Kidepo Valley National Park
Kidepo Valley National Park is a large national park in the Karamoja region of northeastern Uganda. It encompasses rugged savannah at the foothills of Mount Morungole and is transected by the Kidepo and Narus rivers, Uganda.
Location
Kidepo Valley National Park is located near Karenga in Kaabong District in northeastern Uganda. The park is approximately, by road northwest of Moroto, the largest town in the sub-region. It is approximately, by road, northeast of Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city.The northwestern boundary of the park runs along the international frontier with Bira, South Sudan and abuts against its Kidepo Game Reserve.
History
The Ik and Ketebo are the original inhabitants of the area, who had been living here since 1800. It was gazetted as a game reserve by the British colonial government in 1958, and the people were evicted. The purpose was both to protect wildlife from hunting and to prevent further clearing of bush for tsetse fly-control. The forceful relocation of the resident people and the resultant famine was cited by anthropologist Colin Turnbull and park management as an example of the unacceptable consequences of not taking community needs into account when designating reserves.The newly independent government of Uganda under Milton Obote converted the reserve into the Kidepo Valley National Park in 1962. The first chief warden of the park was Ian Ross, a Briton. In 1972, Paul Ssali, a Ugandan, replaced him. Their handover and training was the subject of the 1974 American documentary film, "The Wild and the Brave."
Geology
The park consists of the two major valley systems of the Kidepo and Narus Rivers. The valley floors lie between and AMSL.Kanangorok is a tepid hot spring in the extreme north of the park, in Lotukei, South Sudanese boundary. This spring is the most permanent source of water in the park.
The soil in the park is clayey. In the Kidepo Valley, black chalky clay and sandy-clay loam predominate, while the Narus Valley has freer-draining red clays and loams.
Wildlife
Most of the park is open tree savanna. Because of differences in rainfall with annual averages of in Narus and in the Kidepo valleys, vegetation and animal populations vary between the two valleys.Narus Valley
Narus is a name given by the Ketebo or Mening or Amening Clan which were the people living in the Valley. Primary grasses in the Narus Valley are the shorter red oat grass and taller bunchy Guinea grass and fine thatching grass. Common trees in the drier areas are red thorn acacias, desert dates, and to a lesser extent drumstick trees. Sausage trees and fan palms line the water courses. Euphorbia candelabrum and the shorter monkey bread and Buffalo thorn trees are also present.Perennial water makes River Kidepo an oasis in the semi-desert which hosts over 86 mammal species including spotted hyena, lion, cheetah, African leopard, African wild dog, African bush elephant, giraffe, zebra, African buffalo, bat-eared fox, Rothschild's giraffe, and almost 500 bird species.
Kidepo Valley
Streams in the Kidepo Valley are dotted with palms, whereas whistling thorn acacia bushes are growing in higher elevated areas.Park management
The park is managed by the Uganda Wildlife Authority. The USAID as of August 2013 was financing the improvement of roads within the park.Leadership
The administration of the park is led by a Chief Warden. This position has been held by the following wardens:- 1958–1962 Tony Henley
- 1964–1972 Ian Ross
- 1972– ? Paul Ssali
- –1981 A.M.K. Bendebule
- 1994– Peter Lotyang
- 1996 Anjelo Ajoka
- 1998 Daniel Aleper
- 2001-2002 Joseph Sentongo
- 2003-2006 Kuloao Okwongo
Capt. John Emille Otekat also worked as chief park warden
- 2008 Henry Tusubira
- 2013 Johnson Masereka
- 2021 Samuel Amanya