Murchison’s game

Sep 07, 2001

There are giraffes in the Murchison Falls National Park. Believe me, there are giraffes, and then some more. And some more.

By Kalungi Kabuye There are giraffes in the Murchison Falls National Park. Believe me, there are giraffes, and then some more. And some more. Turn every corner and there are more and more giraffes, looking at you with a short-sighted squint, seemingly wondering where you came from. When we visited the park last week, I expected to finally get to see some real game. I expected elephants (maybe), lions, buffaloes, and about a million antelopes. But somehow it never occurred to me that there were giraffes and that there were so many of them. The park takes you by surprise. We have all heard of the poaching that went on since the 1970s, when former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin's soldiers would use the animals as target practice and sell off the meat and the horns afterwards. We have heard the stories of how all the rhinos were killed for their horns, the elephants for their ivory, and the antelopes for the meat. In our subconscious, we knew there was very little game left. Wild animals are very rare these days, and we would be lucky if we see them at all. So the abundance of wild animals in the park comes as a pleasant surprise. There are so many of them! kobs, hartebeests, oribis, buffaloes, elephants, lions, and giraffes every turn you make. Murchison Falls is the largest national park in the country. It holds more different species of animals and birds than other parks. It covers 3,893 square kilometers, and stretches between the districts of Masindi and Gulu. It is an easy five-hour drive from Kampala, and two hours from Masindi. The park is divided into two:the northern and southern banks. It is divided by the River Nile, and is named after the Murchison Falls where the world's longest river explodes through a seven-meter gorge and plunges 43 meters to finally begin its journey to Egypt. Our itinerary called for departure from Kampala at 10:00am, arriving at the Paraa Rest Camp at 3:00pm for lunch. We arrived late, and postponed the game drive and boat ride for the next morning, That night we had dinner with the rangers, and the park tourism warden, Nelson Guma. He regaled us with tales of the park and close encounters with the wild animals. We were a very expectant group that woke up at 6:00am the next day for the game drive. Most of the game is found on the northern bank, where the terrain is flat and the vegetation is thin; after crossing the Paraa Ferry. A ranger/guide takes you by hand and decides where the game is plenty and visible. We were lucky to have George II as our guide, and he assured us we would see a variety of animals, and if we were lucky, we would come across a lion hunting, although they usually did so at night. We saw antelopes of all kinds and descriptions, with George reeling off the names like a machine gun pelting bullets rapidly. We came across lone buffaloes which were, according to Guma, very dangerous. They are old bulls that have been driven from the main herd, and want to vent their frustrations on anyone within charging distance. Did you think buffaloes are like cows? drop the thought. Although they are huge, buffaloes are very agile. My! they are very ugly. One did a series of 360 degree turns as we approached, and there was nothing cow-like about the glare that old bull gave us. But it was the giraffes that made our day. How come they are so many? According to Guma, the giraffe has no natural predator. Lions do not eat them, and they have no horns for poachers to hunt. While all the other animals were being hunted almost to extinction in the last 30 years or so, the giraffes quietly multiplied and prospered. And they are different colours, they get darker with age. We saw several young ones, and a pregnant female. Several were grand old men, going by the colour of their skins. You really cannot appreciate the size of the giraffe till you come close to one. They can weigh up to more than one tone, Guma told us. One curious female looked at us for a while, and only moved when a bird tried to perch on her short horns. Then we came across a playful pair of lion cubs. The cubs however looked very big to us. They were eyeing a group of Kobs some distance away. George II warned us that the mother could be nearby. We waited but the shy lioness refused to show herself, so we went on in search of other game. Turn a corner near one of the channels of the Nile, and there were the elephants. Big, black and looking out of this world. We all ogled and fumbled for cameras and pairs of binoculars, but they ignored us, insolent little creatures, as they ate their way through several thickets. The closest I had seen a Kob was on the national Coat of Arms, so it is interesting seeing one live. Of course it looks a lot more handsomer than the painted one. It was a very satisfied group that drove to the Paraa Safari Lodge for lunch three hours later. We had come to park, we had seen the animals, and now we were ready to tell the stories around the campfire. And that was only the first morning. ends

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