An Elephantastic Tour!
Caring for Giants- Get a closer look at the majestic African elephants at Disney Animal Kingdom park- and learn what it takes to care for them.
An Experience You’ll Never Forget
Delve into the wondrous world of our park's largest inhabitants.
During this 60-minute experience, you’ll meet with dedicated animal specialists who provide for the care and wellness of our African elephant herd. They’ll give you a glimpse into their day-to-day responsibilities as they provide fascinating facts about the elephants.
African cultural representatives will also be on hand to share stories of Disney’s conservation efforts dedicated to the preservation of wild populations throughout their homeland.
Throughout this experience, you’ll be able to observe the elephants from approximately 80 to 100 feet away—so you’ll enjoy a closer encounter with the elephants than you would during other in-park experiences.
Note: A portion of the proceeds is donated to the Disney Conservation Fund.
The current cost of the tour is $30* per person.
*Some discounts apply- DVC, AP. Maybe AAA or Disney Visa, not sure. Will check.
I’ll see if I can find if there are age restrictions- there was a family with two children, maybe around 8-10 years old with our group. The tour is offered around 10 times each day, from 9:30 am to 4 pm.
We started by checking in at the tour desk, near where you enter the queue for Kilimanjaro Safari. There are no restrooms on the tour, so they recommended that we go before we go.
(Note- if you are reading my Alaska cruise report, you know that I take this suggestion seriously)
We boarded our transport jeep/bus and were reminded that pictures were not permitted during the part of the journey when we were backstage.
When we got to the observation area, I asked the driver if it was ok to take a picture of the vehicle.
Our driver pointed out that the plants in the background are missing the bottom leaves. That shows where the water line rose to the previous month during Hurricane Irma!
ETA:
I found the picture I took that shows the water line even better than in the picture above:
We met the naturalist I am not great at remembering names- was it Mark? Or something else?
@JanetMom @woodnymph @Ninja Mom
ETA: I also found a picture of the naturalist where I could zoom in on his nametag.
His name is NOT Mark. It is Garth. Party on!
Also, please feel free to add any details or pictures from our Caring for Elephants excursion.
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When Mark (IF THAT IS YOUR REAL NAME) explained that elephants are a keystone species and their survival is important to maintain the ecosystem, we were all ears.
For the next 40 mintues or so, we could observe these beautiful creatures, take pictures and ask questions.
Ignore that it says Diana, but take a look at my nametag. At the end of the tour, we were told to return the lanyards but the nametags were ours to keep. They also had us read the small note on the back that informed us that the paper was made from elephant dung fibers.
What a craptastic souvenir!
There are currently 10 elephants at Animal Kingdom- 7 female and 3 male. Elephants live in a matriarchal society- females are in charge! Rafaki is the matriarch of the AK herd. Her name means “elephant” in Swahili.
When male elephants hit adolescence (I want to say around age 7) they are kicked out of the herd and live a mostly solitary life.
As the mom of two teen boys, I can certainly appreciate the wisdom of this policy!
We were treated by the appearance of baby Stella!
So cute!
One of the challenges faced by elephants is the threat by farmers who want to keep them off their land. Mark showed us these bee boxes.
It turns out that elephants are afraid of bees. Although bees can’t sting through an elephant’s thick skin, they can cause pain when they sting the elephants’ large, sensitive ears. So the farmers set up these bee boxes to make a fence along the perimeter of their land to keep the elephants away.
Brilliant!
And an added bonus is the production and sale of honey.
As our tour wound up, we asked our naturalist to take a picture of our group. He took a couple of pictures, handed back my phone and said “This is my favorite shot”
LOL!
This is better…
This was a great tour! The length was perfect- it doesn’t eat up too much park time. And the price is definitely reasonable by Disney standards, especially if you are able to apply discounts.
I give it 2 trunks up!
Next Up: To Market, To Market