Our modern-day lifestyles can sometimes be a bit monotonous, and every once in a while it’s worth taking a step away from your day-to-day routine to embark on an adventure into the wilderness for some well deserved rest and relaxation. 

With so many destinations to choose from, here is more information about why you should go on a safari holiday to Rwanda.

Often rеfеrrеd to аѕ ‘The Land of a Thоuѕаnd Hillѕ’, Rwanda iѕ a landlocked country lосаtеd in East Afriса, bordered bу Burundi in the south, Ugаndа in the north, the Dеmосrаtiс Rерubliс оf Congo in the west and Tanzania in the east.

Be ѕurе to саrrу your camera with you thrоughоut уоur triр because at every point of your journey you’ll encounter something worth photographing. A safari in Rwanda will аllоw you tо сарturе a widе rаngе of nаturаl wоndеrѕ, from wildlife, national parks, historical and cultural muѕеumѕ, wаtеrfаllѕ аnd lаkеѕ. Rwanda will captivate your senses.

Entrenched in its history, Rwanda rеmеmbеrѕ the trаgеdу оf the gеnосidе thаt tооk place in 1994 аnd killеd over a milliоn реорlе. Today, however, Rwаndа is a соuntrу with friеndlу реорlе who grееt viѕitоrѕ with a ѕmilе оn their faces.

One of the most popular safari activities  is gorilla trekking in the Volcanoes National Park. The park also offers you golden monkey tracking, a Dian Fossey tombs tour, and cultural tours, which can all be experienced on a three-day gorilla safari in Rwanda.

Rwanda has one of the highest concentrations of primates, with about 13 species recorded. These are found in Nyungwe National Park and include chimpanzees, colobus monkeys, mangabeys, baboons, vervets, red tailed monkeys, blue monkeys and over 350 bird species. If this weren’t enough to lure you to the area, then activities such as primate tracking, birding, forest and canopy walks, and wilderness adventures are just a handful of the other popular tourist activities on offer.

In the eastern part of Rwanda lies Akagera National Park, which is located about a three-hour drive from the capital city, Kigali. Akagera is famous for big game viewing, birding, and boat cruises on Lake Ihema. The Akagera National Park management team, African Parks, has recently successfully introduced lions to the area, and two females have since had cubs.

There is a wide variety of professionally customized tour packages on Rwanda Gorilla Safaris’ website for you to choose what suits your interests.

Games in Uganda are conducted in savannah grassland – such areas include Queen Elizabeth National Park, Murchison Falls National Park, Kidepo Valley National Park, Lake Mburo National Park, Semuliki National Park among other regions.

In the savannah region, game drives are conducted on vehicles and the most cases, the vehicles are pop up roofed for clear viewing of animals, birds, drainage features, and topography among others. Tourists on game drives are advised to come with Cameras to take amazing photos for future reference.

Savannah regions are characterized by:

Trees:

• Deciduous – lose their leaves to reduce transpiration because of the winter drought.
• Xerophytic – drought resistant.
• Sclerophyllous – Leaves are small, waxy and thorn like.
• Roots are long and extended to reach deep underground.
• Tend to grow to 6-12m in height and contain “Y” shaped branches.
• Trunks are gnarled, and bark is thick to retain moisture.

Example; The baobob tree has a trunk of up to 10m in diameter. Its root like branches holds only a minimum number of tiny leaves in order to restrict transpiration. Some are estimated to be thousands of years old. Their trunks are resistant to the local fires.

Shrubs/Grasses;

Grasses grow in tufts and tend to have inward curving blades and silvery spikes.

After the onset of the summer rains, they grow very quickly to over 3m in height. Elephant grass grows to 5m.

They become yellow by sun drying.

By early winter, the straw like grass has died down, leaving seeds dormant on the surface until next year’s rains.

In terms of biotic activity, over 40 different species of large herbivore graze on the grasslands, including wildebeest, zebra and antelope. It is also home to several carnivores – predatory, like lions/leopards/cheetah or scavengers, e.g. hyenas. Termites and microbes are the major saprophytes. Fire is the main determinant of the savannah biome.

