Bats Are Special, Not Spooky

The Disney’s Animal Programs and Environmental Initiatives team really gets into the Halloween spirit each year, hosting a variety of activities throughout the Walt Disney World Resort. Of course, there’s lots going on at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. For example, our bats, which Guests can see every day on the Maharajah Jungle Trek in Asia, get their annual physical exams each year in the days surrounding Halloween. The exams take place in the mornings in view of our Guests at our veterinary hospital at Conservation Station.

To us (and we hope you’ll agree!), bats are “special not spooky.” The bats at Disney’s Animal Kingdom primarily eat fruit, but the smaller bats you might see in your backyard are insectivores—they just love eating all those pesky mosquitoes. A great way to help out the bats in your neighborhood is by building them a bat box. Another way is to support the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund (DWCF) when you visit Disney’s Animal Kingdom and many other locations at the Walt Disney World Resort. DWCF supports wildlife conservation around the world and here in the U.S. and is helping to protect bats by providing funding for the great work of Bat Conservation International. To learn how to build a bat house and much more, visit the Bat Conservation International Web site here.

Getting back to our Halloween happenings, Animal Programs and Environmental Initiatives Cast Members at the Tri-Circle-D Ranch at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort join the fun by hosting haunted hayrides and carriage rides—and help the Headless Horseman with his ride through the Magic Kingdom Park during Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.

And what would Halloween be without pumpkins? Our Cast, which includes the Agricultural Sciences team at Living with the Land in Epcot, ensure that there are pumpkins galore for Guests to see—even Mickey-shaped ones—as well as a host of edible gourds.

Bat fact: The Malayan Flying Fox, which Guests can see when they visit Disney’s Animal Kingdom, is one of the largest bats in the world with a wingspan of close to 6 feet. Being an Old World fruit bat, they can’t echolocate and instead use their excellent eyesight to fly at night and sense of smell to locate food.