The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) has released four rehabilitated African Grey Parrots on Ngamba Island into the wild after over a year of rehabilitation at the Uganda Wildlife Conservation Education Centre (UWEC) in Entebbe.
According to UWA, the release is part of a batch of 119 parrots that were confiscated at the Bunagana border in April 2022 and later rehabilitated at UWEC. The first release, carried out in June 2023 at Kibale National Park, saw over 50 parrots returned to the wild.
Speaking during the occasion on Monday morning, UWA Chief Warden David Musingo credited Chubu University and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for their support in the initiative noting that it is a good step towards aiding and monitoring tourism.
“This Ngamba release is historic as the parrots were fitted with GPS trackers, marking a global first to aid monitoring and ecotourism,” said Musingo.
Professor Ushida Kazunari of Chubu University confirmed that early tests on the tracking devices had yielded encouraging results, saying the technology would provide valuable data on the movement and survival of the species in the wild.
In 2024, the African Grey Parrot conservation centre was first opened at the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre in Entebbe with funding from the Japanese International Cooperation Agency(JICA) and Chubu University in Japan.
The facility continues to be a sanctuary for the endangered birds especially for locals in Lake Victoria islands of Zingoola, Koome and Ngamba where the population of the African grey parrots is high.
