Budongo Forest and Chimpanzee Treking: Safari Day #2 (Morning)

Our second day started off with an added-on Chimpanzee Trek. This, I highly  recommend! Anyone with the opportunity to silently watch chimpanzees in the wild, must-must-must take the opportunity. With 98% similarity between our DNA and theirs (Yes! This is true), chimpanzees are the closest living relative to humans. It is an understatement to say how uncanny it was to observe so many human mannerisms. I was able to see breastfeeding, hand grips, lip smacking, scratching bellies, combing each others hair, folding arms behind head to rest … so very entertaining!

To see them in their natural habitat, you being just a few meters from them to see them foraging in the wild, building nests, tending their young, not in zoo, but in an African rainforest in Uganda, that experience cannot be replicated anywhere. I am so glad that I went.

A large area of wildlife called the Burongo Forrest that is directly south and attached to Murchison Falls National Park. We met out guide about 7 am to begin the trek into the rainforest, fingers-crossed we would find the chimpanzees. This is the only caveat of the trip – it cannot be guaranteed that anything will be seen. It took us about 1.5 hours of walking in silence, stopping every 15 minutes or so to listen, smell, and look out for the big fruiting trees where they most likely would be feeding (well, our guide was doing all this). We wandered deep into the forest and our guide decided to go right rather than left because he saw knuckle prints in the soft dirt. This indicated they had moved in this area only a short time before.

 I could smell their urine and musty smell before I heard or saw them. We saw a nest that had likely been inhabited the night before, which indicated we were on the right track. A huge fig tree emerged in front of us and there they were! Four or five families were there together with only one dominant male. Our guide said they were quieter with less fighting on our day because there was only one male (go figure!). Lots of mothers and babies in our group, which was so fun watching the curious little ones.

We watched for about 1 hour and then trekked back. It took all morning long and was highly worth my time! Because this was part of our whole tour package, I am not 100% on the cost. I could not find it online anywhere. I think I heard someone mentioned $65 USD?

Jane Goodall has been to this same forest doing her research, which is a pretty cool thing we now have in common. Did you know she can ‘speak’ chimpanzee?