As more trees are removed for fuel, and over grazing reduced the productivity of grasslands, the heavy rains gullies and the wind blows away the surface soil. Where the savannah is not farmed, there are usually more trees, suggesting that grass may not be the natural climactic climax vegetation.

The abundant grass feeds a variety of wildlife and on the other hand sustains their presence hence wonderful game drives for example Semuliki National Park – Toro Semliki Wildlife Reserve. Smaller forest and larger savannah elephants are regularly seen, along with buffalo, waterbuck, crocodile, warthog and Uganda kob. With luck, you may even see pygmy hippopotami, leopards and elusive bushbabies. In the park, Morning, afternoon and night game drives are conducted – night games exposes visitors to nocturnal like leopard, bush Babies, white- tailed- Magoon among others.

For night game drives, it is advisable to do it with a ranger and the safari guide should be able to provide great light to enable tourists view night moving creatures.

Within Queen Elizabeth National Park – drive through Kasenyi, the North Kazinga Plains and the Ishasha Sector offer virtually guaranteed buffalo, antelope and elephant sightings, along with warthogs and baboons. Being the second largest National Park in Uganda, it is not surprising to find groups of animals and birds. From Kampala to the park, it’s approximately 6 -7 hours drive.

In Murchison Falls National Park – drive around Buligi game tracks on the northern bank with a trained ranger guide is a fantastic way to see and photograph the wide range of animals in the Nile Valley. Visitors will marvel at herds of buffaloes, dozens of elephants, warthogs and towering giraffes, along with bushbucks, reedbuck, duikers, kobs, oribi and the unusual-looking hartebeest. The Murchison Falls is situated in northern Uganda, 4 hours drive from Kampala.

The remote Kidepo valley National park is one of the most unique destinations in Uganda. – Amazing animals are found in Narus Valley during early mornings and late afternoon – 6am and 4pm are optimum times to set off on game drives. Expect to encounter lions, elephants, leopard, bush duiker, jackal, bushbuck, bush pig, Kavirondo bush baby, buffalo and mong others.

Of all Uganda’s parks, Lake Mburo National Park is the most accessible from Kampala- the drive through the park exposes tourists to a variety of animals and birds. Being the smallest park in Uganda, it is easily covered and viewing Zebras, Kobs, Antelopes, and Waterbucks among others. Lake Mburo National Park is covered by Acacia woodland, wetlands, grassy hillsides, rock outcrops and seasonally flooded valley floors. The newly introduced 15 giraffes in Lake Mburo National Park are expected to pull more tourists to visit the park. It should be noted that giraffes where transferred from Murchison Falls National Park.

For comparative study, clients are advised to visit all the five parks because some creatures which are absent in one park, can be found in another. Would you like to take a safari in Uganda and enjoy game viewing? There are lots of safari offers available from various tour operators in Uganda.

In this age we know that animals all have very different and specific needs if they are kept in captivity, and many people question whether or not we actually still need zoos and aquariums…  The short answer to this, from my point of view is that there are many zoos around the world which carry out incredible work for conservation and education.  I firmly believe that seeing an animal in real life will develop a closer bond with the general public – and thus be more likely to lead to change – than seeing a documentary on TV.  If you need some examples of the great work which is done by zoos, what better than showcasing some species which beat extinction thanks to work done with them in captivity (mostly by zoos but also by private keepers of these species):

Beating Extinction With Zoos

Przewalski’s Horse (Equus ferus przewalksii)

In my opinion this is the most beautiful of all the wild horses, and can be seen in many zoos around the world if you don’t believe me!  They hail from China and Mongolia where they went extinct in the wild in the 1960’s, however thanks to zoo work they can now once again be seen running in the wilds of both of these countries.

