Overview
Uganda is surrounded by various beautiful sceneries lakes, rivers, wildlife, and evergreen plantations all observed on Uganda safaris that are iconic by the strong African lions heading the jungle all wildlife respects the savannah kings. The Panthera Leo is the scientific name of the African lion, thriving in the savannah grasslands of Uganda. They are mainly in Uganda’s 3 of the 10 national parks. These include Kidepo Valley National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, and Murchison Falls National Park. These parks all have savannah grasslands and are fit for the view of the African lions while on guided nature walks and game drives.
Lions are the biggest predators in the African savannah and are part of the cat family. Adult male lions weigh over 150-250 kilograms and adult females weigh between 120-182 kilograms. Male lions are distinct from females by size and the huge mane that starts from their cheeks down to their necks. Lions are social animals living in a group called pride and hunting as an organized unit to take out prey as big as elephants and buffaloes. Females do most of the hunting as the males protect and defend the pride from external revivals. However, males usually join on the hunt in cases where they target big prey like buffaloes and elephants. A lion pride can have over 40 lions.
An adult mature lion has a life span of about 14 years in the wild savannah. That age normally increases to 20 years when in captivity. As kings of the savannah, lions have a lot of revivals from other animals and their kind. They usually die of old age and heavy injuries sustained from fights with revivals and prey. Unfortunately, in some cases, lions die due to human conflict and habitat loss. Lions can be spotted during a game viewing experience at the different savannah parks in Uganda.
Queen Elizabeth National Park
Queen Elizabeth National Park is one of Uganda’s most visited savannah national parks in western Uganda. It covers about 1,978 km2 spanning the districts of Kasese, Rukungiri, Rubirizi, and Kamwenge. The park was established in 1952 along with Murchison Falls National Park and was renamed in 1954. It became famous for its tree-climbing lions found in the Ishasha sector. The tree-climbing lions are only dominant to Queen Elizabeth National Park, interacting with over 95 mammal species and about 619 bird species.
Lions in Queen Elizabeth National Park can be viewed on guided nature walks and game drives via the Kasenyi plains, Ishasha sector, and Mweya peninsula in the savannah grass and Acacia branches.
Kidepo Valley National Park
Kidepo Valley National Park is located in northeastern Uganda, covering 1,442 km2 well known as a paradise for birders harboring over 476 bird species. The park was established in 1962, to protect the various animal species. There are over 77 mammal species with many bird species beautifully lavishing the savannah grasslands and trees. Kidepo Valley National Park is home to about 15-30 lion individuals. The lions in Kidepo Valley National Park can be viewed during morning and evening game drives in Narus Valley. However, they are best spotted during the night game drives as they are hunting for their prey.
Murchison Falls National Park
Murchison Falls National Park is the largest and oldest national park in Uganda. It was established in 1952 in northwestern Uganda. It covers about 3,893 km2 harboring over 76 mammal species, and 45 bird species. The mammals include lions, leopards, buffaloes, elephants, giraffes, bushbucks, hartebeests, waterbucks, etc. Lions control the jungle due to strength and dominance. Murchison Falls has over 200 lion individuals, distributed in about 20 prides.
What is the best to see lions in Uganda?
Lions in Uganda are open for visiting throughout the year, however, best sighted in the dry season. The dry season runs from June to September and December to February. This is a period when the savannah grasslands are dry and short simplifying game drives and guided nature walks.
The wet season is another hard advantage for spotting lions as it is not a busy season with low costs for lodges, flights in and out of Uganda, and other activities. Chances are very high for spotting the lions since people are always few.
