How Disney’s Animal Kingdom Uses Cutting-Edge Technology to Care For Its Birds
If you have ever been to Disney’s Animal Kingdom, then you know that the park is dedicated to conservation and the continuing study of the animals under its care.
Photo: Disney
In a recent post on the Disney Parks Blog, Dr. Mark Penning, Vice President, Animals, Science and Environment, at Disney Parks, pulled back the curtain on how Disney monitors the breeding and feeding habits of over 100 birds. As it turns out, the solution was using technology that comes in the size of a grain of rice.
Using RFID Technology To Study Eating Patterns
At Disney’s Animal Kingdom, scientists have long used RFID technology to learn more about the breeding behavior of Northern carmine bee-eaters. Now, however, they are using micro-tracking devices to learn even more about the birds’ behavior.
Photo: Disney
Using the RFID bands, teams can monitor how many times the carmine bee-eaters enter their “dining rooms” for a tasty treat. This tracking allows the animal care teams to see how often the birds are eating the bugs given to them by dietitians versus the wild bugs. If they choose wild bugs too frequently, their diet can become unbalanced.
Photo: Disney Parks Blog
With the largest population of Northern carmine bee-eaters of any Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accredited institution, the team has their work cut out for them.
Animal Care Teams Hope To Expand The Technology’s Use
The new technology has given the animal care team another tool to understand bird activity, location, behavior, and response to training cues. Eventually, the Animal Kingdom team hopes to expand its tracking program to other animals.
“This project has been really exciting to work on because we get to implement cutting-edge technology to take the best possible care of our birds,” said Andrew, a Research Programs Specialist on the Animals, Science and Environment team.
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To learn more about Northern carmine bee-eaters and the other creatures at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, visit DisneyAnimals.com
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