Mountain Chicken Frog (Leptodactylus fallax)

As with a number of amphibians, this species is facing an uncertain future due to the chytrid fungus which is lethal and spreads like wild fire.  Thanks to work by zoos, including places such as ZSL London and Durrell Zoo on Jersey, huge levels of work have gone in to not only securing a future population of this frog, but also in to researching a cure for this fungus.

The American Red Wolf (Canis rufus)

Only 14 individuals remained in the wild by 1980, however thanks to zoo breeding by American zoos and re-introduction by 1987 these numbers were back up to 100.

Amur Leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis)

As few as 40 or so wild Amur leopards remain, however zoos around the world hold 5 times this many with over 200 individuals spread around the globe, making a strong and healthy safety net population.  Once there is a way to effectively stop the risks raised by hunters, these animals can once again be used to repopulate the wilds of Russia with this majestic cat.

Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum)

This is a very strange looking species of salamander seemingly caught in a never ending juvenile state.  They live only in Lake Xochimilco in Mexico (a small lake on the outskirts of the hugely populated Mexico City) where studies found 6,000 individuals in 1998, 1,000 in 2003, 100 in 2008 and not a single animal in 2013 per square Km.

This species is classified by the IUCN red list as critically endangered, possibly extinct in the wild however thanks to captive breeding of this species there are still thousands outside the Lake Xochimilco area – in fact you can even find them in many pet shops.

Californian Condor (Gymnogyps californianus)

A hue, majestic bird which was once common in California, faced extinction in the 1980’s, however with the help of San Diego Zoo (employing some great hand rearing techniques using a condor puppet), their numbers have increased ten-fold in the wild.

What Does Accreditation Mean?

Whilst the projects above are all well and good, a case between the UK and USA has come to international attention which focuses on the difference between accredited and unaccredited zoos, and claims that unaccredited zoos are (due purely based on not being affiliated with a zoos association) of a low standard and that their conservation is non existent or of little value.

This particular case concerns a research center in the USA wishing to move a group of their retired chimpanzees to a fully licensed zoo in the UK.  However an animal rights activist group called the USA opposed the move, with one of their biggest claims being that the zoo is not a suitable home for these chimpanzees as they are not accredited…  Accredited by whom you may ask?

When people speak of accreditation they mean an outside authority (not government body) such as a zoo or aquarium association has developed a set of standards, and require zoos to adhere to these standards in order to become a paid for member of that association.  The zoo associations which I am currently aware of are:

• ACOPAZOA (Colombian Association of Zoos and Aquaria)
• AIZA (Iberian Association of Zoos and Aquaria)
• ALPZA (Latin American Association of Zoos and Aquaria)
• AMACZOOA (Caribbean Association of Zoos and Aquariums)
• AMMPA (Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums)
• ANPZ (French Association of Zoos)
• ARAZPA (Australasian Regional Association of Zoological Parks and Aquaria)
• AZA (American Zoo Association)
• AZCARM (Mexican Zoo and Aquaria Association)
• BIAZA (British & Irish Association of Zoos and Aquaria)
• CAZA (Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums)
• CZA (Central Zoo Authority of India)
• DAZA (Danish Association of Zoological Gardens and Aquaria)
• EAZA (European Association of Zoos and Aquariums)
• FUNPZA (Venezuelan National Foundation of Zoological Parks and Aquaria)
• IZA (Israeli Zoo Association)
• JAZA (Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums)
• MAZPA (Malaysian Association of Zoological Parks and Aquaria)
• NVD (Dutch Zoo Federation)
• OZO (Austrian Zoo Association)
• PAAZAB (African Association of Zoos and Aquaria)
• PKBSI (Indonesian Zoological Parks Association)
• RDPOZiA (Board of Directors of Polish Zoological Gardens and Aquaria)
• SAZA (Swedish Association of Zoological Parks and Aquaria)
• SAZARC (South Asian Zoo Association for Regional Cooperation)
• SEAZA (South East Asian Zoo Association)
• SNDPZ (National Syndicate of French Zoo Directors)
• SZB (Society of Brazilian Zoos)
• UCSZ (Union of Czech and Slovak Zoological Gardens)
• UIZA (Italian Union of Zoos and Aquaria)
• VDZ (German Federation of Zoo Directors)
• WAZA (World Association of Zoos and Aquariums)
• ZOOSchweiz (Swiss Association of Scientific Zoos)

