The Uganda Wildlife Conservation Education Centre (UWEC) is working with communities to ensure the already endangered shoebill storks are safe from extinction.
This was indicated by UWEC Executive Director, Dr James Musinguzi when Kenya’s High Commissioner to Uganda, H.E Maj. Gen. George A. Owinow visited the Centre last week.
“We are putting a lot of effort into conserving the shoebill stork because it is one of the birds that is attracting tourists to Uganda,” Musinguzi said
“In addition to the captive environment where we are keeping the shoe ills here and offering conservation education about the shoebill, we are also working in Makanaga Wetland Ecosystem by promoting ecotourism in that area,” he added
He furthermore revealed that they are working with the communities to “set up trails, we have supported them to set up signage and beautification of the place so that we can always refer tourists and visitors who visit UWEC,”
Musinguzi believes that if the locals grasp the significance of the shoebill storks, they will be able to protect them from extinction.“It is a project we are working on, we want the communities to appreciate the value of the shoebill so that once they get them caught up in their nets they are not killed or sold in wildlife trafficking,“
H.E Owinow feeds a giraffe during a Behind the Scenes experience at UWEC.
“We are therefore working with communities to make sure the shoe bill is conserved using a two-pronged approach, through conservation education both at the Centre and in the communities of Makanaga but also promotion of ecotourism so that the locals may earn some money from running tourism experiences in the area,” he noted.
H.E Owinow lauded the innovativeness exhibited at the centre and promised to recommend his country men and women to visit UWEC.
About the Shoebill
The shoebill also known as the whalebill, whale-headed stork or shoe-billed stork, is a very large long-legged wading bird which derives its name from its enormous shoe-shaped bill with a soothing combination of blue-gray, dark gray, and slate colour make up most of its plumage.
The belly is white, with some elongated feathers on the breast, with dark, contrasting shafts. It has a small, shaggy nuchal crest and piercing eyes that are yellowish or grayish-white.
Its unusual large, splotchy bill has sharp edges, which help in the swift decapitation of prey, and also in separating out vegetation that may be grabbed with the fish and it is said to live to almost 36years.
The global population is currently estimated at between 5,000-8,000 birds and the species is classed as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Shoebills are the only member of their genus Balaeniceps, and the only living member of their family, Balaenicipitidae.
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