OSTRICHES

Kidepo Valley National Park, in the Karamoja region, is the only place in Uganda where ostriches are found. Although they cannot fly, ostriches can run as fast as 70 km per hour. This is not fast enough to outrun poachers, however, and the Kidepo ostriches have been under extreme poaching pressure along with Rothschild’s giraffes. 

C4K plans to help organize an ostrich census in the near future, as there is no current count of the ostriches in Kidepo Valley National Park. In addition to this, C4K is working to establish an ostrich breeding and reintroduction program in Karamoja. The breeding centers will house hatchlings from the incubator and hatcher C4K donated to UWEC in 2013, providing a safe environment for these endangered ostrich chicks to mature before they are released.