This week’s “Finish That Disney Parks Sign” comes from the Asia area of Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

This weathered sign offers tours and expeditions through the Himalayas – but one piece of the sign is blurred out at the very bottom. Do you recall what method of transportation guests will use on this “tour”? Leave it in the “Comments” section below and we’ll update the post later today.
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Tagged: DAK, WDW

Filed: Disney's Animal Kingdom, Walt Disney World Resort

At Disney’s Animal Kingdom on March 7, just a few days before we adjust our clocks forward for Daylight Savings Time, we’re “springing forward” to celebrate frogs, toads and other amphibians during one of a year-long series of events that encourage families to connect with nature.

When guests visit Rafiki’s Planet Watch, they will be able to make toad abodes (special homes for frogs and toads) for their backyards, try leaping like a frog, listen to frog calls, examine amphibian adaptations, and meet some cool amphibians and their keepers. Frog fun fact: Frogs provide a free pest-control service – they eat billions of harmful insects annually, including mosquitoes and their larvae.

Guests also can learn about the critically endangered Puerto Rican crested toad, which we are raising at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and releasing in their native habitat to re-populate the species in an area where these toads once thrived but are now considered extinct.

Did you know that, according to some estimates, as many as one-third of the known amphibian species are threatened by extinction because of loss of habitat, climate change, pollution and disease? The good news is that every one of us can help amphibians leap ahead of extinction. Here’s how:

• Invite a bug-zapping amphibian into your backyard by placing an overturned pot (toad abode) as a home
• Use fewer chemical pesticides on your lawn to keep amphibians healthy
• Build a pond, plant native shrubs, and leave leaf litter and logs in your yard to create a habitat for frogs
• Plan a family outing to a local pond to hear different species of frogs sing their love songs to one another
• Find natural alternatives to household chemicals so these toxins don’t end up in amphibian habitats
• Take part in a local pond or stream clean-up to ensure that native amphibians will have a clean home
• Find books on frogs to discover why they sing loudly, hear well and stay up late

Upcoming 2013 events for connecting families with nature (as always, dates subject to change):

At Disney’s Animal Kingdom:

• April 22: Party for the Planet for Earth Day
• May 8: International Migratory Bird Day
• May 23: World Turtle Day
• June 5: Pollinator Day
• July 25: Tiger Day
• August 1: Primate Day
• August: Cotton-Top Tamarin Month
• September 5: International Vulture Awareness Day
• September 26: Elephant Day
• October 31: Bat Day
• November 12: Rhino Day

At The Seas with Nemo & Friends at Epcot:

• April 22: Earth Day
• May 18: Endangered Species Day
• May 23: World Turtle Day
• June 8: World Ocean Day
• September 7: International Manatee Day

 
Read on for more updates from Disney’s Animal Kingdom:

• Meet Mickey and Minnie at the New Adventurers Outpost in Disney’s Animal Kingdom
• Wildlife Wednesdays: Training Equals Great Care for Otters at Disney’s Animal Kingdom (and Some Incredibly Cute Photos)
• Update: Wildlife Wednesdays: Injured Whooping Crane that Received Care at Disney’s Animal Kingdom is Back in the Wild

Tagged: Conservation, DAK, Epcot, WDW

Filed: Disney's Animal Kingdom, Walt Disney World Resort

Are you ready for an adventure?

Starting this spring, Mickey and Minnie Mouse will invite you into their very own exploration headquarters at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The all-new Adventurers Outpost on Discovery Island is home base for your globetrotting Disney pals, where they meet friends old and new, as they get ready to set off on their next adventure.

Adventurers Outpost is a gathering place, where explorers might come together to share tales from their expeditions around the world. This new, indoor retreat is the perfect spot for meeting Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Meanwhile, over at Camp Minnie-Mickey, you’ll still be able to run into other Disney friends and catch a performance of the incomparable Festival of the Lion King!

Tagged: DAK, WDW

Filed: Disney's Animal Kingdom, Walt Disney World Resort

Disney photographer Gene Duncan stopped by Discovery Island at Disney’s Animal Kingdom a few days ago during one of the training sessions for our Asian small-clawed otters that we do in front of our guests. The result: some incredibly cute photos that we wanted to share with you.

As regular Disney Parks Blog readers know, our animal keepers spend a lot of time training our animals—and it’s lots of fun, but it has a serious side too. We do the training so we can take great care of our animals. For example, by teaching the otters to stand on their hind legs, our keepers can get a good view of the body as part of daily visual checks to see whether the animals appear healthy in between regular veterinary exams. In addition, training can help ensure that each animal gets the right amount of food, as offering food is one of the positive conditioning techniques the team uses to train the animals to voluntarily participate in their own care. Training also is used as enrichment to encourage the animals to exhibit their natural behaviors, which is mentally and physically healthy for them, but it enables guests to see the cool adaptations that help the animals survive as well.

The next time you visit Disney’s Animal Kingdom, be sure to spend some time in Discovery Island with the animals that make their home there. In addition to the otters, you may come upon our animal keepers training animals as varied as lemurs, vultures and cotton-top tamarins. And be on the lookout for our education cast members, who share conservation and animal behavior messages about many of the animals—for example, did you know a flamingo eats with its head upside down?

