[1] The reserve is situated within the Western side of the Albertine Rift Valley between the breathtaking Blue Mountains of the Congo and Lake Albert and covers an area of 87 square miles.

[2] Kabwoya was originally set aside for conservation in 1963 as part of the 227 kilometers Kaiso-Tonya Controlled Hunting Area (KTCHA), which then represented an important component in a migration route along the east shore of Lake Albert between Murchison Falls National Park and the Toro-Semiliki Wildlife Reserve.

However, the large herds of buffalo, Defassa waterbuck, Ugandan kob and Jackson's hartebeest once associated with the KTCHA had all but vanished when a survey was undertaken there in 1982.

Most of these animals were wiped out by poachers during the long years of civil war, while others dispersed elsewhere as a result of competition with cattle herders.

Jackson's hartebeest, Defassa waterbuck, bushbuck and common duicker are also present in significant numbers.