Murchison Falls National Park (MFNP) is a national park in Uganda managed by the Ugandan Wildlife Authority. Located in north-western Uganda, it spreads inland from the shores of Lake Albert around the Victoria Nile up to the Karuma Falls.
Together with the adjacent 748 km2 (289 sq mi) Bugungu Wildlife Reserve and the 720 km2 (280 sq mi) Karuma Wildlife Reserve, the park forms the Murchison Falls Conservation Area (MFCA). As of 2022, the East African Crude Oil Pipeline being built includes the construction of 10 oil well pads, a feeder pipeline, and a refinery in and around the Murchison Falls national park.
The park straddles the Ugandan districts of Buliisa, Nwoya, Kiryandongo, and Masindi. The driving distance from Masindi, the nearest large town, to the Kibanda area of the national park is about 72 km (45 mi). This area is about 283 km (176 mi), by road, north-west of Kampala, the capital and largest city of Uganda. The coordinates of the park near the Kibanda area are 02°11’15.0″N, 31°46’53.0″E (Latitude:2.187499; Longitude:31.781400).
Since 2005, the protected area is considered a Lion Conservation Unit. In 2010, it was estimated that only 250 giraffes were in the park. A population of 37 Rothschild’s giraffes was transferred from the north side of the Nile River to the south side in 2016 and 2017, when population was around 1,500. Murchison Falls National Park and the adjacent Bugondo Forest Reserve host 76 mammal species such as chimpanzees as well as Uganda’s largest Nile Crocodile population. There are 450 known bird species including the shoe-billed stork, dwarf kingfisher, Goliath heron, white-thighed hornbill and great blue turaco.