East Africa > Uganda > Rwenzori Mountains National Park

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Summary

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Eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) are present in Rwenzori Mountains National Park.
It has been estimated that 231 individuals occur in the site.
The population trend is unknown.
The site has a total size of 996 km².
Key threats to chimpanzees are illegal logging, bushmeat hunting, and illegal resource harvesting.
Conservation activities implemented include conducting anti-poaching patrols.

Site characteristics

Located in western Uganda, Rwenzori Mountains National Park comprises part of the Rwenzori mountain chain, including Africa's third highest peak, Mt Stanley's Margherita Peak at 5,109 m above sea level (UNESCO). The park is contiguous with the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (BirdLife International 2020). The region's glaciers, waterfalls and lakes make it one of the most fascinating afro-alpine areas.The park is known for its rich and unique flora; some of the world's rarest vegetation can be found here (UNESCO). Some unusual flora found here include the giant heather, and two species of forest tree, Hypericum bequaertii and Schefflera polysciadia, which are only known from Rwenzori (BirdLife International 2020; Uganda Wildlife Authority). In addition, the site is home to 70 mammals and 217 bird species, including 19 Albertine Rift endemics (UNESCO; BirdLife International 2020). Twenty-five invertebrate species from the area have been described in the last 15 years (BirdLife International 2020). Mammal species of conservation concern include the Rwenzori duiker (Cephalophus rubidus), forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis), eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii), Ruwenzori colobus (Colobus angolensis ruwenzorii) and L'Hoest's monkey (Cercopithecus l’hoesti); subspecies of blue monkey (Cercopithecus mitis) and rock hyrax (Procavia capensis) are only known from Rwenzori Mountains National Park (BirdLife International 2020).

Table 1. Basic site information for Rwenzori Mountains National Park

Species	'Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii
Area	996 km²
Coordinates	Lat: 0.363517 , Lon: 29.949944
Type of site	Protected area (National Park)
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical moist montane forest, Rocky areas (inland cliffs, mountain peaks), Wetlands (lakes, rivers, streams, bogs, marshes)
Type of governance

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

Table 2. Ape population estimates reported for Rwenzori Mountains National Park

Species	Year	Density estimate [ind./ km²] (95% CI)	Abundance estimate (95% CI)	Survey area	Sampling method	Source
Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii	2000	0.506	500	Rwenzori Mountains National Park	Reconnaissance walk	Makombo 2017
Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii	2010	0.385	384	Rwenzori Mountains National Park	Line transects	Makombo 2017
Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii	2016		231	Rwenzori Mountains National Park	Opportunistic observation	Makombo 2017

Threats

The main threats to the park are illegal logging, bushmeat hunting, and illegal resource harvesting, especially of bamboo (UNESCO).

Table 3. Threats to apes reported for Rwenzori Mountains National Park

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Description	Year of threat
10 Geological events		Absent
12 Other threat		Absent
5 Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	Present (unknown severity)	Hunting for bushmeat (UNESCO).	Ongoing
5 Biological resource use	5.2 Gathering terrestrial plants	Present (unknown severity)	Harvesting plants, especially bamboo (UNESCO).	Ongoing
5 Biological resource use	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	Present (unknown severity)	Illegal logging (UNESCO).	Ongoing
1 Residential & commercial development		Unknown
2 Agriculture & aquaculture		Unknown
3 Energy production & mining		Unknown
4 Transportation & service corridors		Unknown
6 Human intrusions & disturbance		Unknown
7 Natural system modifications		Unknown
8 Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases		Unknown
9 Pollution		Unknown
11 Climate change & severe weather		Unknown

IUCN Threats list

Conservation activities

Table 4. Conservation activities reported for Rwenzori Mountains National Park

Category	Specific activity	Description	Implementing organization(s)	Year of activity
2 Counter-wildlife crime	2.3 Conduct regular anti-poaching patrols	Anti-poaching patrols are conducted at the site (UNESCO).		Ongoing
5 Protection & restoration	5.2 Legally protect ape habitat	The site was designated as a National Park in 1991.		Ongoing

Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)

Challenges

Table 5. Challenges reported for Rwenzori Mountains National Park

Challenges	Specific challenges	Source	Year(s)
	Not reported

Enablers

Table 6. Enablers reported for Rwenzori Mountains National Park

Enablers	Specific enablers	Source	Year(s)
1 Site management
2 Resources and capacity
3 Engaged community
4 Institutional support
5 Ecological context
6 Safety and stability

Research activities

Recent climate-driven ecological changes in tropical montane lakes of Rwenzori Mountains National Park, central Africa

Documented behaviours

Table 7. Behaviours documented for Rwenzori Mountains National Park

Behavior	Source
Not reported

Exposure to climate change impacts

External links

Rwenzori Mountains National Park UNESCO

Uganda Wildlife Authority

Rwenzori Mountains National Park Ramsar

Relevant datasets

References

BirdLife International. (2020). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Ruwenzori (Rwenzori) Mountains National Park. Retrieved from http://www.birdlife.org on 16/12/2020.

Makombo, J. (2017). State of Conservation Report for Rwenzori Mountains National Park World Heritage Property –

Uganda. World Heritage Centre, UNESCO.

Page created by: A.P.E.S. Wiki team Date: NA

Rwenzori Mountains National Park

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