The Uganda Wildlife Conservation Education Centre (UWEC) in Entebbe has unveiled two tigers from South Africa.
The largest creatures in the cat family were imported into the country on March 7 and were since then, undergoing mandatory institutional quarantine and medical examination until they were deemed fit to occupy their newly constructed holding facility at the centre.
According to the authority, the two tigers which are yet to be christened, consume 10kg of meat every day, putting their feeding cost at sh150,000 daily.
While officiating at the new state-of-the-art tiger’s home at UWEC, the state minister for Tourism and wildlife and antiquities, Godfrey Kiwanda said the ministry is committed to improving welfare for animals in human care.
“In terms of tourism, we are committed to seeing how we place ourselves back to our original level of advertisement and visitation,” he said adding that Uganda had added on its diversity of tourism products hence implored all people to visit UWEC for information and experience with the new cat species.
Kiwanda noted that as country, the government is coming up with different innovations each day in order to improve the sector.
“All initiatives that we are putting up in place aimed at particular goal making the tourism sector shine again. We want to welcome everyone to come and see the tiger and all the cats that have been out together,” he said.
The UWEC Executive Director, Dr James Musinguzi said Uganda becomes the first East African country to accommodate tigers, which last existed in the 1970s.
“Over the last century, subspecies of tigers have dwindled from eight to five due to hunting and logging. Therefore, this pair is a dawn of hope which fulfils our conservation roles of education, research, and recreation,” Musinguzi said.