Queen Elizabeth Park, Uganda Photograph by Michael Brown/Innovative Resources Management, Inc.   Eastern Africa: On the western and northern sides of Lake Victoria in Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, and Kenya Tropical and Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands   64,000 square miles (165,800 square kilometers) -- about the size of Michigan and New Jersey combined Critical/Endangered

· Where East (Africa) Meets West (Africa)
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Where East (Africa) Meets West (Africa)

The rolling hills and plateaus of the Victorian Basin Forest-Savanna Mosaic ecoregion are a unique landscape where species from west African forest ecosystems converge with those from east African forest-savanna mosaics. The region’s scattered lakes, rivers, and marshes add to the great diversity of habitats supporting a wide variety of species. These include more than 310 species of trees and shrubs, 280 species of birds, 220 species of butterflies, and 100 species of moths. Animals such as banded toads, red-faced barbets, and Mwanza rock agamas are among the many endemic species that can be found here.

Special Features

The Victorian Basin Forest-Savanna Mosaic ecoregion is most noted for its high species diversity and endemism resulting from the mixture of habitat types and species from both western and eastern Africa. Add the scattered wetland habitat, and you get an abundance of animals representing different habitat types. The tropical moist climate here has two rainy seasons--one in April and May and another in October and November. These help replenish the waters for the many wetland areas of the ecoregion.

	Nearly 20 percent of Uganda's total land surface is lake or permanent swamp.

Wild Side

In the sweeping savannas of this ecoregion, small groups of giraffes stretch their long necks to eat leaves from the tops of thorny acacia trees. Cheetahs race in pursuit of antelope such as hartebeest and eland, while greater spotted eagles soar over packs of wild dogs in search of smaller antelopes such as impala. African elephants bathe in a nearby river. And a couple of young lions poke at a cape pangolin, which is curled up into a hard, scaly ball of armor to protect itself. Where savannas are interrupted by patches of forest, a secretive antelope called the bay duiker browses on shrubby vegetation, while a troop of 20 blue monkeys makes its way through the canopy, seeking fruits and fresh leaves. A chimpanzee uses a stick to coax ants from a dead tree limb, while a giant forest hog searches for fallen fruits in the shade of an exotic palm tree. When darkness falls, a sleek, cat-like genet prowls the forest in search of insects, fruits, and birds. And along the edges of the region’s many scattered lakes, large gray shoebills wade through the deep mud along with other aquatic birds such as African spoonbills, saddle-billed storks, and northern pintails.

Cause for Concern

Over the past few centuries, the forest habitats of this ecoregion have been mostly replaced by savanna, farmland, and pasture. It is rare to find any forest outside of protected areas such as Queen Elizabeth National Park. And even within protected areas, the remaining forests patches are small and fragmented. People continue to exploit these forests in several ways: Trees are cut for fuelwood, timber, and building materials, wild game is hunted for food, and wild plants are collected for food and medicines.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.