June 1st

Our visit to the Ugandan Wildlife Education Centre (UWEC) was very interesting. We had initially hoped to catch the boat to Chimp Island in the morning, but it was full. Instead, I had a leisurely walk around before the crowds hit and while the animals were still active. The highlight was a pair of white rhinos. They were neat to see up close. We also saw some gigantic spiders that almost gave me nightmares. The webs were at least 1 meter in diameter and the spiders must have been at least 10cm. Thank goodness I didn’t get eaten!

After lunch, we took a boat across to Ngamba Island, home to the Chimp Sanctuary. It was a very nice facility. After disembarking from the boat, we were greeted by the head veterinarian who gave us an introductory talk on chimp management including their diet (same as healthy people). The animals are confiscated from the illegal pet trade, or orphaned when their mothers are killed for bush meat. The afternoon feeding was quite the affair! The keepers through various pieces of fruit over the fence while we watched from a viewing platform that was very Jurassic Parkesque. The chimps came out of the bush and made quite the display. The dominant ones stole food from the subordinate ones. It turns out, the dominant male is named Micha! What a coincidence… I’m sorry to report to some of my readers (all 2 of you) that there were no feces thrown while I was there. The veterinarian caught wind of our vet studentness and gave us a whirl-wind tour of the facilities before we boarded the boat. The chimps come in each evening and sleep in chimp dormitories (the forest is too small for them to be in it all the time, apparently they are hard on trees and need a large area). They have an exam room complete with an x-ray machine (provided by a Canadian veterinarian), a laboratory, and a storage room for drugs. The vet was very excited to show us the lazer-guided dart gun! The boat ride back was pleasant and I can now say I have crossed the equator by plane, boat and bus (see later). We took a taxi (Frank of Green Valley’s brother drove us) to Red Chili Hostel in Kampala. It had a great BBQ and I slept like an angel (well, pretty close, anyway).