Uganda’s best-known endangered animals include the mountain gorilla, chimpanzee, golden monkey, forest elephant, Rothschild’s (Nubian) giraffe, grey crowned crane and the country’s pangolins, while lions, leopards, hippos and the shoebill are listed as Vulnerable. Several species have recovered strongly thanks to protection and tourism, the mountain gorilla above all. Others, especially vultures and lions outside the main parks, are still declining. This guide explains the status of each key species, the threats it faces, where visitors can see it, and how tourism helps.
Status at a glance
The categories below are from the IUCN Red List, the global standard for extinction risk. “Critically Endangered” is the highest risk category for wild species, followed by “Endangered” and “Vulnerable”.
| Species | IUCN status | Where to see it in Uganda |
|---|---|---|
| Mountain gorilla | Endangered | Bwindi, Mgahinga |
| Chimpanzee | Endangered | Kibale, Budongo, Kyambura, Kalinzu |
| Golden monkey | Endangered | Mgahinga |
| Ashy red colobus | Endangered | Kibale |
| African forest elephant | Critically Endangered | Semliki and forest edges in the west, rarely seen |
| African savanna elephant | Endangered | Murchison Falls, Queen Elizabeth, Kidepo |
| Nubian (Rothschild’s) giraffe | Critically Endangered (subspecies) | Murchison Falls, Kidepo, Lake Mburo |
| Grey crowned crane | Endangered | Wetlands countrywide, Lake Mburo, Queen Elizabeth |
| Shoebill | Vulnerable | Mabamba, Murchison Falls delta, Lake Albert |
| Lion and leopard | Vulnerable | Queen Elizabeth, Murchison Falls, Kidepo |
Mountain gorillas: a recovery still at risk
Mountain gorillas live only in Bwindi and the Virunga volcanoes shared by Uganda, Rwanda and DR Congo, and Uganda holds roughly half of them. In the early 1980s the Virunga population fell to about 250. The latest counts put the total at just over 1,000, and in 2018 the IUCN moved the subspecies from Critically Endangered to Endangered.
That recovery was driven by daily ranger protection, veterinary care and tourism revenue. The remaining risks are human diseases, snares set for other animals, a tiny and fragmented range and conflict in eastern Congo. Read about why gorillas were moved off the Critically Endangered list.
Other primates
Uganda has about 5,000 chimpanzees, most of them in the forests of the Albertine Rift, and Kibale alone holds well over a thousand. Outside protected areas, chimps lose habitat to farms and sugarcane and get caught in snares set for antelopes. Golden monkeys survive only in the Virunga bamboo zone and nearby Gishwati forest. The ashy red colobus, a striking leaf-eater of Kibale, is also Endangered, as its forest outside the park is cleared. Kibale and Bigodi are the best places to see it. Read more about the red colobus of Kibale.
Elephants, giraffes and rhinos
Uganda’s elephants were devastated by poaching in the 1970s and 1980s, and their recovery since is one of the country’s conservation successes. Savanna elephants are now common again in Murchison Falls and Queen Elizabeth. In 2021 the IUCN split African elephants into two species: the savanna elephant, listed as Endangered, and the forest elephant, listed as Critically Endangered. Uganda’s western forests hold forest elephants and hybrids, which are shy and rarely seen.
Murchison Falls holds most of the world’s Nubian giraffes, the subspecies that includes Rothschild’s giraffe. Small groups have been moved to Lake Mburo, Kidepo and Pian Upe to spread the risk. Rhinos were wiped out in Uganda by the early 1980s. Southern white rhinos were reintroduced to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary from 2005, and in 2026 the first were moved to Ajai Wildlife Reserve in West Nile. Read our guides to Rothschild’s giraffe and the return of rhinos to Uganda.
Big cats and pangolins
Lions and leopards are both Vulnerable. Uganda’s lion numbers are low, probably a few hundred, and they are concentrated in Queen Elizabeth, Murchison Falls and Kidepo. The biggest threat is poisoning by herders after attacks on livestock, and several prides in Queen Elizabeth, including tree-climbing lions in Ishasha, have been killed this way in recent years. Snares and habitat loss add to the pressure.
Uganda has four pangolin species, including the giant ground pangolin and the white-bellied tree pangolin, both Endangered. Pangolins are among the most trafficked mammals in the world, and Entebbe has been used as a transit point for scales smuggled to Asia, which has led to a series of large seizures. Pangolins are nocturnal and seldom seen, even by guides. Read more about pangolins in Uganda.
Birds: cranes, shoebills and vultures
The grey crowned crane, Uganda’s national bird and the emblem on its flag, is Endangered because the wetlands where it breeds are being drained for farming and its eggs and chicks are taken for the pet trade. The shoebill is Vulnerable, with a small global population spread across the swamps of central and eastern Africa. In Uganda it is most easily seen by canoe at Mabamba swamp near Entebbe and in the Murchison Falls delta.
Several vulture species, including the hooded and white-backed vultures, are now Critically Endangered across Africa, mainly because of poisoned carcasses, and the martial eagle is Endangered.
How tourism helps
Park fees and permits fund much of the Uganda Wildlife Authority’s work: ranger patrols, snare removal, veterinary teams and monitoring. A gorilla permit costs US$800 (US$600 in April, May and November), and a share of every permit and of park entry fees goes to communities next to the parks, giving them a reason to protect wildlife rather than poach it. Tourism also creates thousands of local jobs.
Visitors can help further by choosing operators and lodges that employ local staff and support conservation projects, by never buying wildlife products, and by reporting snares or suspicious activity to guides. Read more about how rangers protect Uganda’s wildlife.
Frequently asked questions
Among the large species, forest elephants, Nubian giraffes and several vultures are Critically Endangered. The mountain gorilla, Uganda’s best-known endangered animal, is listed as Endangered after its recovery.
Yes. They were moved from Critically Endangered to Endangered in 2018, but just over 1,000 remain, in only two small areas.
It is listed as Vulnerable. Habitat loss, disturbance and the capture of chicks for trade are the main threats.
Yes. Southern white rhinos were reintroduced to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, where visitors can track them on foot, and some have been moved to Ajai Wildlife Reserve.
