Banded mongoose in Queen Elizabeth National Park: The best place in all of East Africa to track banded mongooses is Queen Elizabeth National Park. The districts of Kasese, Kamwenge, Rubirizi, and Rukungiri in western Uganda are home to the national park. The savannah-style vegetation of Queen Elizabeth National Park is home to 600 bird species, 10 primate species, and 95 animal species.
The tree-climbing lions in the Ishasha sector, the Kazinga Channel connecting Lake Edward and Lake George, and the banded mongoose are just a few of the many features that have made Queen Elizabeth National Park famous.
One species of mongoose that inhabits Africa’s grasslands and savannas is the banded mongoose. These mammals are small, weighing between two and three kilograms, and their adult length ranges from three to forty-five centimeters. The tail, which is 15 to 30 meters long, is the longest section of their body. They can excavate the earth because to their powerful claws, long tails, short ears, and big heads.
Banded mongoose trekking
One of the most thrilling things to do at Queen Elizabeth National Park is to look for these tiny cats, which weigh between two and three kilograms. The Mweya Peninsula, a section of land between Lake Edward and Kazinga Channel, is the starting point for mongoose trekking in Queen Elizabeth National Park. The Mweya Peninsula is home to these mongooses due to its savannah grasslands and proximity to bodies of water like Lake Edward and Kazinga Channel.
Banded mongoose tracking takes the form of nature adventures where visitors go around to find potential locations for these little creatures. Researchers and armed ranger guides who are familiar with the various locations where these creatures are always found lead the activity. Because locator devices are used to locate several groups of banded mongoose, finding them at Queen Elizabeth National Park is essential.
There are more than twenty groups of banded mongooses in Queen Elizabeth National Park, and each group is hiked by four persons with the help of researchers and armed ranger rangers. Trekkers are briefed on the rules and regulations before the beginning of the activity. They spend one to three hours looking for mongoose in the bush under the guidance of armed ranger guides.
Trekkers can encounter a variety of park creatures when looking for banded mongoose, including antelopes, buffaloes, elephants, monkeys, olive baboons, and birds. Spending time with a group of banded mongooses allows you to learn about their behaviors, snap pictures, and observe them engaging in daily activities such as playing, feeding, pairing, breastfeeding, and much more.
Tracking mongooses may teach you a lot of things. For example, banded mongooses live in groups of 20 to 70 individuals and are always together in subterranean dens or tunnels, which are frequently abandoned termite mounds that alter after three to five days. Fallen fruits, birds, grasshoppers, earthworms, ants, termites, eggs, frogs, centipedes, and crickets are just a few of the foods they consume.
Mongoose trekking in Queen Elizabeth national park can be paired with other activities such as chimpanzee trekking which is done in Kyambura canyon, boat cruises on Kazinga channel, lion tracking, wildlife drives, bird watching, nature walks, and community tours. Your Uganda safari would be the finest if you engage in two or more activities at Queen Elizabeth National Park.
How much is banded mongoose tracking in Queen Elizabeth National Park?
For anyone to be part of the banded mongoose trekking, they must acquire a permit which is a ticket to allow them to be part of the activity. For $30 for foreign non-residents, $25 for foreign residents, and UGX30,000 for East African citizens, the mongoose trekking activity can be purchased from the Uganda Wildlife Authority or park headquarters. Permits can be obtained in the park one day before to trekking or reserved in advance.
Best time to visit Queen Elizabeth National Park
All park activities are available at Queen Elizabeth National Park throughout the year, though some months are usually better than others. The best times to visit the park and trek banded mongoose are during the dry months of June through September and December through February. This is because there is little to no rainfall during these months, which leaves the trails dry and passable, the vegetation is short and thin, making it easy to see these small mammals, and the roads leading to the park are passable.
Because Queen Elizabeth National Park will remain open during the wet seasons of March through May and October through November, visitors can still undertake banded mongoose trekking there. The roads leading to the park are inaccessible, the trails are muddy and slick, the vegetation is tall and obscures views of the animals, and there is constant rain, all of which contribute to the activity’s poor quality.
Where to stay on your safari
There is always lodging available for visitors to Queen Elizabeth National Park who choose to spend a night or more there. Where to stay depends on your vacation budget. There are cheap, mid-range, and luxury lodging options available here. Mweya Safari Lodge, Ishasha Bandas, Pumba Safari Cottages, Jacana Safari Lodge, Enjojo Lodge, Kyambura Gorge Lodge, Katara Lodge, Ishasha Wilderness Camp, and Elephant Hub Lodge are a few of the lodges available here.
Accessing Queen Elizabeth national park for mongoose trekking
You can travel by land or air to Queen Elizabeth National Park for activities like mongoose trekking. The fastest route to Queen Elizabeth National Park is by road, which takes one hour and fifteen minutes. Flights to the park’s Mweya airstrip depart from Entebbe International Airfield or Kajjansi Airfield. Aerolink Uganda and Bar Aviation Uganda operate these flights twice daily during the rainy season and three times daily during the dry season.
There are two road routes from Kampala/Entebbe that visitors to Queen Elizabeth National Park for mongoose trekking can use. Kampala via Mubende, Kyenjojo, Fort Portal, and Kasese to the park, or Kampala via Masaka, Mbarara, Bushenyi, Rubirizi, and Kasese. Travelers can enjoy breathtaking views of the sights along these itineraries, which take seven to eight hours.