Chimpanzee Trekking Rules & Regulations

Chimpanzee Trekking Rules & Regulations are the laws put in place to govern the activity and ensure the safety of both the tourist and the primates. Just like any other national park activity done in the wild setting, chimpanzee trekking in kibale national park is also conducted on the line of a number of rules that streamline it. The chimpanzee trekking rules & regulations are put in place in order to give you a delightful experience and also to help the natural environment to stay with its authenticity. The chimpanzee rules & regulations in Kibale National Park are stipulated by the Uganda wildlife authority, the government body in charge of all the protected areas in Uganda. To note, the chimpanzee trekking rules & regulations for Kibale National Park, also apply to other destinations where chimpanzee trekking is conducted such as Kaniyo Pabidi in Murchison falls National Park, Kyambura Gorge in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Kalinzu Forest Reserve in Kasese, Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and other protected areas in Uganda.

Rules for chimpanzee trekking activity

The rules & Regulations for chimpanzee trekking in kibale can be categorized into two groups i.e. safety rules for chimpanzee trekking are actually rules that are aiming at keeping you and your trekking group mates safe while in the forest. The other rules are aiming at keeping the chimpanzees in a good environment and also to hold the law of environmental fidelity not tempered with, the rules are explained below;

Chimpanzee trekking is an activity done in a specific time period. Unlike zoos, sighting chimpanzees is very dependent on the time, season and the weather of the day. Chimpanzee trekking is better done in the morning hours and this is the time when the chimpanzees are de-nesting from the trees to start their day’s chores and food hunting. The evening time is also an opportune time for watching the chimpanzees gather up to make new nests for the night.

Basing on the season as a factor determining chimpanzee trekking in kibale national park, the dry season is the best season of the year where you can have a good sighting of the chimpanzees in kibale national park. The dry season is characterized by warm temperature which makes the fruits ripen. This means that the chimpanzees can be found anywhere in the forest looking for ripe fruits. However, the rain season or the wet season makes it so hard for the chimpanzees to roam around the forest, therefore making the sighting of the chimpanzees limited in the wet season of the year.

Only a few people are allowed to do chimpanzee trekking at a time, i.e. Only 6 people with two guides. The chimpanzees are highly endangered primate species in Africa and the whole world; therefore, human interference might lead to their migration. This is the reason as to why the number of people visiting a particular community of chimpanzees is limited.

The maximum duration for you to interact with the chimpanzees is strictly 1 hour. This helps the chimpanzees not to get stressed with a lot with flash cameras while taking photos and too much talking. The chimpanzees are wild animals and have wild behaviors, it’s possible to gang up and attack when they are tired of being disturbed.

It is good to always stay with your group during chimpanzee trekking in kibale national park. You are not safe in kibale forest alone, the forest is home to a number of wild animals including lions, cerval cats, and leopards among others. Staying with your group during chimpanzee trekking in kibale national park is one way you are sure of your safety inside the jungle. Also when you find a community of the chimpanzees to trek, is ideal to keep an 8m distance away from the chimpanzees. You can catch their disease or even cause them to attack you.

You should not even try to chase the chimpanzees at any time. You don’t have to forget that the chimpanzees are not some pets or domestic animals and they are tough and strong wild animals and can attack you any time even without realizing. You should also avoid eating near the chimpanzees while in Kibale National Park. The chimpanzees being wild animals, wildness is their main character so they may want to take your food by force and you end up getting injured, so the better thing to do is just to keep food away from them.

Chimpanzee trekking in kibale national park is strictly out of bounds for sick people. One of the reasons as to why chimpanzees are reducing in number is, they die of human tract diseases, so you don’t want to infect any chimpanzee with flue or any other sickness that might cause it to die. Also, children below the age of 15 years are prohibited from chimpanzee trekking in kibale national park however, they can enjoy other children’s activities in kibale national park such as children forest tactics lessons among others.

Lastly, if at all you want to ease yourself during the chimpanzee trekking in kibale national park, you should go off the trail and dig down a pit of about 3 meters deep, and after you cover it up or else the chimpanzees can get sick from typhoid and other water-borne diseases. Also, remember always to keep your voice low during chimpanzee trekking in kibale national park.

Otherwise, chimpanzee trekking is a thrilling experience that gives you a lifetime chance to intimately interact with the natural forest of kibale and also with the chimpanzees. chimpanzee trekking is an opportunity for you to also see a number of wildlife species in Kibale National Park such as birds, monkeys, and lustrous forest vegetation. You can book for kibale national park chimpanzee trekking any time of the year.