Wildlife Ranger Challenge 2023
Wildlife Ranger Challenge 2023
The 2023 Uganda hub event was held at Murchison Falls National Park, and it was the biggest yet. Eighteen teams took part, including national park teams, community scouts, tourism companies and supporters. Everyone ran 21km carrying a 22kg backpack. The Uganda Wildlife Authority Executive Director and top management came to cheer them on, along with the National Forestry Authority Executive Director, Mr. Tom Obong Okello, and the Defence Attaché at the British High Commission.
Kidepo Valley National Park won the race, and the Kidepo Lionhearts lifted the trophy. They stayed together the whole way and crossed the line holding hands, every member still carrying the full pack. Challenge for Charity came second in 2:38, just seconds ahead of the Murchison Falls team, and then gave their prize money to the Murchison Falls rangers. Queen Elizabeth National Park followed closely in 2:46.
Sponsors got in on the action too. Murchison River Lodge backed a community scout team that finished fifth, ahead of 13 other teams. The lodge hosted the team for ten days beforehand and also helped build ranger housing and plant 1,000 trees. Around Africa Safaris sponsored another scout team, which also finished fifth. Wild Frontiers Uganda entered a first-time staff team that carried full packs and beat Volcanoes Safaris, the Kibale Forest rangers and the Old Fogies. Volcanoes Safaris sponsored and entered a team as well.
The scouts were a big part of the story. Warden Kulu Haruna said they have worked alongside the rangers for four years and have saved countless animals from snares. UWA also pointed out that over 47 metric tonnes of snares have been removed in the past ten years.
The event was organized by Tusk and the Game Rangers Association of Africa, and donations stayed open after the race for the Kidepo Valley, Queen Elizabeth, Murchison Falls and Kibale teams.
Stretching across north-western Uganda, the Murchison Falls Conservation Area (MFCA) is Uganda's largest protected landscape and one of Africa's greatest conservation success stories.
Covering almost 5,300 km², the conservation area comprises Murchison Falls National Park, Bugungu Wildlife Reserve and Karuma Wildlife Reserve, protecting an extraordinary diversity of savannah, woodland, riverine forest, wetlands and the iconic River Nile.
At its heart lies Murchison Falls, where the world's longest river is forced through a narrow seven-metre gorge before plunging more than 40 metres into the Devil's Cauldron below. This spectacular natural wonder gives the conservation area its identity and creates one of Africa's most unforgettable wildlife experiences.
The River Nile continues westwards through the park, supporting one of the continent's richest concentrations of wildlife and sustaining the ecosystems upon which both people and nature depend.