More about Asian small-clawed otters:

• Asian small-clawed otters are the least aquatic of the otters. They spend most of their time on land, where they find resting spots such as reed nests, rock caves or burrows.
• The otters usually swim by paddling with all four limbs. Only the flat top of the head, nose, ears, eyes and rear part of the body is out of the water. When diving, however, the otter does not use the limbs, but uses powerful lateral wriggling motions and the tail to move through the water—similar to how a fish would swim.
• Asian small-clawed otters are vulnerable due to habitat loss. Many wetlands are in decline because of a lack of water. There are many ways that all of us can help by reducing our water usage at home: plant native plants, don’t water the lawn unless needed, and don’t let the water run while brushing your teeth.

 
Read on for more “Wildlife Wednesdays”:

• Wildlife Wednesdays: Injured Whooping Crane Receives Care at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
• Wildlife Wednesdays: Local Girl Scouts Join Cast Members for Third Annual Walt Disney World Holiday Bird Count – Over 16,000 Birds Counted
• Wildlife Wednesdays: New Antelope Species, the Springbok, on Kilimanjaro Safaris Savanna at Disney’s Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort

Tagged: Conservation, DAK, Gallery, WDW

Filed: Disney's Animal Kingdom, Walt Disney World Resort

Great news! The injured wild whooping crane that was cared for at Disney’s Animal Kingdom was released back into the wild this past weekend. Disney’s Animal Programs zoological manager Scott Tidmus (he is pictured holding the crane in the veterinary hospital photo) accompanied the bird on its trip from Disney’s Animal Kingdom to Tennessee, where it was released in the company of other wild whooping cranes.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, no other whooping crane from this population has ever been captured, transported to a medical facility, treated, and successfully re-released back into the wild over the 12 years of a special program aimed at establishing an eastern migrating population of whooping cranes.

For photos and video, visit this page.

Tagged: Conservation, DAK, WDW

Filed: Disney's Animal Kingdom, Walt Disney World Resort

Let’s kick the day off with some Disney’s Animal Kingdom fun.

Check out this sign for the Maharajah Jungle Trek. Looks like it promises you can see bats and another animal (name blurred)? Do you remember which other animal appears on this sign?

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Tagged: DAK, WDW

Filed: Disney's Animal Kingdom, Walt Disney World Resort

In addition to caring for the animals that make their home at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, and The Seas with Nemo & Friends at Epcot, the Disney’s Animal Programs animal operations and animal health teams also often step in to care for animals in the wild. Such an occasion arose last week, when we were asked to care for a wild whooping crane found in South Florida with a severe injury to one of her toes.

We received word from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the International Crane Foundation (ICF) that the injured whooping crane had been observed by residents in the area. The whooping crane is part of a reintroduction project with which our team has significant experience through cooperation with groups such as the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP) and Operation Migration, conservation groups that are helping protect these animals. Members of our animal operations team traveled to South Florida to bring the bird to Disney’s Animal Kingdom to receive care. Caring for — and, in this case, capturing — a wild whooping crane calls for special preparations, including wearing white costumes and head coverings until the bird’s sight can be blocked by using a cloth eye covering. The goal is for the birds not to get imprinted on humans.

Upon arrival at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, the whooping crane received a full medical examination, and, although the bird’s injury did require amputation of the affected toe, the bird is adjusting well, and we hope that she will soon be released back into the wild.

Did you know?

• Each year, a new group of hand-reared whooping cranes makes its first migration south from Wisconsin to Florida through Operation Migration. The rare birds are led by ultralight aircraft flown by the pilots of the Operation Migration team. Threats such as habitat loss and unregulated hunting brought the whooping crane population to an alarming low of only 15 birds in the early 1940s.
  

• The Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund has supported Operation Migration since its inception in 2000 to help grow the migratory population of these cranes and to develop and refine this innovative model, which might help other species.
  

• The International Crane Foundation helps protect and conserve crane species around the world. The crane being treated in the veterinary hospital at Disney’s Animal Kingdom was raised by the ICF for release into the wild in 2012. The Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund has supported the ICF and many initiatives around the globe to help cranes.
  

• Disney’s Animal Programs animal keepers assist with the hand-rearing of whooping crane chicks, and team members monitor the cranes during their initial arrival in Florida. The veterinary team performs health exams on the chicks before they are released to start their acclimation to the wild following their migration.
  

• Inside Conservation Station at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, guests can see our Operation Migration exhibit, which includes an ultralight aircraft used to lead the whooping cranes on their migration, and find out more about this amazing story.

 
Read on for more “Wildlife Wednesdays”:

• Wildlife Wednesdays: Local Girl Scouts Join Cast Members for Third Annual Walt Disney World Holiday Bird Count – Over 16,000 Birds Counted
• Wildlife Wednesdays: New Antelope Species, the Springbok, on Kilimanjaro Safaris Savanna at Disney’s Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort
• Wildlife Wednesdays: From Elephants to Educators — Disney Helping African Wildlife by Helping African Communities

Tagged: Conservation, DAK, WDW

Filed: Disney's Animal Kingdom, Walt Disney World Resort