Respecting Disney's Animal Ambassadors
Disney's Animal Kingdom is an amazing place where you can see animals that seem not to be separated from you by any barriers. The Kilimanjaro Safari ride will get you closer to many animals than you may ever have been. Unlike many zoos, the animals at Disney's Animal Kingdom are also out more often, due to tricks employed by Disney Imagineers to make spots that are more visible to guests more comfortable for animals too.
Elephants, including the newest baby born at Disney's Animal Kingdom, playing in the river
Not only is this exciting, but it's also a delicate balance. Being so visible to such crowds can be stressful to animals if people don't know how to behave.
Disney begins to teach us how to behave with words, choosing the words "Animal Ambassador" to describe the critters you see. The phrase demands respect, but not everyone knows what respect means for an Animal Ambassador.
Cast Members at Disney's Animal Kingdom will be quick to educate you. Here are some of the things they will ask of you to be respectful to these magnificent creatures.
1) Do NOT attempt to speak animal.
Please don't make animal sounds at animals in an effort to get them to look at you for a picture. This is akin to being catcalled on the street. It's stressful, distracting, and not cool. Aside from which, your "ape" doesn't really sound like an ape.
2) Do NOT knock on the glass.
This is especially true with aquatic creatures, but any creature does not need people knocking on their walls all day long. You may notice that when there is a glass separator, there is also often a Cast Member between you and it.
3) If you learn an animal's name, unless invited by a Cast Member, do NOT use it.
Every animal at Animal Kingdom has a name. Their name is often secret and kept between them and their trainer, and maybe some other Cast Members that work nearby. I once worked at an ice cream cart next to a noisy cockatiel named Henry. Henry would not be quiet sometimes until somebody told him he was a pretty boy. I was given permission by the trainer to use Henry's name to soothe him when he got very noisy, but only when I was not in earshot of other guests. (And no, Henry isn't there anymore, so I'm not breaking my rule.) It's nice to speak to an Animal Ambassador by name once in a while, but it's not nice to have a hundred guests calling your name.
4) Do NOT make loud noises or sudden motions.
At the entrance to some animal exhibits, there are signs asking you to be respectful and keep your voices low. Please heed these signs. If your kids are too young to heed these signs and aren't in the mood to be quiet, then please move on and come back later. There is seldom, if ever, a line for animal exhibits.
5) Follow the Cast Member's instructions.
Sometimes Cast Members will bring animals out for close encounters, such as snakes or tarantulas. They will invite you to touch and even hold the animal, but there are certain ways these animals prefer to be touched and held, and other things these animals will take as a sign of danger. Remember, animals are wild. They will bite or scratch if they feel threatened. Before touching or holding an animal, make sure you understood the Cast Member's instructions.
6) Pick up your litter.
Scraps of plastic packaging can blow into animal enclosures when not disposed of properly in a trash receptacle. It's Disney, and at Disney you won't walk more than 20 paces before finding a place to dispose of your trash, so it's not hard to do so. Doing this will help the animals stay healthy, including those in exhibits and those that visit.
7) Do NOT wander off the paths.
When I was a Cast Member, a story circulated about a Cast Member who had wandered into the "jungle" beyond Conservation Station and found themselves on the edge of the tiger enclosure in Asia, looking down over a precarious cliff into a pit of tigers. Whether the story is true or not is unknown. Disney does have a way of circulating cautionary tales, especially among Cast Members. But regardless of truth, the story is feasible.
This is not the kind of zoo where animals are separated from you by visible concrete barrier or chain link fence. Instead, Disney employs natural barriers wherever they can, which can include berms, cliffs, bodies of water, etc. So, be safe, and don't go into the jungle.
8) If you had an amazing encounter with an animal, tell everyone about it.
Disney's Animal Kingdom is partly founded on the principal that you will protect only what you love. When you fall in love with a gorilla, you may suddenly want to avoid the destruction of their habitat and may switch your consumer habits to avoid palm oil. When you fall in love with an exotic bird, you may find yourself cutting the plastic rings on your six pack of soda so birdies don't get their feet trapped in them.
For many, these issues don't seem real until you experience the animal affected by the issue. So, if something at the park changes your mind and affects you, tell your friends about it and help these animals survive for generations to come.
Have you had an amazing animal encounter? Share your story in the comments. And, as always, if you like this blog, share this post on Facebook and "like" our page. See you next week!