One thing which is worth noting is that being unaccredited is VERY different to being unlicensed.  Just because a zoo is not part of a zoo association, as long as it is operating as a legal zoological institution it will still be licenced under their local or government authority.  Whilst I cannot speak for most other countries, I do know that the licencing procedure and standards in the UK are set very high and don’t differ very much from the entry requirements of BIAZA.  This is a very important distinction to be aware of and keep in mind.

Does Accreditation Really Matter?

The claim being made by animal rights activists (see above) is that a zoo should be accredited by the American Zoo Association (AZA) or the equivalent in which ever country and region a zoo operates in and that if they are not – the standards within that zoo are not enforceable or enclosures and staff knowledge etc will be of a lower standard than in an accredited zoo.  However there are many reasons from management styles through to age or past disagreements through to current disagreements about policies between zoos and associations which may have made a zoo decide not to become accredited.  It certainly can be seen as a seal of quality or approval, however not having this seal of quality doesn’t automatically make it a sign of poor quality.

As an example I will pull up the case above concerning the chimpanzee move to the UK.  This UK zoo was a member of BIAZA and as such accredited, however for their own reasons decided that they wanted to terminate that membership.  As such they are now unaccredited, however the park has continued to grow and improve since that time – TripAdvisor and their FaceBook page are testament to this.  Their standards are very high and the new housing which they have built for the chimpanzees can be seen below:

I think you would be hard pressed if you were to be completely honest with yourself, to say that this is a poor quality or substandard enclosure.  To put this in to context, below are a number of shots from various chimpanzee enclosures which house this species at zoos which are accredited by their local, regional and in some cases the global zoo association:

Whilst the final set of enclosures aren’t necessarily bad, can you honestly say that these are all of a significantly higher standard (if at all) than those at the unaccredited British zoo, and if I had not told you which one was at the unaccredited zoo and you had to guess – would you have guessed correct?  Most importantly however you probably wonder what the outcome was with the legal case.  Well there was nothing which the US courts could determine about the zoo which made them unable to look after chimpanzees or unsuitable for the move…  And yes – those chimpanzees are now living out the rest of their lives in a stunning new enclosure!

Accredited Zoos Share Controversy

There are many accredited zoos which face their fair share of controversy…  With the bad publicity which SeaWorld has received over past years since the premier of Black Fish (publicity which in many cases I don’t necessarily agree with – but that’s a blog entry for another day altogether) many people may be surprised to hear that their parks are all accredited or that Copenhagen Zoo, the park which euthanized Marius, a surplus male giraffe and carried out a public autopsy in 2014 (something which sparked world wide outrage) is also accredited with multiple associations.

Zoo associations may be seen as a kind of “old boys club” and as such pretty much all of the worlds largest and oldest zoos are members of these associations – which means that most of the worlds best zoos are accredited.  However amongst zoos which are not accredited you have parks such as Wingham Wildlife Park, Hamerton Zoo and the Rare Species Conservation Center…  All of these British zoos do great work for conservation and have some of the most varied and specialist collections and / or species in European zoos.  As mentioned previously there are plenty of reasons why zoos may have left or never joined an association, however one instance where it is worth thinking twice about visiting a zoo may be on occasions where they have either tried to apply for membership but were refused or were kicked out of the association for some reason.

Don’t get me wrong…  This doesn’t mean that even all unaccredited zoos are good or always as good as all accredited zoos!  There are plenty of zoos which are unaccredited and in some cases shouldn’t even be licensed, and this is certainly something which you would be less likely to encounter amongst accredited zoos.  I think what you need to take away from this is that you need to look at any zoo upon their individual merits, not on whether an organization which you often just need to pay to be a member of, has put their stamp of approval on them…  It is always worth making up your own minds about many things in life – zoos are one of them!