In Uganda with "Exo Terra"

The main purpose of the expedition was to study amphibians and reptiles, especially chameleons, many species of which are to be found in the south of Uganda, in their natural habitat. Bordered by Kenya, Rwanda, the Congo, Sudan and Tanzania, Uganda lies at the heart of the African continent. Most of the country is1 000 m above sea level, and there are three mountainous areas: the Rwenzori mountain range, Mount Elgon and the Virunga Volcanoes. Although Uganda is on the equator, its climate is tempered by the altitude. Thanks to the sometimes considerable differences in temperature between day and night, valuable experience was acquired with regard to how species from this extreme habitat are kept in the vivarium and encouraged to breed. The principal region studied by the expedition was the south of the country, in particular the Rwenzoris, Queen Elizabeth National Park and the Bwindi National Park.The team travelled in modified "Land Cruiser" and "Land Rover" all-terrain vehicles. A separate logistics team followed in a third vehicle plus trailer, which carried the equipment and field kitchen. Team members slept two to a tent on camp beds. The first camp was in Kisubi, right on the shore of the legendary Lake Victoria, where reed frogs (hyperolius viridiflavus) abounded, along with toads (bufo regulari). On the nine-hour trip to the next camp in the Kibale Forest National Park in western Uganda, we sighted black and white Colobus monkeys, striped skinks (mabuya striata) and an orange-coloured variant of the blue-headed tree agama.Our team was accompanied in the rainforest by armed rangers, as the forest buffalo and forest elephant found in this area are dangerous and aggressive. But the smaller creatures found here are actually far more dangerous: one team member nearly trod on a young 60 cm specimen of the rhinoceros viper (bitis nasicornis), one of the most beautiful but also most deadly snakes in Uganda. On the fringes of the rainforest we saw an abundance of house geckos (hemidactylus mabouia) basking on the huts of the native inhabitants. And then we spotted our first chameleons (chamaeleo ellioti), basking in pairs on a small tree. This sighting, and a further pair of these small chameleons with their splendid  blue, orange and green markings found later, show that this species lives in pairs, which is highly unusual behaviour for chameleons.We headed next for Nyakalengija at the foot of the Rwenzori Mountains, where we set up camp in preparation for…