By Rogers Wanambwa

KIU, Main Campus - On Wednesday, 27 November, Uganda Wildlife Education Center (UWEC) unveiled two tigers to the country.

The two tigers which have been at the center for the past eight months have since then been assessed by experts to determine if they are fit to be kept at the UWEC.

According to UWEC Executive Director Dr James Musinguzi, they needed to conserve the tigers for education and tourism purposes.

“Subspecies of tigers have dwindled over the years. This pair gives us hope and fulfills our conservation role for education, research, and recreation,” Dr Musinguzi said.

Besides, the two tigers consist of a male and female which he said were traded for 25 monkeys that were handed to South Africa.

Dr Musinguzi added that UWEC only met their transportation costs which were UGX7.4 million (USD 2,000).

“We are yet to give them names, but they consume at least 10 kilograms of meat every day. The feeding cost is UGX150,000,” Dr. Musinguzi said.

As it is, Uganda is now the only East African country with tigers which are highly regarded as the largest of the cat family.