The Uganda Wildlife Education Centre also known as Entebbe Zoo from the 1960s was originally founded in the 1950s by the colonial government in Uganda with the help of Wildlife Conservation Society in New York. It was a reception centre for injured wildlife, accommodation for orphaned and confiscated wildlife that have been taken away from smugglers.
The Uganda Wildlife Education Centre trust was later founded to take over the zoo to make it mainly for conservation and education purposes. Today, it is an educational centre that is combined with leisure, the main aim being to model the ecosystem of Uganda in open range exhibits. While at the zoo, you will be welcomed by the free ranging vervet monkeys and a family troop of DeBraza monkeys seen in the jungle of the hillside forest.
The zoo is located at the edge of Lake Victoria and has rich vegetation that makes it conducive to have a wide range of butterflies, over 120 bird species ranging from the famous African fish eagle, the great blue turaco, hammerkops, Giant kingfisher and even the smallest sun birds and a lot more.
The zoo also has a wide range of animals that gives you a picture of the wildlife of different parts of Uganda. Be sure to see the king of the jungle, the lion in the zoo. There is a live collection of traditional medicinal plants. A wildlife quarantine area is also available outside the general public’s view in order to prevent infectious disease transfer.
Being an educational centre, comprehensive interactive interpretation and briefings on the indigenous species is given. As many say, it is destined to become the most important showcase for wildlife on the African continent.
Some of the animals in the Zoo
Some of the bird species in the Zoo
- Pink-backed Pelican
- Peafowl / Indian Peafowl
- Ostrich
- Gray Crowned Crane
- African Gray Parrot
- African Fish Eagle
Some of the reptiles in the Zoo
- Nile Crocodile
- Marsh Terappin
- Gabon Viper
- Egyptian Cobra
- African Rock Python