IUCN Management Category IV (Managed Nature Reserve)

Biogeographical Province 3.05.04 (East African Woodland/savanna)

Geographical Location Extreme south-west corner of Uganda on the borders with Zaire and Rwanda. 1°25'S, 29°35'E.

Date and History of Establishment 1964 by Statutory Instrument No. 215. Originally established in 1930 as a Game Sanctuary under Legal Notice 21. Also known as Kigezi Gorilla Game Reserve or Mgahinga Forest Reserve, but it is further south than Kigezi Game Reserve.

Area 2,900ha; contiguous to Volcanoes National Park (23,000ha) in Rwanda, which is contiguous to Virunga National Park (809,000ha) in Zaire. Size reduced from 3,400ha in 1950.

Land Tenure Government

Altitude 2,700-4,127m

Physical Features It includes parts of three volcanic mountains (Muhavura, Mgahinga, and Sabinio). The summit of Muhavura has a small crater lake and forms the highest point in the reserve.

Climate No information

Vegetation The alpine summit areas are dominated by St John's wort Hypericum spp. and dwarf heaths which merge into broad leaved montane forest and bamboo. On the lower slopes is a high altitude type of savanna woodland. The forest is rich in lichens and mosses.

Fauna The reserve was established to protect chimpanzee Pan troglodytes (T) and the mountain gorilla Gorilla gorilla berengei (T). Other mammals include: the distinctive golden monkey Cercopithecus mitis kandti (rare subspecies of the diademed monkey), leopard Panthera pardus (T), elephant Loxodonta africana (T), giant forest hog Hylochoerus meinertzhageni, bushbuck Tragelaphus scriptus, and buffalo Syncerus caffer. The abundant birdlife includes the Ruwenzori turaco Tauraco johnstoni, yellow-billed barbet Trachyphonus purpuratus, five species of Apalis, Lühder's bush shrike Laniarius lühderi, six species of sunbird, and four species of crimson-wing Cryptospiza. The threatened butterfly species Papilio leucotaenia (V) may also inhabit the reserve.

Cultural Heritage No information

Local Human Population No information

Visitors and Visitor Facilities No information

Scientific Research and Facilities Monitoring of the gorilla population and other species has been carried out.

None

Conservation Value No information

Conservation Management Established strictly for protection of the mountain gorilla and chimpanzee. No settlement is allowed in the reserve.

None

No harvesting of bamboo has been allowed since 1982. Local people buy bamboo from the Forest Department who collect it from other areas. There is a general working plan for the area, but this is in need of revision.

Management Constraints There is severe disturbance from agricultural and pastoral activities and poaching. The decrease in area by raising the boundary from 2,425m to 2,730m removed an important gorilla habitat from the reserve. Increasing deforestation by residents of the lower slopes is tending to destroy more gorilla habitat, reducing its chance of survival in the area. Restricted bamboo cutting was allowed annually in the reserve before 1982. The area seems to be less well protected than neighbouring protected areas in Zaire and Rwanda. There are about 400 gorillas in this whole region, but only one group is found in the Ugandan sector and may have disappeared recently. The access road was destroyed by heavy rain in 1983.

Staff No recent information

Budget No recent information

Local Addresses

Game Department, Fort Portal.

References

Malpas, R. (1980). Wildlife in Uganda 1980 - A Survey. A report to the Minister of Tourism and Wildlife, Uganda.

Date April 1985