To celebrate World Lion Day (#WorldLionDay), Bradt Travel Guides, United Kingdom based leading independent guidebook publisher, Bradt Travel Guides drawn up a list of their favourite destinations to get up close and personal with the ultimate big cat.
According to the travel guide books publisher, the largest African carnivore and undisputed top land predator, the lion is also the most sociable of the large cats, living in loosely structured prides of typically five to 15 animals.
Lions are not very active by day; they are most often seen lying in the shade looking the picture of regal indolence. They normally hunt at night, and their favoured prey consists of buffalo and medium-to-large antelope such as the Ugandan kob.
Read on, and discover the world’s best destinations to see lions in their natural habitat.
Seven safari destinations in East Africa and Southern Africa have been selected by Bradt Travel Guides to be featured on the list of the “ best places to see lions” in the wild.
According to Bradt Travel Guides, they said “if you’re keen to see the king of the cats, here are the destinations where you should be heading to get up close and personal with the lions in the wild:”
1. Tanzania
2. Kenya
3. South Africa
4. Uganda
5. Namibia
6. Zambia
7. Rwanda
Uganda in Eastern Africa ranked number five among the best places to see lions according to Bradt Travel Guides list of African destinations to see lions in their natural habitat.
Ishasha ranks among the most alluring game-viewing destinations anywhere in Uganda.
Uganda’s Isasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park (QENP) Queen at the foot of the Rwenzori Mountains supports a population of tree-climbing lions that used to comprise around 40 individuals, but that number is now said to have halved in recent years.
Lion population in Queen Elizabeth National Park is estimated to be 142 lions according to the 2018 wild animal census in Uganda.
Around 20 specific individual trees are favoured, which makes it quite easy to locate the lions when they are up in the canopy.
The behaviour might be observed throughout the year but is most frequent during the rainy season.
Lions are most likely to be seen in arboreal action in the heat of the day, descending back to the ground well before dusk.
Other wildlife park destinations to see Uganda’s wild lions while on African wildlife safari include Kidepo Valley National Park.
Kidepo Valley National Park or Kidepo Valley (KVNP) is Uganda’s third-largest national park after Murchison Falls National Park and Queen Elizabeth National Park, and it vies with these two as Uganda’s most alluring safari destination.
Kidepo Valley national park has a remote location in the extreme northeast of Karamoja sub region, more than 500 km from Kampala, Uganda’s capital, bordering South Sudan to the northwest, and only 5km from the easterly border with Kenya.
Notable for its rugged mountain scenery and compelling wilderness atmosphere, Kidepo Valley national park also offers some exceptionally good game viewing safari destination, particularly in the Narus Valley with its dense populations of lion, buffalo, elephant and many smaller ungulates.
Prior to 2011, the expense and difficulty of reaching the Kidepo Valley national park meant it attracted a low volume of visitor tourists, but this has changed in recent years as a result of increased stability in northern Uganda, greatly improved approach roads, and the opening of several lodge accommodations.
Even so, Kidepo Valley national park retains a genuinely off-the-beaten-track character by comparison with most other comparably wildlife-rich savannah reserves in East Africa.
Murchison Falls National Park or Murchison Falls National Game Park
Flanking the 100km stretch of the Victoria Nile that arcs west from Karuma Bridge towards Lake Albert, the 3,840km² Murchison Falls National Park (MFNP) is the largest protected area in Uganda, and one of the most exciting safari destinations in Uganda.
Murchison Falls National Park’s centrepiece Murchison Falls is the most electrifying sight of its type in East Africa, with the fast-flowing but wide Nile being transformed into an explosive froth of thunderous white water as it funnels through a narrow cleft in the Rift Valley Escarpment.
Murchison Falls National Park offers some superb terrestrial and boat-based game viewing destination in Uganda, with lion, elephant, hippo, buffalo and Rothschild’s giraffe being particularly common along the north bank of the Nile.
The Murchison Falls National Park is the largest component in the greater Murchison Falls Conservation Area (MFCA), which also incorporates the collectively managed 750km² Bugungu and 720km² Karuma wildlife reserves to its south.
Wildlife and Lion Conservation in Uganda
Snares Pose a Grave Threat to Lions in Africa Today, according to WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) To shared World Lion Day,Wildlife Conservation Society shared this blog as an update to its post about Jacob the three-legged lion.
Have you visited any of these safari parks destinations in Uganda? For more itineraries see the Uganda lion and safari holidays on Responsible Tourism Co. Ltd
