Bwindi Impenetrable National Park covers about 331 km² and is now an island of forest surrounded by farmland. A small population of elephants, usually estimated at a few dozen and thought to be forest elephants or forest–savanna hybrids, still lives inside, mostly in the south and east of the park.
Long ago, Bwindi’s forest connected northwards towards Queen Elizabeth National Park and westwards into Congo, letting elephants and other wildlife move between them. Today the only remaining link is to the small Sarambwe reserve across the Congo border. Keeping that connection and reducing conflict with farmers are key to the elephants’ future.
Bwindi’s elephants
Elephants in Bwindi are shy and rarely seen by visitors. They live in the dense forest and bamboo, and most visitors notice only their signs: wide trails through the undergrowth, large dung piles and stripped bark. Rangers sometimes alter gorilla treks to avoid them, as a surprised elephant in thick forest can be dangerous; armed escorts on treks are partly there for this reason. With such a small, isolated group, genetic diversity and long-term survival are concerns. Read more in our guide to the safety of gorilla trekking.
The lost and remaining corridors
In the past, forest and woodland linked Bwindi’s northern edge with the Ishasha area of Queen Elizabeth National Park, and elephants are thought to have moved between them. As the human population grew and land was cleared for farming during the twentieth century, that link disappeared. On the western side, Bwindi borders the Sarambwe Nature Reserve in Congo, a small forest where gorillas and elephants are known to cross the border. Cooperation between Uganda and Congo, supported by conservation organisations, aims to keep this transboundary forest protected despite insecurity in eastern Congo.
Living with elephants at the park edge
When elephants leave the forest, they can destroy a family’s crops in a single night, which can turn local people against conservation. Approaches tried around Bwindi and other Ugandan parks include community scouts who chase animals back, trenches and live fences along the boundary, growing less palatable crops such as tea near the forest, and compensation or revenue-sharing projects that give communities a stake in the park. The same issues apply to gorillas, which also raid crops; see our guide to gorilla tourism and local communities.
Why connectivity matters
Isolated wildlife populations lose genetic diversity over time, and a single disaster, disease or fire can have a bigger effect on them. Connected landscapes let animals move in response to food, drought and climate change, which is expected to shift vegetation zones uphill. For Bwindi, that means protecting the forest edge, the Sarambwe link and buffer areas, and keeping farmland around the park supportive of conservation. Read about climate change and mountain gorillas and the history of Bwindi as a World Heritage Site.
Seeing elephants in Uganda
You are unlikely to see elephants in Bwindi, but you will almost certainly see savanna elephants in Queen Elizabeth or Murchison Falls national parks, often close to the road or along the Kazinga Channel. See our guide to Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, a small population of a few dozen, mostly in the south and east of the park, rarely seen by visitors.
Only to the small Sarambwe Nature Reserve in Congo. Former links towards Queen Elizabeth have been lost to farmland.
Encounters are rare, but rangers avoid elephants because a surprised elephant in dense forest can be dangerous.
Queen Elizabeth and Murchison Falls national parks, and Kidepo Valley.
