As shared by Disney Parks Blog. Wildlife Wednesday: Happy 1st Birthday, Anala & Jeda! #183

Disney’s Animal Kingdom is celebrating the first birthday of the first Sumatran tiger cubs born at the park, Anala and Jeda. To mark the special occasion, our animal care team created a birthday-themed enrichment treat – a “cake” made for them to gnaw and paw. Enrichment is an important part of their care and is stimulating and fun for the animals.
The cubs have had a momentous first year. Both are thriving and have made significant growth in size and skills, as they stay close to their mom Sohni and learn from her lead.

Born weighing roughly three pounds each, Anala and Jeda have grown into robust young cubs. Today, Anala weighs 160 pounds, and Jeda is 167. For the sake of comparison, their father Malosi weighs 290 pounds.

(Cubs shown in photos above at one-month old on left and about seven months old on right.)
The cubs continue to hit all their development milestones and enjoy learning to be tigers – they practice hiding, creeping and pouncing on mom and each other.
As you might expect, Anala and Jeda act like siblings. They have a special bond but differ in many ways. Anala is feisty and independent in spirit. Jeda is more laid back. Both are incredibly intelligent, and guests continue to enjoy watching the tiger family play and explore their habitat on the Maharajah Jungle Trek.

Anala and Jeda have also learned, like their parents, to participate in their own medical care. For example, they respond to certain hand signals or verbal cues by voluntarily opening their mouths or standing on a station for routine weight checks. They also present their tails and paws for inspection on cue.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom is proud to play an important role in the worldwide conservation and understanding of Sumatran tigers, a critically endangered species. The birth of these Sumatran tiger cubs was a remarkable event that took nearly three years of planning through the Species Survival Plan (SSP), which is overseen by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and ensures responsible breeding.

Fewer than 500 Sumatran tigers are left in the wild due to threats such as habitat loss, poaching and the illegal wildlife trade. Since 1995, the Disney Conservation Fund has provided more than $2.5 million to 14 nonprofit organizations working to protect tigers and their habitats in the wild. As a part of its focus on saving wildlife, the DCF is also helping the Wildlife Conservation Society and its partners protect tigers in Sumatra, Indonesia, by building support for tiger conservation, combating illegal wildlife trade and supporting community rangers who walked more than 5,600 miles in the last year to patrol 1,700 square miles of tigers’ forest habitat.

You can see Sohni, Malosi and their cubs on the Maharajah Jungle Trek and learn more about tigers by visiting DisneyAnimals.com.

https://youtu.be/adiFAmVQbVk

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Wildlife Wednesday: Explore the Magic of Nature at Disney Parks and Resorts #104

Last year, the Disney Conservation Fund unveiled a philanthropic strategy to help protect the planet by collaborating with leading nonprofit organizations that help threatened wildlife and inspire a lifelong love for nature in young people.

Research shows that children who are exposed to nature are healthier and happier, and it is widely believed that these outdoor experiences lead kids to care about the planet during their lifetime. If you are looking for ways you and your family can explore and connect with nature during your next vacation to a Walt Disney Park or Resort, we’ve got you covered! Take a peek below at some of the adventurous experiences available to you and your family.
We also have some thrilling news for you today! While we love celebrating Earth Day on April 22, we will be partying for the planet all weekend this year! Join us at Disney’s Animal Kingdom April 21-23 for unique, inspiring and educational encounters throughout the park during Party for the Planet presented by Disneynature.

We’ll be sharing more specific details about these engaging in-park offerings as we get closer to this exciting weekend. Until then, we invite you to take a look back at last year’s Party for the Planet presented by Disneynature!
I want to thank Disney Parks Blog for this post.

Wildlife Wednesday: Disney Cast Members Worldwide Help Native Wildlife in Shanghai. #64

In keeping with Walt Disney’s long tradition of embracing a commitment to conservation, Disney cast members from around the world are using their unique skills to champion wildlife conservation at the Shanghai Disney Resort.

As part of the design of the resort, Walt Disney Imagineering created Wishing Star Park, a 100-acre lake with restored wetlands along the shoreline and more than one and a half miles of pathways through open woodlands and shrublands along the lake’s edge. These habitats are providing homes for native birds and butterflies in an otherwise highly developed landscape.

To study how Wishing Star Park is benefiting wildlife, cast members in Shanghai teamed up with the Conservation Team in Disney’s Animals, Science and Environment department last July by working with bird experts from Shanghai Wildlife Conservation Association to design and implement a monthly bird-monitoring program around the lake. During the past year, 46 species have been found at Wishing Star Park, including species of conservation concern and many migratory species that depend on places like Wishing Star Park for a safe place to rest and refuel on their long-distance journeys. That’s fantastic news because before Wishing Star Park was established, there was little habitat for wildlife in the area!
To further help nurture Shanghai’s birdlife last year, the team added nest boxes to provide birds with a safe place to raise a family. Engineering Services cast members from Disney’s Animal Kingdom crafted three different styles of nest boxes to give birds a few different options. After a trip halfway around the world from Orlando to Shanghai, the houses were installed last December. Cast from Citizenship and Community Relations and Horticulture teams joined forces to attach the 12 nest boxes to trees and ready them for the birds.

It has been an amazing year for wildlife at the Shanghai Disney Resort, and now that the park has opened our guests can enjoy the magic of Wishing Star Park as well! We will check in on the conservation efforts of Wishing Star Park again soon!

I would like to thank Anne Savage, Ph.D., Ph.D., Conservation Director, Disney’s Animals, Science and Environmentfor this post on Disney Parks Blog.

just a not click on Pictures to make them larger.