Animal Kingdom Lodge – The Animals

Featuring over 30 species of wildlife that roam amidst 3 lush, tropical savannas, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge offers you the unique opportunity to observe exotic animals from special viewing areas throughout the Resort—and from the balconies of select Guest rooms.

Here are some of the ones we saw…

Marabou Stork

The Marabou is massive bird, large specimens are thought to reach a height of 60 in, a weight of over 20 lbs and have a wingspan of at least 10.5 ft. In the last regard, it shares the distinction of having the largest wingspan of any landbird with the Andean Condor.

The East African Crowned Crane is the national bird of Uganda.

The Eland, the largest African antelope

Twins?

Grant’s Zebra

Female Ostrich

Reticulated Giraffes

They love the alfalfa at the feeding stations. It’s like a special treat for them, and they look forward to it’s arrival daily.

Not elegant by a long shot!

Blue Wildebeest, also called the Common Wildebeest or Brindled Gnu

The Ankole cattle are distributed from Lake Mobutu to Lake Tanganyika in eastern Africa. The original animals were thought to have been brought to northern Uganda by Hamitic tribes sometime between the 13th and 15th centuries. The Ankole’s susceptiblity to the tsetse fly forced the tribes and their cattle further south. The Hima or Bahima tribe settled on the shores of Lake Victoria in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzani. The Watusi or Tutsi tribe continued to Rwanda and Burundi with their cattle, some of which have spread to the lake districts of Zaire. Selection in all the tribes is based on horn size.

The males test each other’s testosterone levels by sniffing the urine, and will also examine females the same way to see if the cow is in estrus.

In the flehmen response, animals draw back their lips in a manner that makes them appear to be “grimacing”. The action, which is adopted when examining scents left by other animals either of the same species or of prey, helps expose the vomeronasal organ and draws scent molecules back toward it. This behavior allows animals to detect scents, for example from urine, of other members of their species or clues to the presence of prey. Flehming allows the animals to determine several factors, including the presence or absence of estrus, the physiological state of the animal, and how long ago the animal passed by.

The subordinate bull expresses frustration by plowing at the ground, rather than square off directly with a more powerful opponent. This avoids unwanted injury.

The greater Kudu is one of the largest Africa antelopes, with majestic curving horns that spiral around two and a half times in older males.

The Roan Antelope is large and grey or brown with long, tasseled ears. It has a distinct black and white “clown” mask, which is darker in males than in females. It is the fourth largest antelope. Both sexes have backward-curving horns, although they are shorter in females.

The handsome Sable Antelope of eastern and southern Africa belongs to a group that are called sabre-horned antelopes because of their long, scimitar-shaped horns. Those of the sable antelope are covered with ring-like ridges. Adult males often reach 5 ft. at the shoulder and can weigh more than 595 lb. Males are about 20% larger and heavier than females. Sable antelopes are glossy black or rich dark chestnut, except for white markings on their face and underparts. They have a tufted tail and short mane.Sable antelopes are gregarious, nomadic animals. They roam the dry acacia country of Africa in large herds of sometimes up to 100 animals. The herd is usually led by a master bull. They feed on grass and plant life.

Bongo antelopes live in forests, in the West and Central African lowlands and the Kenya highlands. Like other forest ungulates, Bongos are seldom seen in large groups. Males tend to be solitary and groups of females with young seem to live in groups of 6-8. They feed on leaves of trees and bushes, vines, grasses and herbs, roots and fruits, and they especially like salt. There is an estimated 400 individuals living in North American zoos, a number that probably exceeds that of the mountain Bongo in the wild. Through the efforts of zoos in North America, a reintroduction to the population in Kenya is being developed.

A young female…

The Impala is a medium sized African antelope whose name comes from the Zulu meaning ‘antelope’. This one’s horns are deformed as they usually have graceful lyre shaped horns to distinguish them form other antelopes.

And then there were more ‘animals’ at the Lodge that just begged to be photographed… In 1995, 22  Zulu men and women came together to form a cooperative top market their crafts within Africa for export. By crafting unique products using beads and wire, they are able to support their families living in the townships. In an area deeply impacted by HIV/AIDS (as many as 2/3 of Zulus in some areas are HIV positive) a steady income is critical. All manner of animals, birds and reptiles are created and no two are identical.  These chameleons are waiting to be taken home by a collector.

Flamingos, parrots and frogs are also for sale.

Wouldn’t you just love to have one of these in your garden?

Now this is not bead-work, but who could forget the Lion King at The Animal Kingdom Lodge.  He serves as a lamp/wall decor in the Zawadi Marketplace shop.

I can’t wait to return to the Lodge.  One of the finest places I have stayed in in the USA – as only Disney can do it!