Today’s Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants will be presented in Luganda, with subtitles in Arabic, Aulacese (Vietnamese), Chinese, English, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Luganda, Malay, Mongolian, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Thai.

Warm greetings, loving viewers and welcome to Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants. Today we visit the vibrant Uganda Wildlife Education Centre.

Established in 1952, it has become one of the most respected biodiversity conservation education institutions in Africa. Located near the famed Lake Victoria, the Centre informs Ugandans and the rest of the world about the precious wildlife heritage of Uganda as well as rescues and rehabilitates injured, orphaned, and illegally trafficked animals.

We go out and rescue animals, for example, illegal possession by individuals. Some individuals use animals as pets at home. They use them for medicinal purposes. And so they hold them illegally in their homes. Therefore it is our duty to go and bring them here into our Centre to rehabilitate them and re-introduce them back into the wild.

This parrot`s tail is torn. I can tell you when he came here, he was completely naked. The skin is outside, no feathers, no nothing, because the people keeping him did not have enough knowledge about the nutritional needs of birds. So you can see now, he's coming up; he’s gaining his feathers, and soon he will be with all his plumage.

He is saying hallo to us!

Yes, hallo, Kasuku. This is a “Kasuku,” locally called Kasuku, but this is the African Grey Parrot.

A notable accomplishment by the Centre was rescuing a group of African Grey parrots. Mr. Musinguzi now provides more details.

It was a joint effort between the Uganda Wildlife Authority and the Uganda Revenue Authority. Some parrots were being smuggled; they were caught at the border post. We brought them here. They were suffocating, because they had been packed in very small boxes. Some of them had died.

So we removed those that were still alive and we rehabilitated them as you’ll see. They are very healthy. And now we are collaborating with the Uganda Wildlife Authority. They have finished their quarantine period and now we are trying to draw up a release plan to be able to release them back into the wild.

So we are now at a facility which is temporarily holding a part of the African Grey Parrot (population here). The birds are facing a problem because people are capturing them in the wild forests for illegal trade. So it is believed that there were 500 birds captured at the border of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. But they were already in Uganda. They didn't have valid permits. They didn't have valid certificates. They didn't have any proper documentation.

So in a situation like that, when the customs officials learned of the consignment, they alerted the Uganda Wildlife Authority, which is the government body which is the custodian of all wildlife in Uganda. So from there, they alerted us and they transported the birds here. So when they brought in the birds, it happened that some birds had already been stolen. And we were able to rescue the 140 birds that were received here.

They were packed in tiny, small boxes, which were not professionally done. And when we opened the boxes, some birds actually had died, because they had no space. They hadn't been fed. Some were sick. They were of different age groups. You have juvenile birds. You have adults. You have very tiny birds.

They were varying in size, ranging from 150 grams, 200 grams to 600 grams (in weight). And then the big guys are 800 grams (in weight). They were all in those containers without any separation. So you can imagine there was a lot of stampeding, a lot of struggle. And because these birds are wild, they struggled a lot to come out.

As soon as these traumatized and injured African Greys arrived, the Centre lovingly provided them with careful medical attention. The birds were then placed in an enclosed area where they could recuperate.

The top priority is to ensure that you simulate a natural environment. So looking at the shed, looking at the provision for flying, they should be able to have flight. They should fly. They should also have enrichment, perching. They should be able to fly around. They should be able to rest. They should be in a cool place. And space and air is very important for birds. Then also we should provide feeding troughs where they get fruits and water. It's like as if they are in the forest.

The parrots usually like fruits, mangos, pawpaws, and avocado sometimes. They are vegetarian birds. Then they also eat seeds, fresh seeds like sorghum, rice, millet; all these grains, maize and corn. They like passion fruit, oh my God, they like passion fruit! They like pawpaws and then sugar cane. They enjoy sugar cane. That's their number one priority here. They like sugar cane.

They are considered one of the most intelligent species of birds in the whole world. They have the ability to recognize. They can at least remember. They can know commands. They can know your voice. They can mimic your voice. Say, “Hallo, Kasuku.” “Hallo, Kasuku.”

African Grey Parrots, they are intelligent birds. You can talk the way how you want them to talk. They mimic as you are (now) hearing them; they are singing now. And those birds, they are mostly active in the morning.

I do communicate with them. I call them, I say, "How are you?" They also say, "Hallo, hallo to you," and can say, "How are you?" Those birds, you can teach them anything you want.

They know colors. They can know you're bringing in food. And they are usually in big, big families. They are social birds really. And the main thing is that they live for a very long period of time. The parrot can live for 40 years, 50 years. So they have a very long lifespan.

When you receive birds, they are supposed to be here for six weeks. You observe and make sure when you are releasing, you are releasing birds which are capable of living and flying and eating and finding their own food. So some of them have lost feathers. Some of them, they had their flight feathers chopped. Some of them couldn't fly, they were just walking like lizards, they couldn't climb. But you can see as of now, all of them are up, which is a good sign. And then they have regained weight.

When Supreme Master Ching Hai learned of the wonderful act of saving the trafficked African Grey Parrots, she contributed US$5,000 to support the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre’s efforts to rehabilitate these noble birds.

I would like to inform you that the money is going to actually be used in rehabilitating wildlife or animals that we do have at the Centre. In particular, like you said we’ve got parrots that were rescued from illegal activity and they are with us here.

So the money is going to help us in terms of rehabilitating the birds, in terms of feeding them, in terms of treating them (with) medication as well as ensuring that we give a good release plan back into the wild. So this is going to be a great contribution that is going to help us in terms of achieving our objective as the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre.

On Supreme Master Ching Hai’s behalf, our Association members presented the Centre with a number of gifts including Supreme Master Ching Hai’s #1 international best-selling books, “The Birds In My Life,” “The Dogs In My Life,” and “The Noble Wilds.” James Musinguzi has the following message for Supreme Master Ching Hai.

As the Executive Director of the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre, I would like to pass on some words to Master Ching Hai. We are very appreciative of the gesture, for the funds, the US$5,000, for the books that are going to enrich our knowledge, and I would like to promise that the money is going to be used for the right cause, that is, rescue and rehabilitation of the birds that we do have. We are going to share the knowledge that has been given to us through our various programs that we run, both on-site and through the community, in our outreach program.

The Centre’s staff also has a message for Supreme Master Ching Hai: UWEC (Uganda Wildlife Education Centre) Is Extremely Honored And Grateful For The Generous Contribution of US$5,000 In Support Of Parrot Rehabilitation From The Supreme Master Ching Hai.

Are there any thoughts you like to share with the viewers?

The message I have for the viewers is that we should join Master Ching Hai in advocating for a better place, advocating for a better and cleaner environment, advocating for a world that is free of hunger. (We) should advocate for sustainable livelihoods and food security. We should join hands in partnership, work together and make this world a better place. Thank you.

James Musinguzi and staff at the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre, we are very proud of what you are doing for Uganda’s wildlife and may you continue to save the lives of many more animals and successfully spread the message regarding the importance of biodiversity conservation.

For more details on the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre, please visit

Humble viewers, we thank you for joining us today on Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants. Up next is Enlightening Entertainment, after Noteworthy News. May our world be filled with compassionate deeds to create Heaven on Earth.