Four Facts You Didn’t Know About Disney’s Animal Kingdom’s Animals

Fact: Disney once tried to run an ad campaign to convince everyone that Animal Kingdom was not your average zoo with the tagline “nahtazu” (get it?). The effectiveness of this campaign is debated to this day, although the fact that we’re still talking about this means Disney might have won this round.

Why do we bring this up, besides this campaign being hilariously 2000s? Well, because today we’ve found some cool facts about the namesake of Disney’s Animal Kingdom to share with you all.

Here are four facts you probably didn’t know about the animals that call Animal Kingdom home!

They Eat…a Lot

Wouldn’t it be nice to just sit around all day and get fed mountains of food? Animal Kingdom’s population of creatures sure seems to think so judging by how much food Disney says it takes to keep everyone healthy.

To feed just 1,000 animals takes four tons of food each day (which would take care of us humans for about four and a half years). That’s not all, because the herbivores get to chow down on 2,000 pounds of vegetation as they browse each day!

Animal Kingdom is a Sanctuary For Endangered Species

The circle of life is sometimes cruel, but Disney has attempted to use its animal care facilities to help save several endangered species. You may have spotted black rhinos or the Sumatran tigers within the park, which are just two critically endangered species that Disney is working with conservation groups to save.

The Guam kingfisher is another of these endangered species that has found refuge at the park. Nearly 40 of these birds have hatched at the park over the years, bringing the total population worldwide to just 150.

Look at The Little Baby Animals

Did you know that around 250 species reside at Animal Kingdom in the form of over 1,000 animals? That’s nice. But let’s talk about the sweet, little, bitty babies that are born here!

Besides being cute as buttons (note exhibit A above), these births help contribute to conservation efforts happening to maintain the circle of life. One hundred sixteen species have welcomed a new member to the family since the park opened, from the very first baby kudu to more recent additions like a baby zebra at the beginning of this year.

Disney’s Animal Care Team Have Made New Discoveries

The Animal Programs team at Animal Kingdom are the real MVPs when it comes to making sure the cast of critters are looked after with the deluxe package. Over the course of the year, these Cast Members will perform over 600 wellness checks on the animals per year, and their studies have sometimes yielded revolutionary findings.

Scientists have discovered two distinct vocalizations that were previously unheard of in elephants before at the park, one of which is a pseudo-alarm call to warn of bees (we’re right there with ya; bees aren’t our favorite bug either).

Check out some more cool facts about Animal Kingdom right here!

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