The researchers studied the spatial distribution of large mammals in Murchison Falls National Park in north-western Uganda as oil exploration was on, and found that most large mammals avoided disturbed habitats. Species with a large home range such as elephants, giraffes, buffalos and hartebeests were more negatively affected by oil and gas mining and avoided areas close to the disturbance. Small home range species such as warthogs and oribis were tolerant. Species response varied with disturbance level. High disturbance led to high avoidance behaviour. However, most species returned to the disturbed areas they had abandoned when the disturbance was high. Habitat composition significantly influenced mammalian species distribution. This was evident in Borassus palm fragments where the vegetation cover and high quality forage provided a preferred refuge for some species even when the disturbance was still high. Results show that most large mammals will be disturbed by oil and gas mining but to different levels. However, no species was to fail to adapt to the anticipated disturbances. Researchers concluded that the large mammals in Murchison Falls NP can co-exist with oil and gas mining when stakeholders first appreciate that development will always impact negatively on the wildlife. But this problem is unmanageable when there are no financial resources to manage the negative impacts. In the current situation, the financial resources are not the limiting factor (i.e., from the oil and gas industry). Therefore, a win-win situation is possible when the right people, the right policies and the best managers and implementers are in place.
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