Lake Mburo National Park

Lake Mburo National Park

Lake Mburo National Park is in the western region of Uganda, in the Kiruhura district. Lake Mburo was originally declared a controlled hunting area in 1933 and was reclassified as a game reserve in 1963. The reserve was upgraded to national park status in 1983. The park is home to zebra, hippo, impala, warthog, Common Eland, African Buffalo and more than 300 species of birds. Carnivores may include lion, leopard, hyena, hyena, genet, African Civet, jackal and serval, and as of 2015, there is also a population of Rothschild's Giraffe. The protected area was classified as a "lion conservation unit" by the IUCN in 2005, despite the fact that lions are no longer found here. The lions were wiped out by the indigenous people in the 1980s, but in early 2015 there were reports of a lone lion wandering in Miriti, Kashara, Warukiri and Rwonyo. A roaming lion in the area eventually attacked and wounded three people, prompting a large crowd of angry community to chase the animal. The Uganda Wildlife Authority therefore decided to kill the animal as the situation had become dangerous. The animal is believed to have migrated from the Kagera Game Reserve in Tanzania. For grazers in the park, the changes in habitat over time are a problem. Most areas of the park that were previously grassland have now become bushveld or forest as the invasive native shrubby tree species Acacia hockii has invaded these areas. Acacia, on the other hand, protects other shrub and tree species that grow faster and more densely.