Kidepo Valley National Park

Wildlife & Animals

Expert

Philip is the author of the Bradt guidebook to Uganda.

Kidepo Valley National Park has arguably the most diverse savannah fauna of any park in Uganda. Four of the Big Five are present, and the only absentee (rhino) can be tracked on foot at Ziwa Rhino and Wildlife Ranch en route from the capital Kampala. In addition to lion and leopard, predators that might be encountered in Kidepo include cheetah, spotted hyena, bat-eared fox, black-backed jackal and side-striped jackal. The park is home to a dozen antelope species, including Jackson’s hartebeest, oribi, eland, Uganda kob and klipspringer.

ElephantCommon

GiraffeOccasional

HippoNone

BuffaloAbundant

ZebraCommon

WildebeestNone

White RhinoNone

Black RhinoNone

LionOccasional

LeopardOccasional

CheetahRare

HyenaOccasional

Wild DogRare

Wildlife Highlights

Kidepo can offer excellent elephant viewing, and you might encounter dust-kicking herds of up to 4,000 buffalo. Although there is no guarantee that you will spot leopard, lion and cheetah, all three are seen with some frequency. Localized dry-country species include caracal, aardwolf, greater kudu, lesser kudu, mountain reedbuck and Guenther’s dik-dik. Five primate species are present, most notably the ground-dwelling patas monkey. Lucky visitors might spot the endangered Rothschild’s giraffe or white-eared kob, the latter a wetland antelope more normally associated with South Sudan.

Best Time for Wildlife Viewing

The best time for wildlife viewing is during the Dry season (September to March). It is particularly good from November onwards, when animals gather around permanent water sources. In the Wet season (April to August), animals disperse from the valleys and move to higher ground, where they are more difficult to locate.