 1991 the Ugandan part of the forest became a National Park, protecting ?m2 of the forest, home to around 340 rare mountain gorillas - about half of the worlds surviving population, and the only place where mountain gorillas and chimpanzees live in the same environment. None have ever survived in captivity.
Wildlife
The Bwindi region is a 'biodiversity hotspot' with one of the richest ecosystems in Africa. It is home to hundreds of endemic species including more than;
- 160 species of trees
- 100 species of ferns
- 200 butterfly species
- 346 species of birds including the Albertine Rift Endemic, a group of birds found only in the Western Rift Valley.
- Many species of mammals including several species of primates. None-primates include
- elephant
- duiker
- bushpig
- giant forest hog
- several small cat species
Primates in Bwindi
As well as the famous and endangered mountain gorillas, Bwindi National Park is home to around 300-400 chimpanzees. Bwindi is the only region in the world where mountain gorillas and chimpanzees still co-exist.
Other primates include
- red-tailed guenon
- blue-tailed guenon
- L'Hoest's guenon
- black and white colobus
- ververt
- baboon
- nocturnal prosimians
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is included on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.
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