Apes of Uganda exhibition still on at the Uganda Museum

Two weeks ago, Uganda national Museum in partnership with the University of Michigan launched the Apes of Uganda Exhibition at the Uganda Museum in Kamwokya Kampala.

It is the first one of its kind in the history of Uganda. Many of the previous exhibitions have been focusing more on Uganda as a destination without necessarily focusing on a particular species.

The Apes of Uganda exhibition is set to continue until the 30th of August 2023. Having started on  February, 24, 2023, it is now three weeks into the apes of Uganda exhibition. Its main aim is to show the central role Uganda plays in research and preservation of the apes.

According to Dr.Gladys Kalema Zikusooka, one of the keynote speakers that graced the event during its launch, Uganda is currently the safest haven for apes.

She noted that though Democratic republic of Congo has more apes than Uganda, but the conservation efforts of Uganda still stand out with a number of success stories highlighted in her speech.

She shared the conservation journey of Uganda noting the days in the early nineties when wildlife veterinary was introduced to Uganda, the population boom of the mountain gorillas that has positioned Uganda as the leading destination for gorilla trekking in the world.

In the attempt to further conservation efforts, Dr. Kalema shared insights about here effort to engage and mentor African leaders in her conservation efforts. She noted that if we could have leadership that believes and supports conservation, habitats like Bugoma forest would not have been given out for industrialization purposes.

It should be noted that Uganda is home two wild apes’ species including the endangered mountain gorillas and the chimpanzees.

Chimpanzees are the most diversely distributed apes in Uganda surviving in more than seven locations including but not limited to; Kibale forest national park, Bugoma forest, Budongo forest, Kyambura gorge, Kalinzu forest among several other locations.

Uganda boasts of two mountain gorilla habitats; Bwindi impenetrable national park and Mgahinga gorilla national park.

Of the three countries in the whole world where mountain gorilla resides, it is only Uganda that has two gorilla national parks.

It is for this same reason why Uganda is home to almost half of the remaining endangered mountain gorillas in the whole world.

Despite their social and economic importance, mountain gorillas and the chimpanzees are some of the world’s endangered species. In the recent years human wildlife conflicts have become more rampant with severe consequences.

During her keynote speech, Dr. Kalema applauded Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) for protecting the forests. However, poaching is still a serious issue but grievous punishments have been put in place to hinder this vice.

In 2022, Ochiba was sentenced to life imprisonment after getting caught for the second time participating in wildlife trafficking.

In 2020, the poacher who killed a mountain gorilla in Bwindi well known as Rafiki was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

With such a background, more efforts are required to ensure that the different stakeholders get informed about Uganda’s role in the preservation and research on the great apes.

The apes of Uganda exhibition seek to go beyond mere coming face to face with the great apes in Uganda to walking the journey of their migration, evolution and survival in Uganda

The exhibition works out as the best place to start your gorilla safari to Uganda.

At Uganda museum, you will be introduced to the fossils of the great apes, how they are interlinked into Uganda’s ancient culture, why these species went extinct in certain parts of Uganda and a lot more in that line.

By the time to set out for your gorilla trek in Bwindi or Mgahinga or any chimpanzee tracking destination, you will simply be completing the missing puzzle of what remains of the great apes as told during the exhibition.

To those who have already visited the apes’ habitats, the exhibition will introduce you the part of the apes that you will most likely not encounter in the conservation areas.