The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) the body that manages the country’s wildlife recently released 5 Rothschild giraffes into North Eastern Uganda-based Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve. This reintroduction exercise will now bring the total number of giraffes to 15, 10 of which are females.
Presiding over the event, Dr. Panta Kasoma, representing the Chairman of the UWA Board of Trustees, that the re-introduction of giraffes in Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve is in line with UWA’s strategic objectives among which is the reintroduction of extinct species.
He maintains that the exercise was looking to uphold conservation and keep the animal populations fairly distributed and high. “Especially the endangered species, we must pay attention to them,” he said. We are happy that we now have giraffes in Pian Upe after very many years, and we hope this will further enhance tourism in the reserve.”
This will not only stop at the giraffe populace, as only last year but impalas were also transferred. “We translocated up to 92 impalas into the reserve areas,” UWA’s Charles Tumwesigye said. “These translocations are good, we have seen an increase in antelopes, zebras, cheetahs…”
This is an ongoing process, one that is expected to yield results, protect the endangered long-legged giraffe but also see it thrive in a place where its population is wanting.
