Katonga wildlife reserve is located in western Uganda in the sections of Kyenjojo and Kamwenge. It covers an area of 207 square kilometers and it was gazetted in 1964 as a game reserve. It was also declared a wildlife reserve in 1996 when the former Game Department and Uganda National Parks combined to form Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA).
Katonga Wildlife Reserve is a little-documented, low-vital destination about 270km/168 mi (5 to 6 hours’ drive) west of Kampala. Efforts to defend the animals in the Reserve against poaching are slowly restoring their population. Several antelope species are fluently seen like the Uganda kob. The rare, marsh-dwelling sitatunga antelope can occasionally be spotted, as well as the hippo and otter. There are no roads for game safaris, so the park is best explored on foot.
Katonga Wildlife Reserve was gazetted in 1964 as a game Reserve to serve as a corridor for migrating wildlife from Western Uganda to Tanzania and Sudan. It turned into a Wildlife Reserve in 1996 when the former Game Department and Uganda National Parks combined to form Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA). Currently, the reserve is managed by UWA under the Kibale Conservation Area administration with a Warden In-Charge grounded at the Reserve Head Office at Kikorogoto.
It is one of the smallest Nature reserves in the country with about 207 square kilometers.
Katonga does not support most of the large safari animals. Big cats are absent, Elephants and buffalo are present but in small figures. The Game Reserve is one of the few places in East Africa that offers a chance to see the sitatunga antelope. Several other antelope species can be spotted as well, including reedbuck, bushbuck, waterbuck, and Uganda kob. Baboons and black-and-white colobus are also regularly spotted. Several years ago, zebra and Impalas were translocated to the Reserve from Lake Mburo National Park. It is a rich birding spot with a variety of species.
A variety of ecosystems can be explored in the Reserve like the rainforest, papyrus swamps, and savannah. The reserve is on the edge of the Katonga River valley.