TOURISM | LIONS | DEATH

The electrocution of three lions in Queen Elizabeth National Park (QENP) has hurt the tourism industry so hard.

“This comes shortly after a lion was shot dead as a safety measure by a Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) ranger recently” lamented the UWA spokesman Bashir Hangi.

“The post mortem is being carried out and the public will have the results as soon as possible,” summed up Hangi.

In 2018 a pride of eleven poisoned lions was found dead in the same park which is popular for the tree climbing lions at Ishasha.

“A trip to Queen Elizabeth National Park is incomplete without seeing a lion,” says Noel Bayo, a seasoned tour guide/driver. 

“People come all the way from Canada, India and USA to see them in their habitat.”

Guides and rangers are known to tip each other when a lion, cub or lionesses are spotted during the Safari drive.

The president Uganda Tour Guides Association James Mwere is afraid the trade mark of the African jungle (lion) is endangered.   

 “Eleven were poisoned in 2018,” lamented Mwere. 

One frame shot of panoramic Queen Elizabeth National Park, buffalos and egrets. Photo by Titus Kakembo

“When you talk or search for tree climbing lions the result includes QENP, Tanzania and South Africa. Lions give this park an edge over others globally.”

Activities in QENP

• Being located in the Western Rift Valley earns the park Kyambura Gorge shaped by River Kyambura and a strip of forest.
• The crater lakes in this park can exhaust the fingers on any palm when counted.
• Equator point is where most people stop for a photo shoot with resident children.
• There is the Queens Pavilion where Queen Elizabeth stood to partake in the beauty of wildlife back in 1952.
• Kazinga Channel is home to many animals during the dry season. Photos of yawning crocodiles, cooling hippos and birds have been shot in one frame. 
• Katwe Salt mine tour in the north west of Mweya is worth a while. In the dry season the water forms pans that crystalize into salt.
• Boat riding in QENP is a thrilling experience which treats tourists to a variety of mammals, reptiles, birds, plants and insects.
• The Balloon flight is a memorable experience where tourists are treated to a bird’s view of the park. It is accompanied by breakfast or dinner in the wild. Professional pilots from Egypt and Uganda handle it.