Although some full-time residents of Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park sport fur coats, a full-blown cold-weather plan is in place to give its creatures warm options.
“We actually have specific temperature parameters for every species in the park,” said Dr. Scott Terrell, director of animal and science operations for Walt Disney Parks. “If it’s below this temperature, the animals either are given access to indoor spaces where we have supplemental heat or in some cases, we make sure that they stay in comfortable quarters and conditions so that they’re not exposed to the elements, the extremes of the elements.”
For instance, an antelope that park visitors might spy during the Kilimanjaro Safaris attraction would normally be allowed to roam around until it’s about 40 degrees outside, he said.
For baby antelopes or in the case of elderly animals, that might kick in at a little warmer stage. It’s an art and a science, Terrell said.
“We’ve got the science side, which is the numbers, and then we’ve got the art side,” he said. “We know what it feels like to us and so we want to be focused on them and their comfort.”
For the most part, the animals are given the choice to stay outside or go indoors.
“If we get to extremes — like this weekend — we actually may not give them the choice to go outside,” Terrell said. “But we really reserve that for the extremes because our preference is always that the animals are able to choose what makes them most comfortable.”
Among the animals living at Disney World are elephants, giraffes, rhinos, hippos, gorillas, meerkats, zebras, gibbons, otters and Komodo dragons. The park features about 2,000 animals, representing 300 species, Disney says.
“The tigers and the lions seem to enjoy those brisker temperatures,” Terrell said.
Preparation for extreme weather conditions has been part of the planning process for Animal Kingdom, which opened in 1998.
“The plan actually starts way at the beginning in that we choose animals to share with our guests that are appropriate for the climate that we have here in Florida. So whether it’s for heat or cold, we know that the animals that we have here can deal with most of the temperatures,” Terrell said. “And when we get to the extremes, like we have this week … we’re ready to help them.”
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