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Introduction Lake Mburo National Park is a very special place; every part of it is alive with variety, interest and colour. It contains an extensive area of wetland and also harbours several species of mammals and birds found nowhere else in Uganda. Its sculptured landscape, with rolling hills and idyllic lake shores has a varied mosaic of habitats; forest galleries, seasonal and permanent swamps, and rich acacia-woodland, and grassy valleys which all support a wealth of wildlife. At 260 km², Lake Mburo National Park is small in comparison with many other East African parks, but with its mosaic of habitats – dry hillsides, rocky outcrops, bushy thickets, open and wooded savannas, forest, lakes and swamps – are home to s surprising diversity of plants and animals. At the centre of the Park is Lake Mburo, which together with 14 other lakes in the area forms part of a wetland system. This system is linked by a swamp some 50 km long, fed by the Ruizi river on the western side. Five lakes, of which the larges is Lake Mburo, occur within the Park’s boundary. Almost a fifth of the Park’s area consists of wetlands – both seasonally flooded and permanent swamps. The various types of swamps are hoe to a wide variety of wetland birds, and the shy, rare sitatunga antelope. Lake Mburo’s surface and is fringing vegetation are always changing, and it is a delightful to take a boat out and experience the lake’s moods.
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Climate Lake Mburo National Park lies in a rain shadow between Lake Victoria and the Rwenzori Mountains, and receives an average of 800 mm of rain a year. Being near the equator, the rainfall pattern is bimodal, with the long rains occurring from February to June, and the short rains from September to December. The rains are rather erratic and unpredictable, but most rain tends to fall in April and November. The average recorded temperature is 27.5°C with daily variations ranging from 21.5°C to 34.0°C. July and August are the hottest months.
Topography The Park lies between 1219 and 1828 m above sea level. High hills and rocky, eroded ridges characterize the western part of the Park; here peep valleys support the forest found nowhere else. In the eastern sector, the rolling, wooded hills are intersected by wide, flat bottomed valleys, which are seasonally flooded and drain into the swamps and lakes. The Ruizi river flows in a south-easterly direction and forms part of the western boundary of the Park. Lake Mburo and its associated wetlands eventually drain into Lake Victoria.
Geology The Park is underlain by very ancient (more than 500 million years old) Precambrian metamorphic rocks which belong to the ‘basement system’. Mihingo Lodge is built on one of these outcrops. Most of the soils in lake Mburo are heavy clay and loams soils. Although surrounded by lakes there is hardly any ground water in Lake Mburo National Park due to the deep clay soils preventing any water from entering deep into the ground.
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Common Species in Lake Mburo National Park Mammals Reptiles |
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History Traditionally used by the Bahima pastoralists, the Lake Mburo area has a long history of transhumance – a seasonal movement of people and their live stock in search of good pastures. In the past these movements were quite extensive, from as far south as north western Tanzania north to Mityana and Masindi. Now their movements are restricted by development and occur in a much smaller area. As some of the landowners around the park have too many cattle for their land visitors might see herds of Anole cattle grazing alongside with wildlife.
These long-horned cattle are a delightful feature of the Ankole region. Their enormous hollow horns are not as heavy as they may look. They can be fashioned into beautiful horn jewellery sold in Banana Boat in Kampala. Cattle represent wealth and security to the Bahima people and are a status symbol as well as providing meat and milk. Cattle are used as dowry at marriage, and are sometimes sold when cash is needed by the family. Since the turn of the century, Lake Mburo had been known to a handful of naturalists as one of the premier wildlife areas in east Africa. The area used to form part of the Nkore Kindom which was ruled over by the Omugabe, the Bahima king. The Omugabe controlled access to the land around lake Mburo, allowing his people to use it for grazing only in times if drought. In the early part of the century, an outbreak of the cattle disease rinderpest decimated the Bahima’s herds. Livestock number took a long time to recover, and competition between wildlife and cattle was low during this time. In 1935, the area around Lake Mburo was declares a Controled Hunting Area, which permitted both regulated big game hunting and traditional human activities. In the 1040s, a server outbrake of sleeping sickness and nagana (a form of sleeping sickness found in cattle) carried by tsetse fly, forced pastoralist out of the area. Many of the farmers and fishermen remained. There followed a drastic tsetse fly eradication program of spraying , bush burning and cutting, and shooting which severely reduced game populations. By the early 1960’s, the tsetse flies had been eradicated, opening up the area once again to pastoralists. To protect the remaining wildlife, the newly independent Government created Lake Mburo Game Reserve. All forms of use, except controlled hunting were banned, although resident farmers were permitted to remain. But its protected status did little to safeguard the area. The establishment of the Ankole Ranching Scheme to the north pushed more pastoralists into the game reserve and large blocks of land were excised from the reserve to form more Government and private ranches. In 1983, the Obote government created Lake Mburo National Park, establishing the boundaries along those of the original Game Reserve. The Park opened to the Public in 1984 after residents were evicted, their houses and fields destroyed and their cattle drive away. This was manly a political punishment towards Museveni and his Bahima trib, who originate from this area and were fighting the Obote II Government. This injustice turned many people against the Park, and when the Obote Government weakened they returned and destroyed the Park facilities. By 1986, the entire Park was again occupied. In 1987, a Task Force was established to resolve the conflict between the Park and the People. It was decided that the Park should remain, but reduced in area by 60%. Some families awaiting relocation and pastoralists with no land elsewhere were permitted to remain in the Park. Fishing on Lake Mburo was allowed, but the numbers of canoes operating was controlled. The Park management authorities and the Government of Uganda through the ranch restructuring Board worked together to settle families who were inside the Park. The negotiations formed part of the Parks community conservation program.
Fees for Lake Mburo National Park Lake Mburo National Park Entrance Fees
Vehicle entry fees per vehicle per visit in Uganda Shillings: As a Resident of Uganda it is possible buy a Special Pass for 1 year at 150 US $ per couple or 100 US $ for a single person permitting free entry into any of the National Parks or Reserves in Uganda
Activities in Lake Mburo Walking Safari (2 to 3 hours) per person $10
Game drives during the day do not require a ranger and do not attract any extra charge, but if a ranger is requested he will cost $10 per Ranger. Night game drives (between 7pm and 11 pm) US$ 25 per guide per vehicle. Sport Fishing permit in US Dollars:
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