Rwanda has a diversity of wildlife. Nyungwe Forest, Parc National de l‘Akagera and Akagera national park are renowned for their interesting wildlife.
NYUNGWE FOREST
From Nyungwe Forest, there are various primates in this rainforest notably the huge troops of colobus monkeys and chimpanzees. Stretching for 970 sq km over the mountainous south-west of Rwanda, Nyungwe protects the largest single tract of montane forest remaining anywhere in East or central Africa. Its rich biodiversity harbors 75 mammal species, 275 birds, 120 butterflies and more than 100 variety of orchid. The 13 primate species residing in Nyungwe constitute 20 – 25% of the total number in Africa, a phenomenal figure which in East Africa is comparable only to Uganda’s Kibale forest. In addition, several of these primates are listed as vulnerable or endangered on the IUCN red list.
Nyungwe is almost certainly the main stronghold for at least two of them. Apart from the chimpanzee, the most celebrated of Nyungwe’s primates is the Rwenzori colobus (Colobus angolensis Ruwenzori), a race of the more widespread Angola colobus which is restricted to the Albertine Rift. The Ruwenzori colobus is a highly arboreal and acrobatic leaf-eater, easily distinguished from any other primate found in Nyungwe by its contrasting black overall color and snow-white whiskers, shoulders and tail tip. A semi-habituated troop of 400, resident in the forest around the campsite, is regarded to be the largest troop of arboreal primates anywhere in Africa – elsewhere in the world, only the Chinese golden monkey moves in groups of a comparable number.
PARC NATIONAL DES VOLCANS
In the PNV, the park hosts a diverse wildlife with the mountain gorillas being the most renowned. Mountain gorilla tracking in the Virungas is a peerless wildlife experience, and one of Africa’s undisputable travel highlights. The simple exhilaration attached to first setting eyes on a wild mountain gorilla is indescribable. Gorillas are remarkably the most peaceable creatures, certainly by comparison with most primates. The gorilla is a widespread resident of equatorial East and Central African rainforest. The Volcanoes National Park is best known to the outside world as the place where, for almost 20 years, the American primatologist Dian Fossey undertook her pioneering studies of mountain gorilla behavior.
AKAGERA NATIONAL PARK
In terms of game viewing, the Akagera national park is notable for protecting an unusually wide diversity of savanna-related mammals within a relatively small area. One of the most common terrestrial mammals is the buffalo; hippos, too, are present in impressive numbers. Herds of Burchell’s zebra are regularly encountered in open areas, while the population of over 30 Masai giraffe tends to stick to patches of acacia woodland. The handsome impala is probably the most common and habitat-tolerant large mammal in the park. Akagera is, after Nyungwe, the most important ornithological site in Rwanda. In addition to being the best place in Rwanda to see a good selection of savannah birds and raptors, Akagera is rich in waterbirds as anywhere in East Africa, and one of the few places where papyrus endemics can be observed.