Are their big five animals in Murchison falls national park? Murchison falls national park and kidepo valley national park are the only national parks in Uganda that give you a chance to see the big five animals of Africa. The park is protected by Uganda wildlife authority and has over 76 mammal species such as lions, Jackson’s hartebeest, bushbucks, Uganda kob, water bucks among others, 451 bird species shoebill stork, goliath heron, grew crowned crane, swamp flycatcher, squacco heron, African jacana among others the park has got primates I.e. olive baboons, blue and red tailed monkeys, black and white colobus and patas monkeys.

Murchison falls national park has got the four bigs animals however you can get to see white rhinos in ziwa rhino sanctuary which on the en route to Murchison falls national park. The big five animals include.

The African elephant. The African elephant is the largest terrestrial animal in the world, an average elephant can grow between 8.2 feet to 13 feet from shoulder to toe and it can weigh between 5000 to 14000 and males grow bigger than females.  They are called African elephants because of their large ears shaped much like the African continent map, the ears help the elephant to keep them cool. They leave in forests and savannah woodlands of Murchison falls national park, live in very large groups of 100 animals called herds led by the females.

The elephants in Murchison falls national park are peaceful but when attacked they are dangerous, the mother elephants protect the young ones. African elephants are herbivorous and eat about 375kgs of food a day i.e. roots, grasses, fruits, and bark of trees. They drink 3o to 40 litters of water a day and can live over 70 years in the world but when kept in the zoo it can live up to 45 years.

Lion. Lions are the most dangerous animals, they are most active at night and live in grassland, savannah, dense scrub and open wood land. Lions are carnivores which means they eat meat. The prey they eat include birds, hares, lizard, buffaloes, wild dogs, antelopes, cheetahs, leopards, crocodiles, baby elephants, rhinoceros, hippopotamuses among others. Lions are active in the morning during sunrise and in the evening during sunset so this is the best time to do game drives in Murchison falls national park if you main aim is to see lions. The biggest is 6-7 feet long, male lion 150- 250kgs while the female weighs 120-130kgs, the male which are identified by dark color mans, the lioness are the leaders in the jungle. The lions can run 60 meters in just 6 seconds, they sleep for 20 hours a day and can hunt for only 2 hours or 3 hours a day.

Leopard. Leopards are sometimes called panther, large cats close to lions, tiger and jaguar, an average male leopard can weigh up to 60kgs while a female can weigh 40kgs. Leopard have got a ground color which is yellowish or white bellow. They are fastest runners compared to lions and they can run 58 km per hour.

Buffaloes. You can tell a cape buffalo from their horns, they are the most deadly of all big five animals and can kill over 200 people per year. They weigh up to 680kg, they are herbivores animals feeding on grass. In Uganda we have two species of buffalo the larger savannah buffalo and the smear forest buffalo. Buffaloes live in a herds of about 100 members, they protect younger ones.

The white rhinos. They live up to 35-40 years, hate too much sun and this is why they are always spotted wallowing in the mud. The white rhinos weigh up to 800kgs just like any other animal the female rhino is smaller than the males. Rhinos are found at ziwa rhino sanctuary an en route to Murchison falls national park and Kidepo national park.