Uganda is the perfect in-between and therefore the most popular country for gorilla trekking. It isn’t the elite, exclusive, and expensive primate safari that is offered in Rwanda (but if that’s what you’re after, this comes highly recommended), and it isn’t the most affordable, wilder, and somewhat risky experience offered in the Congo. Uganda’s gorilla trekking safaris take place in the mystical forest of Bwindi and the strictly controlled experience means your encounter will be of the highest quality. You can find out all you need to know about this specialised and, yes, life-altering activity in our detailed blog post here. What we want to do in this article is answer some other frequently asked animal related questions about this country they call The Pearl of Africa. What is the national animal of Uganda? This prestigious title goes to the Uganda kob, a subspecies of the kob antelope. Kobus Kob thomasi has reddish-brown fur with prominent white markings around each eye and a patch on the throat. The males are adorned with lyre-shaped horns, ringed just about all the way up. They are quite similar to the puku and the red lechwe, which are two of southern Africa’s wetland loving antelope, also related to the waterbuck. The Uganda kob shares that classic heart-shaped nose like others in the Kobus genus. They like open grassland habitats close to permanent water and they hang around in herds of up to about 40. In Uganda, one of the best places to see these handsome animals that appear on the country’s coat of arms is in Murchison Falls National Park. Perfectly rolling hills of green and plenty of water in the form of the Nile River that bisects it. Definitely a special sight to see! Are there tigers in Uganda? Negative! Tigers might be part of the Felidae family, which includes African specials like lion, cheetah, and leopard, but they don’t roam the savannah like their cat cousins. Tigers migrated to Asia all those thousands of years ago, and they thrive in the jungles of India, but that is not to say they are abundant. Sadly, tigers are some of the most threatened big cats in the world and there are only an estimated 3000 that remain in the wild. India, China, Russia, Nepal, Indonesia and among the tiger’s native countries, and historically these cats could live in a broad variety of habitats, including the savannah, but over 90% of this cat’s habitat has been lost to human activity, and they are still at risk of poaching. You won’t find a tiger in Uganda, but you can travel to India’s Ranthambore and Kanha National Parks for exquisite and majestic Asian wildlife safaris and chance seeing the orange and white striped tiger. Are there snakes in Uganda? There are indeed! Uganda straddles the equator, making it a warm tropical country with plenty of water and heat. Snakes are cold blooded and they seek external heat to warm their bodies, so they are always found in hot parts of the world. There are snakes throughout Africa except for the places where seasonal extremes are too testing, like the desert. The forests and savannahs of Uganda provide the perfect habitat for snakes, but you wouldn’t believe it because they are so shy and are so seldom seen. This is true for most snakes – you should consider yourself lucky if you get to see one! Of course the fear of snakes comes from their ability to inject venom with a powerful bite, and while it is true that this is most snakes’ only weapon of defence, snakes will not bite unless provoked. Uganda’s perfectly temperate habitat means...