Kibale Forest national park offers you splendid full or half-day experience with Chimpanzees. This is what is commonly known as Chimpanzee Habituation Experience (CHEX), an activity that brings human beings closer to chimpanzees through tracking.
It takes at least three years for the habituation process to be completed by scientists and researchers. The activity offers you a chance of learning more about chimpanzees as you continuously track group after group.
A full day of chimpanzee habituation experience in Uganda.
This outstanding activity happens exclusively in Kibale N/P since non-habituated groups live far in the forest miles from the busier trails in addition to their quick movements to new locations.
Chimpanzee habituation activity kicks off at 6:00am (when they get up) and ends at 7:00pm (when they make new nests in which they dwell throughout the night). The activity blesses your eyes with how these giant apes dine, mate, hunt and take care of their young ones. Here you get a chance of taking pictures with the animals and identify their uniqueness established by their distinct markings and personalities.
In addition to chimpanzees, Kibale forest national park is blessed with a multitude of flora and fauna like elephants, bush pigs, buffaloes, to mention but a few.
A comparison between chimpanzee trekking and habituation experiences.
Chimpanzee habituation is an outstanding full-day activity that involves guidance provided by expert guides taking you through a forest and spend the day with chimpanzees. Important to remember is that these giant apes are social animals; they live, work, dine and do all other activities in groups.
The activity enables you learn more about these apes and realize that they are not just related to humans but they share a lot with man in common. The primary aim of habituation is protecting and preserving these animals for generations to come.
On the other hand, chimpanzee trekkinginvolves hiking with professional guides via natural wild chimpanzee habitats aiming at discovery of a habituated chimpanzee family. Having met the family, you are given a chance of staying closer to them for utmost one hour. Here you realize how close these apes are related to human beings evidenced by the way they mate, dine, hunt and take care of their young ones. You are allowed to turn moments into memories by taking as many pictures as your camera can contain.
Chimpanzee protection and conservation.
By taking part in a Chimpanzee Habituation Experience, you’re playing a crucial role in the conservation efforts of these endangered primates. Habituating the chimps to the presence of humans is an important way for researchers to learn more about them within their natural habitat, without necessarily changing their behavior. The more we learn about these incredible primates, the better we are able to protect them.
It is important to know that every time you indulge in habituation experience, you are saving these giant apes the fact that the activity enable researchers to gain more knowledge about chimpanzees.
Entry and permit fees collected from Kibale national park are devoted to protection and conservation of these chimpanzees and the forest for future use.
How much is a Chimpanzee habituation permit in Uganda?
Currently, chimpanzee habituation permits in Kibale forest go for 250$ (just 50$ more expensive than the regular chimpanzee trekking experience).
