Kibale National Park
Description of Fauna
The fauna of Kibale National Park is one of the best studied faunas in the tropics. Prominent are the 11 species of non-human primates (two-thirds of the country's total). These include the black and white colobus monkey, the chimpanzee, blue monkey, L'Hoest monkey, mangabey, and the endangered red colobus monkey. Terrestrial mammals found in the Park include two species of red and blue duikers, bush bucks, bush pigs, warthog, buffalo, water buck, the giant forest hog, sitatunga, and the African elephant (Loxadonta africana). Carnivores include lions (occasional visitor), leopards (very rare), golden cats, civets, palm civets, ratels, and the Congo clawless otter. Of the small mammals, rodents are diverse and abundant. At least 23 species of fish are found in the fresh waters of Kibale National Park, including several cyprinids and cichlids, and a diversity of air-breathing species such as the lungfish (Protopterus aethiopicus) and two species of clariid catfishes.
Kibale National Park's avifauna and invertebrate fauna are also very
rich. Three-hundred-and twenty-five species of birds occurring in 46 families
have been reported in the Park. Those noteworthy due to their limited distribution
include the olive long-tailed cuckoo, western green tinker bird, Willcock's
honeyguide, collared apalis, red-faced woodland warbler, white-bellied crested
flycatcher, blue-headed sunbird, and the Kibale Prigogine's ground thrush
(Turdus kibalensis), which is endemic to the Park. Common avifauna
include the crown hawk eagle, giant blue turaco, grey parrot, and the black
and white casqued hornbill. Reptiles and amphibians are abundant in the
Park, but little is known about them. The Park's invertebrates include an
estimated 140 species of Papilionoidea.
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