Mammals In Semuliki National Park
Mammals In Semuliki National Park- The park is situated in western parts of Uganda in Bwamba County of Bundibugyo district. This park was first gazetted as a forest reserve by the colonialists then in 1993, it was turned into a national park by the government of Uganda. This was done to protect the forests as fundamental in the western rift valley thus Semuliki becoming one of the freshest parks in the western region of Uganda.  Semuliki covering 220kilometers² in size with an elevation ranging from 670-760meters above sea level.
Semuliki national park is home to an extraordinary fauna diversity that cannot only found in Uganda but the remaining parts of East Africa. the Park has about  63 mammal species, including the Uganda Kobs, elephants,  forest buffalos, leopards, hippos, bush babies,  warthogs, bush pigs, bushbucks, mona monkeys, waterbucks,  water chevrotains, civets plus the Beecroft’s flying squirrel,  collared fruit bat, pygmy squirrel, little water chevrotaain and target rat.
Semuliki national park also hosts 9 duiker species, these include red duiker, blue duiker bay duiker (Cephalophus dorsalis). 11 species among the above mammal species are only found in  Semuliki National Park nowhere else not in Uganda but entire East Africa.  Including the 6 types of bat pygmy antelope and two types of flying squirrel.
Semuliki National Park has amazing mammals to encounter being only East Africa’s stronghold for the peculiar water chevrotaain a superficially duiker-like relic of an ancient family which shares the same structural features as pigs.
There are also 9 primate species and these include red-tailed monkey, blue monkey, vervet monkey, grey checked mangabey, black monkeys, olive baboon, chimpanzee, plus nocturnal primates include galagos and poottos. Some people saying that among Mammal species in the Park, there is also eastern gorillas probably no factual foundation to date. Though the Semuliki national park has a healthy population of forest Chimpanzees that are not yet habituated like those in Queen Elizabeth National Park’s Kyambura Gorge, Budongo Forests part of Murchison Falls National Park, and Kibale Forest national park.
The main attraction of Semuliki National park is the Sempaya hot springs other activities carried out in the park are bird watching with over 441 species, visiting the Batwa community, and others.
How to reach semuliki national park.
If you are looking for possible means of getting the semuliki national park, you can use Kampala- Fort portal via Mubende which covering 180kilometers and takes a 4-5 hour drive. Or you may use Kampala-Masaka via Mbarara to Kasese though it is somehow longer which takes 465kilometers which is about 7-8 hours.
After visiting sampaya hot springs in Semuliki national park, you can also go and visit other tourist destinations in the western region of Uganda such as Queen Elizabeth national park for wildlife viewing, Bwindi impenetrable forest national park for mountain gorilla trekking, Kibale forest national park for chimpanzee tracking, and the rare golden monkey tracking in Mgahinga gorilla national park. Or visit Rwenzori mountains national park for the most trending hiking experience in Africa and among others.
