UGANDA WILDLIFE EDUCATION CENTER (UWEC)
The Uganda Wildlife Education Center (UWEC) was opened in 1952 by the colonial government as a reception center for wild animals that were found as casualties (sick, injured, orphaned or/and confiscated from illegal trade).
UWEC is one of the most respected conservation education institutions in Africa and beyond for successfully carrying out its mandates to educate Ugandans on the importance of conserving the country’s biodiversity, to rescue and rehabilitate injured, orphaned and/or confiscated wildlife and to breed endangered wildlife species in captivity with an aim of re-introducing them back in the wild.
UWEC is now recognized as a true success story and model institution for others to follow.
Animals
UWEC boasts of a wide variety of wildlife species in the Mammal, Reptile, Bird and Primate Sections. Most of the animals that come to UWEC have been rescued from either smugglers, poachers or the community at large.
Some are released back into the wild after a successful rehabilitation period but many are given a new home for education purposes or due to loss of habitat in the wild which reduces their chances of survival.Birds
Ostriches:Scientific Name: Struthio camelus
There is currently five ostriches: three males (Opolot, Kamya, John) and two female ones (not named at the moment). Opolot is named after the head bird keeper.
The ostriches can be viewed at the Kidepo Savanna on the southern side with access via the beach.
Fed daily on a nutritious diet of chopped kale (leafy green vegetable), growers mash (commercially processed diet) and fresh fish.
General Species Information
Traits: Ostriches are the largest flightless bird in the world. Their head and neck are mainly bare with some fluffy feathers. They have a short beak with has a rounded tip, well suited for plucking vegetation. They have large eyes with long eyelashes. The body is covered with long, soft plumage.
The males have black and white plumes, while the females are a duller greyish-brown colour. Their thighs are quite bare and muscular, adapted for fast running and used to kick when threatened by predators or used in fighting. They have two toes, with the inner toe larger and stiffer than the outer. Ostriches live up to 14 years in the wild.
Habitat: They prefer open plains that have short grasses and semi-arid regions and deserts with annual grasses. They do not like grasslands where the grasses reach over one metre or forested areas.
They live in open woodlands and in thick thorn bushes.
They are not dependent on water, so can live in areas that are mostly or entirely without water.
However, where water is available they drink frequently.
Food and Feeding Habits: They prefer herbs and grasses, flowers, seeds and seed pods and many other plants parts that are not eaten by most other animals.
They eat locusts and grasshoppers when they are available, but they are not dependent on them for protein.
Status and conservation issues: Live in harsh and open habitats
These birds are successfully bred in captivity, however, in many areas where they are not commercially farmed, they are still poached from the wild for feathers, skin or eggs.
Crested Crane:
The Crested Crane is a symbol of Uganda. It is one of the most beautiful birds you can find in East Africa. Together with the Uganda Kob, (an antelope) the crane appears on the Uganda Court of arms. Our four cranes live together with a small herd of Uganda Kobs in a wide-open savannah exhibit.They were all hand-reared by villagers in Northern Uganda except one which was about to be slaughtered by a person of unstable mind. They live a very natural life on the exhibit, feeding on grass, seeds and insects. They are very social birds, always staying together.
GENERAL SPECIES INFORMATION
Traits: Crown crane is a tall, most colourful stately terrestrial bird you can find in Africa. It is slate-grey with white, black and chestnut wings. Immature bird is brownish with broad pale edgings to feathers. It can live for about 10 to 15 years.
Habitat: It inhabits open country, dry cultivated land and pastures. It has a preference for marshes, wet grasslands and swamps.
Distribution: It is a local resident, and common in Kenya and Uganda, southwards to central Africa.
Food and feeding habits: Crown crane is mainly a vegetarian, but may also eat frogs and other small animals.
Cultural notes: The Crown crane is the national symbol of Uganda and it appears in the national flag. Together with the Uganda Kob, the crane also appears on the Uganda court of arms.
African grey parrot;
They are considered to be related to pigeon. Their bills are short, stout and strongly hooked. The upper mandible is hinged and is used in climbing. The African Grey Parrot is one of the most trafficked birds in Uganda and the Center receives many of them. UWEC has recently constructed a new parrot aviary to get a new comfortable home.
