Celebrate Animal Kingdom’s 25th Anniversary By Meeting Some of Its Biggest Stars
Animal Kingdom is celebrating a milestone anniversary and over the past few weeks we’ve been sharing eats, treats, merchandise and more. But, we couldn’t let Animal Kingdom’s 25th Anniversary pass us by without paying homage to some of the theme park’s biggest stars. We don’t mean Mickey or Minnie but rather the incredible animal inhabitants that call the theme park home!
Did you know that there have been 45 animals that have been with Animal Kingdom since it first opened 25 years ago!
Gino – Western Lowland Gorilla
If you’ve ever been on the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail chances are you’re acquainted with Gino. You’ll often see him sitting atop a rock checking out all of the guests that shuffle in and out of the park. At 42 years old, Gino is the oldest gorilla at Disney. Gino is also one of the first Gorillas to allow his caretakers to perform cardiac ultrasounds (without anesthesia!)
Gino is young at heart and enjoys playing and wrestling with his sons. He also loves doting on his two daughters Grace and Ada.
Johnny – White Stork
Though you might not remember seeing a white stork named Johnny, he has been residing at the base of Tree of Life for 25 years! This is one of the theme park’s most popular photo spots so you may have Johnny in one of your holiday photos and not even know it.
Johnny stands over three feet tall and shares his habitat with kangaroos and vultures.
Mac – African Elephant
Mac is short for Maclean and this African elephant tips the scale at 13,000 lbs. You can often spot Mac during your ride on Kilimanjaro Safaris. He is the father to Lune and Stella and is one of nine elephants in the Harambe Wildlife Reserve. A lot of people don’t know this but elephants are incredible communicators and talk to one another through a variety of sounds. Many of these are so low frequency that humans can’t hear them.
Disney and organizations like Save the Elephants have been able to study the vocalizations of elephants thanks to Animal Kingdom inhabitants like Mac and Co.
Sid – Rhinoceros Iguana
Sid is a rhinoceros Iguana and is so named thanks to the rhino-like horns he develops on his head. These horns are actually scales and scientists remain baffled as to their purpose. Some theories are that these are used for courtship or to show dominance.
You can meet Sid in the Oasis at Animal Kingdom. Not only has he been at the park since day one but he’s now in his 40s!
Tuma – Nile Hippopotamus
Seeing the hippos at Animal Kingdom is one of my favorite things. There is a family of hippos (or what they call a bloat) that have been a the park for over 25 years! The youngest of the group is Tuma who arrived at the park when she was just one year old. Tuma arrived three months before the park actually opened. Today she is a proud mum to 5-year-old Augustus and 2-year-old Greta.
Hippos are typically pretty calm animals and even participate in their own medical care. This includes positioning themselves for physical exams and dental work.
Jack and Jill – Miniature donkeys
Next, we head over to the Affection Section at Rafiki’s Planet Watch to meet donkeys, Jack and Jill. They’ve been known to attract attention with their loud vocalizations known as braying. This pair loves to do everything together. You may see them wearing customized halters to show off the fact that they’re opening-day animals. The pair have been well looked after over the 25 years they’ve called Animal Kingdom home. This includes regular medical care including everything from dermatology to acupuncture.
You can check out some of these awesome animals in action in the video below:
Don’t miss your chance to see these animals in action during your next Walt Disney World visit! Readers are also encouraged to keep following along with MickeyBlog for more Animal Kingdom news and updates.
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