Tracking leopards in Queen Elizabeth National Park: The only national park in Uganda where you can track leopards is Queen Elizabeth National Park. The best place in Uganda to capture leopards on camera and film is in the western region. Other protected areas that support the leopard population in Uganda are Lake Mburo National Park, Murchison Falls National Park, and Kidepo Valley National Park.
Tourists consider themselves fortunate if they spot leopards during the game drives, since they are not frequently seen in the national park. They are nocturnal creatures who sleep throughout the day and are most active at night. For tracking and research reasons, the leopards in Queen Elizabeth National Park have collars.
Leopards
are quite timid creatures who don’t attack people. Depending on the time and season of the hunt, it may be extremely difficult to locate leopards. Leopard tracking in Queen Elizabeth National Park is conducted for a fee, under the direction of armed ranger guides and a tracker who, with the aid of mobile internet, follows the traces of the radio collar on the neck of one of the leopards in the group.
Although seeing leopards on regular game drives inside Queen Elizabeth National Park cannot always be guaranteed, tourists who go above and beyond to pay for leopard tracking licenses are certain to see these little cats. Tourists who are on a safari in Uganda should think about visiting Queen Elizabeth National Park and participating in the leopard tracking excursion.
Queen Elizabeth National Park’s Leopard Tracking Experience
The leopard tracking operation in Queen Elizabeth National Park is conducted in the morning and evening. The optimum time to track leopards is in the morning, as they are heading to their hideout locations to sleep following a hard night of hunting. Tourists may engage in leopard tracking through game drives, during which they are escorted by a skilled tracker and ranger guide to the greatest locations.
The leopard tracking activity allows tourists to drive right up to the leopards in order to obtain a clear view, rather than having to follow the game tracks. Since the radio collars, which are in the neck of one of the group members, are used to track the leopards, it’s always necessary to see them. The armed ranger guides are able to track the movements of these leopards with radio callers as long as there is a mobile network available.
When the guides claim leopards are nearby, the driver takes the vehicle off course and heads toward the area where these little felines might be. They have the opportunity to spend time close to them, observe their behavior, and observe their everyday activities, such as playing, mating, and climbing trees. Later, tourists resume driving to the lodge or participating in the next activity while observing other park animals.
Queen Elizabeth National Park is the best place to go leopard tracking. Although leopard tracking in the Kasenyi plains of Queen Elizabeth National Park is possible at any time of the year, some months are better than others. The optimal time to track leopards in Queen Elizabeth National Park is during the dry season, which runs from June to September and December to February. The optimum time for tracking leopards is during the morning hours, when they are returning to their hideaway locations.
Even during the rainy season, from March to May and October to November, when the park’s flora is all green, leopard tracking is still possible. However, these months are bad since they get a lot of rain, which causes distractions; the vegetation is tall, making it hard to see the leopards; and the game paths are muddy and slick, restricting tourists’ ability to visit certain parts of the region.
Where to stay during a leopard-tracking safari
Tourists planning to participate in the leopard tracking experience in Queen Elizabeth National Park should think about lodging in lodging establishments close to the Kasenyi region. Tourists may choose from a wide range of lodging options both within and around the Kasenyi region, including Mweya Safari Lodge, Kasenyi Game Lodge, Engiri Game Lodge, Queen Elizabeth Park View Tourist View Lodge, Queen Elizabeth Bush Lodge, and Elephants Plains Lodge, among others.
Accessing Queen Elizabeth National park for leopard tracking adventure
Tourists may visit Queen Elizabeth National Park for leopard tracking via road or air travel at any time of the year. Tourists may reach Queen Elizabeth National Park via air transport by hiring flights from Aerolink Uganda and Bar Aviation Uganda for leopard tracking. These airlines provide daily service from Entebbe International Airport and Kajjansi Airstrip to Mweya Airstrip and Kasese Airstrip.
There are two routes from Kampala/Entebbe that may be used for leopard tracking in Queen Elizabeth National Park via road transportation. The southern sector of the park is accessible by a route that passes via Masaka, Mbarara, Bushenyi, and Rubirizi. Another path to the park’s northern region passes through Mityana, Mubende, Fort Portal, and Kasese.