Ajai Wildlife Reserve 

Ajai wildlife reserve : is another fascinating tourist destination nestled in the north-eastern Uganda between districts of Arua, Nebbi, Moyo and Adjumani on the  Western banks of the mighty Albert Nile between Pakwach and Nimule. The reserve is situated in an area with higher elevation but is relatively small approximately (166 sq km) and is managed by the Uganda Wildlife Authority. The reserve derived its name from a powerful local chief called Ajai who led in the 1930_s and was first established in 1962 and later was officially established as Ajai wildlife reserve in 1965.   Ajai wildlife reserve comprises of a prominent island that is encompassed by savannah and seasonal swamps that are poured into by the rivers Acha and Ala. During the rainy seasons, the swamp gets fully flooded thus cutting off the island from the outside world and this explains why animals continue to survive within the island close to a growing human population. Ajai wildlife reserve generally  consists of woodlands, savannah plains, swamps and has got a great Tourism Potential hosting or harboring a diversity of wildlife such as leopards, bushbucks, black and white colobus monkeys, zebras, foxes, common duikers, Dik dik, olive baboons, oribi, vervet monkeys, uganda Kobs, waterbucks, civets, buffaloes, sitatunga antelopes, hippopotamus to mention a few.

The reserve also hosts a number of reptiles such as pythons, green snakes, monitor lizards, puff adders, black cobras and many more. Additionally the swamps and woodlands combine to perfectly harbor  a variety of bird species including African fish eagles, Grey crowned cranes, weaver birds, giant kingfishers, Marabou stocks, African jacanas, pied kingfishers, to mention a few. Ajai wildlife Reserve was one of the few places where you could sight the endangered white Rhinos in Uganda and now are extinct within the wildlife reserve and this draws an explanation as to why it was once called the Ajai Rhino Sanctuary. During that time, it harbored over 60 white Rhinos out of the 80 Uganda was hosting. When the local community members started hunting these rhinos, though it didn’t stop the poachers from hunting these mammals not until they became extinct and later the local people started using the wildlife reserve land for their own personal activities. Today Uganda’s rhinos are extinct and very few rhinos now survive outside national parks and reserves worldwide.