A day tour at Uganda Wildlife Education Center

If you are wondering where to spend your day in Entebbe town, the best place would be the Uganda Wildlife Education Center. A day tour at Uganda Wildlife Education Center is a time well spent in the shadows of the busy town and work schedules, experience the urban wild. It is a day full of adventure and educational insight about the country’s wilderness rulers. It is also a time for in-depth conservation efforts and a collaboration in keeping the country’s savannah and tropical forests safe for wildlife activity. We do not doubt that a day tour at Uganda Wildlife Education Center is worth every single penny.

By now, you may still be wondering what the Uganda Wildlife Education Center is. Well, in simple terms, the Uganda Wildlife Education Center is also known as the Entebbe Zoo. This zoo was named after the town of Entebbe, where it is situated. Among the different zoos in the region and on the continent, the Entebbe zoo continues to prove by standards, as among the best in either front. This is why a day tour in this place offers the best urban wildlife encounters like no other.

Tucked away in the pristine urban shadows of Entebbe, UWEC is situated on the shores of Lake Victoria. This is the largest freshwater lake in Africa and the second largest in the world. This center sits on a massive land area of about 72 acres.

Brief history of Uganda Wildlife Education Center

The year is 1952, when the Uganda Wildlife Education Center was established. However, by then it was still called Entebbe zoo. This zoo was established as a rehabilitation facility for the injured, orphaned, and rescued animals from different parts of the country. By the time this zoo was established, Uganda was still under the colonial administration, as a British protectorate.

Such times around the country were sometimes characterized by poaching and extreme destruction of wildlife facilities through encroachment. Smuggling of bush meat and ivory was also still rampant. Among the reasons for the establishment of the Entebbe zoo was to create a center for the rehabilitation of orphaned and rescued animals, and also the treatment of injured wildlife. Additionally, by 1960, this facility extended its services to include tourism. This was after sourcing and introducing exotic or international animals like tigers and bears. This made the zoo even more popular across the entire region.

Unfortunately, at a time when this zoo was at its peak, political instability befell the country from 1966 to the 1970s and 1980s, after the country had gained independence. This led to total neglect of the zoo, as there was no responsible government organization to run this zoo effectively. As a result, many animals died because of starvation, and the sick ones lacked medical care, leading to their death as well.

Hope for this zoo was restored in 1994, about 10 years after the country became politically stable. From this time in 1994, the Entebbe zoo was changed to the Uganda Wildlife Education Center. Its governance and management were handed over to the Ministry of Tourism, and this has grown into a big facility now. With proper funding from the government and other international partners, this center has transformed the public’s perception of wildlife conservation. This is through public sensitization and education.

What to do on a day tour at Uganda Wildlife Education Center?

A day tour at Uganda Wildlife Education Center offers an adventurous experience that allows visitors to encounter a variety of both local and exotic wildlife species from different ecological systems. Some of the tourist activities to do at this center include the following.

Become a keeper for a day.

Experience an incredible adventure of becoming a keeper for a day. This thrilling experience starts with a briefing and preparation of the food for the animals. This experience gives visitors a chance to interact with these animals in a friendlier manner. Visitors also get a chance to study the behaviours of some animals, like lions, and how they react. This is surely an activity deserving of a day tour at Uganda Wildlife Education Center.

Behind-the-scenes experience

It is short to say that each animal at the Uganda Wildlife Education Center was brought there for a reason. Therefore, each animal has a story to tell, and behind-the-scenes experiences are the best activity for this. This experience provides insights into each animal’s history of travel from the time they were introduced to this center. Visitors can spend an entire day with these animals from the time they are up for the day until lights out.

Guided nature/forest walks

This center also offers incredible guided nature walks that are meant to explore this facility and learn about its history and its contribution to conservation efforts. This tour offers an educational and entertaining experience that emphasizes the traits of some of the exotic and local animals in this facility.

Vet for a day experience

A day at this facility will bring you to the unexpected experience of being a vet for a day. This is not any ordinary activity, but a chance to save the lives of some of these animals. This day in the veterinary world begins with a briefing that shapes how the day will run. Visitors then visit the animal chambers for regular check-ups. Then, if they are ill animals, visitors participate in driving the injured or ill animals to the advanced veterinary facility in the center. This activity requires unmatched cleanliness since it deals directly with the health of the animals.

At Monteero Safaris, we make sure that your day tour at Uganda Wildlife Educational Center is memorable and very enjoyable.