Habitat: It inhabits primary and secondary lowland rain forests, forest edges and clearings, gallery forests and other wooded riverine habitats, mangroves, oil palm plantations, gardens, wooded Savannah, cultivated land and montane forests.
Distribution: African Grey parrot is widely distributed in Sierra Leone, South Guinea, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, western Uganda, around L. Victoria, western Kenya round Nandi and Kakamega) and north-west Tanzania, mainly in lowlands but also up to 2200m in east Africa.
Food and feeding habits: Fruits and seeds, especially of oil palm, are preferred. It eats only outer oily flesh, never the stone. In Gabon locally caught adults refuse all food other than oil palm nuts.
Helmeted Guinea fowl; Scientific Name: Numida meleagrisa
There are about 40 Guinea fowls at the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre (UWEC). Two fowls were brought to UWEC in 1997 by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) and these have multiplied over time.
Guinea fowls are fed twice each day at 11:00 am and 3:00 pm. They mainly feed on cereals, but they also get insects and worms.
Peacock;
Peacock freely walks and flies around but has never left the Centre. At night, it roosts high in the trees to be safe from any predators. It feeds on frogs, young snakes, insects, and snails. Also a supplement of cereals.
Uganda Wildlife Education Centre (UWEC) has kept three African Fish Eagles in a flight aviary.
The birds are fed on fish, twice everyday which they capture themselves from a pond inside their enclosure.
Shoebill Stork at UWEC
UWEC has three Shoebill storks in its Wetlands Aviary. Shoebill storks are one of the rarest of Uganda’s birds and are facing pressure from encroachment on their wetland habitats. One such habitat is at Mabamba swamp. All the Shoebill storks at UWEC were rescued from the public. Egyptian Geese at UWEC
UWEC has a number of Egyptian Geese that migrate to the Centre every year. Some have decided to stay on a permanent basis whereas others return every year. The geese enjoy the Centre’s ponds and share food with the rest of animals especially in the Queen Elizabeth Kob Meadow.The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg (550 lb) in weight,[4] it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger.
Facilities
Place for a leisure or educational tour. The centre, which sits on 72 hectares, boasts of over 400 indigenous wild animals, 500 plant/tree species
250 bird species in large natural settings that depict three of Uganda’s major ecosystems: the wetland, the savannah and the forest. In this way,
UWEC is one of the most respected conservation education institutions in Africa and beyond. Its programs are tailored to suit all educational categories, from the play school age to tertiary institutions to local and international researchers.
UWEC offers a holistic experience and ensures that visitors go back home not only entertained but educated enough to move them to respect and conserve the country’s biodiversity for today and future generations.
Mini game drive
There is a mini game drive in one of the electric Golf carts, which takes up to three people seated and two standing.
Conference rooms
Quiet environment at our conference room for; workshops, retreats, short courses, lectures, prayer meetings, etc. The room can accommodate 30 people in a classroom setting but up to 60 people in a theater setting.
Separate shelters and space for mini group discussions and/or active training exercises and Public Address System are also available
There is LCD projector, Giant TV screen, printer and photocopier are available.
Craft shops
Craft shop which boasts of a wide range of African art and craft at affordable prices.
Canteen
A visit to one of these places to settle the grumblings and thundering in your stomach!
Offers spacious venues for weddings, luncheons, parties, and other ceremonies for up to 2000 guests at the beach overlooking Lake Victoria, at the floating pier or rest gardens within the core area;
Convenient parking space and complimentary night for bride and groom in the case of a wedding.
Campsite
Camping is the art of getting closer to nature. Here you will tell stories, crack jokes, sing lungs out and form strong friendship bonds, all the while listening to the occasional lion’s roar, owl’s hoot, hyena’s laugh and breeze whispering gently to the trees in the still of the night.
A quiet and comfortable facility. The facility has two bedrooms, a kitchen and living room with colored television for visitor’s entertainment, as well as spacious compound and parking space. It’s ideal for both short and long stay whilst in Entebbe, at a very affordable and pocket friendly rate to families and groups.
Hostels
Student facility. This is basic bed with shared outside bathrooms and flashing toilets.
