In every direction game was on the move, tens of thousands of Uganda kob bounded out of our way, often leaping metres in the air. Tiny oribi (a much smaller antelope) that humbles the performance of any human gymnast, leapt repeatedly in the air, momentarily holding a poise with their back legs parallel the ground below, then bounded off for cover. Hundreds of warthog, mostly youngsters, trotted out of our way with their tails erect and a couple of shy young male lions also made for cover. Most impressive of all, however, were the giraffe. As if moving in slow motion, over thirty of them led our small convoy of vehicles across the plain, slowing when we did and gliding gracefully across the burnt grassland as we picked up speed. As if escorting us through this new territory, it was the most magnificent sight and one I hope you will have the chance to share.
I had often revisited the images in my mind of vast herds of game running across the vast plains of East Africa reminiscent of Karen Blixen’s tales. In recent times, I had discounted these views to what you might see from a balloon, or from a low flying aircraft and I had seen just this on my first visit to Murchison Falls National Park in 1996. The scene I describe above was last week in Murchison Falls National Park where we have just spent 10-days working with UWA (Uganda Wildlife Authority) to re-open roads, some of which haven’t been used for forty years. Using a 1964 map of the park, detailed topographical maps from the same era, a GPS and two rangers on the roof of the car we were able to negotiate old roads to the top of Murchison Falls from the North Bank of the Nile, and other access points along the river in the park. From their elevated position on the roof of the car, Niko and George could detect the subtle differences that marked the old road; different varieties of grass growing in the hardened road base or groupings of younger trees that had grown only since the road was neglected.
For decades, these areas have been too dangerous to visit as a result of a string of civil wars culminating in the LRA (Lords Resistance Army) presence in the park as recently as 2006. Their atrocities often made the world headlines but what is seldom recognised is the effect their presence had on game. Relatively small numbers of rebel soldiers lived in the park poaching game for their immediate needs. They murdered and terrified the local communities and kept other poachers, the military and even UWA rangers at a distance. The result was an explosion in population of plains game in the area. This is most noticeable in the huge populations of Uganda kob, buffalo, giraffe, warthog, elephant, Jackson’s hartebeest, lion and oribi. The re-opening of these roads will give visitors to Murchison Falls National Park one of the best wildlife experiences anywhere on the continent. Remember that your presence, in what are now little visited areas will help in our battle to conserve them. Poachers targeting buffalo, hippo and fish primarily find it more difficult to operate under cover, increased tourism brings more jobs for local communities, injects income directly into the areas surrounding the parks and helps the communities see as much value in conservation as we do.
