Budongo Forest
Budongo Forest is located in the northwestern part of Uganda, on the way to Murchison Falls National Park, which is located on the escarpment in the northeast of Lake Albert.
The forest is commonly known for the former abundance of East African mahogany trees, as well as a habitat for the chimpanzees. The mahogany tree is found 80 meters in height.
The forest is composed of moist, medium, semi-deciduous trees with a number of patches of savanna and woodland. The forest covers a rolling landscape, sloping down to the East African Rift.
There are streams in the forest, including Soso, Waisoke, Siba, and Kamirmbwa drain the forest, which keeps flowing into Lake Albert. The annual rainfall in the area is between 100 and 2200 mm; the rainy season runs through March-May and September-November, and the dry season runs from December to February.
The nearest town to Budongo forest is Masindi, the land around the Budongo forest dwelling and villages, places that continue to pressure forest margins that lead to exploitation for building materials and bush meat.
The Budongo forest has a number of 400 bird species, 130 moth species, 300 butterfly species, 500 tree species, 30 mammal species, 9 primates, and many more. Chimpanzee tracking is one of the popular activities with ecotourists for visitors in order to avoid undue disturbance of the animals and forests.
The forest trials ease access for research workers and are now used by ecotourists, poachers, and wild animals.
Chimpanzee mothers were shot, and infants were taken from the forest and smuggled to collectors in Asia. The research team renovated and occupied buildings that had been constructed for the Budongo sawmills.
