Uganda is also home to man’s closest relative, the chimpanzee, a delightful ape whose evocative pant-hoot call is a definitive sound of the African rainforest. Like the mountain gorillas, Uganda probably has lost 90% of its chimpanzees and most of the great apes in the last 500 years while the human population has increased by 800% in the last 100 years alone. Chimpanzee communities have been habituated for tourism at Kibale Forest, Budongo Forest and Queen Elizabeth National Park’s Kyambura Gorge. A community of orphaned chimps, most of which were confiscated from poachers, can be visited on Ngamba Island, which lies on Lake Victoria 45 minutes by motorboat from Entebbe.

There are only 4,950 chimpanzees left in the Uganda and conserved in the zoos, sanctuaries and a few remaining rain forests. 98.4% of sub-counties in Uganda have more people than all the Chimpanzees in Uganda.

Uganda is hosting a large population of different species of primates, like chimpanzee, black and white colobus, red tailed monkey, blue monkey, golden monkeys, bush babies. Indeed, Kibale Forest boasts the greatest primate variety and density in East Africa, with five or six species likely to be observed over the course of one afternoon walk. Elsewhere, Mgahinga National Park hosts habituated troops of the rare golden monkey, while Murchison Falls is one of the few East African strongholds for the spindly, plains-dwelling patas monkey. The fossilised 20-million-year-old bones of Morotopithecus, the earliest-known ancestor of modern apes and humans, were unearthed in the 1960s near Moroto in Eastern Uganda, and are now housed in the National Museum in Kampala.

Chimpanzees are an endangered species because they are rare and declining rapidly across Africa. International law protects chimpanzees because they are threatened by extinction. The main cause of decline is due to activity of people which include:

-Chimpanzees are losing their home in Uganda. In the past 15 years, over 800 sq kms of forest has been cut down where chimpanzees live mostly
-Chimpanzees are hunted for meat in some parts of Uganda. Most chimpanzees get killed each year for meat in Africa than all the Chimpanzees in Uganda.
-Chimpanzees are also hunted for petty trade. For every baby Chimpanzee caught in the wild, approximately 10 chimpanzees die in the process
-The endangered species in also killed or maimed by wire traps set for antelopes in the forests. 25% of Chimpanzees studies in Uganda have injuries from traps.

The Uganda government has set a side land to save the remaining Apes mainly the chimpanzees in the safari parks, zoo and Ngamba Island sanctuary. It has also set up rules to govern the chimpanzee trekking activity so that their ecosystem is conserved. These conservation areas have become famous safari destinations n Uganda, since many people come from all parts of the world to see these great apes and more to that, our relatives.

different forests; to assess the distribution of chimpanzees within forests in order to identify areas of high conservation importance; to assess the status of other primates and large mammals; and to evaluate the threats to the forests and their inhabitants. Measuring the extent of forest cover was also an aim of the project. An analysis of the satellite images of the forests in western Uganda has shown that about 309 square miles (800 sq. km.) of forest has been lost for chimpanzee range in Uganda since the late 1980s, although most has occurred outside of protected areas. Organizations that conserve and study Chimpanzees in Uganda include.

Budongo Forest Project.
Bwindi Ape Project.
Institute for Tropical Forest Conservation.
Jane Goodall Institute
Kibale Chimpanzee Project.
Kalinzu Chimpanzee Project.
Makerere University Biological Field Station.
Semuliki chimpanzee project.
Wildlife Conservation Society.

With East and Central Africa's chimpanzee populations coming under pressure, a sanctuary has been established on an island in Lake Victoria.With East and Central Africa's chimpanzee populations coming under pressure, a sanctuary has been established on an island in Lake Victoria. Not only does Ngamba provide a safe-haven for orphaned animals, it has already become a popular tourist attraction.