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We interrupt your regularly scheduled details of the Animal Kingdom to bring a special post about the park: a highlight of all of the baby animals born there in the recent months. I could talk about the special tours and shopping found there (and I will eventually), but a choice between that and adorable baby animals? Please, I’m going with the cute.
The most recent addition to the Animal Kingdom came in June, in the form of a baby okapi. Okapis look like they’re some kind of deer, or strange deer-like horses that are related to zebras, because they have stripes on their flanks and legs. But it’s actually believed that if okapis have another animal relative, its closest is the giraffe.
The latest okapi to join the Animal Kingdom was born on June 21. Her name is Nafuna, which is an African word for “born feet first.” Unlike with most mammals, or indeed most animals, Nafuna actually has a chance of growing larger than her father, who lives at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Adult okapis weigh anywhere from 550-720 pounds, and the females usually grow larger than the males.
Okapis are very rare in the wild. But if you travel to the Animal Kingdom you’ll get a chance to see them, either at the Lodge, on the Kilimanjaro Safaris Expedition, or the Pangani trail. Nafuna should be heading out to the Ituri Forest where guests can see her soon.
The spring saw even more additions to the Animal Kingdom. In March the Animal Kingdom announced the birth of five baby warthog siblings: three males and two females. They are a much needed addition: the only other warthogs at the Animal Kingdom were their parents.
The babies were tiny at birth, only 1.5-2 pounds. But now they’re growing well. Don’t expect to see the eponymous “warts” on all of the babies, however; warts are only prominent on males. Their purpose is to cushion the face when males are fighting over females. Hopefully we won’t see too much of that; since April the babies have been out for viewing with their mother at the Kilimanjaro Savannas.
The last major birth at the Animal Kingdom actually came a year ago, but it’s just so exciting (and cute) that I can’t help including it in this post anyway. On August 24, 2011, a baby male African elephant was brought into the world. What’s so neat about it is that the birth wasn’t just performed by the mother and by the Animal Kingdom’s veterinary staff: the rest of the 10-elephant herd assisted.
The Parks blog post didn’t provide details, but I did some research: the herd doesn’t get in there and help during the actual birth, but they immediately come to help after the baby is born. They surround it and touch it and caress it with their trunks. Elephants are born nearly blind and must rely on their trunk to feel the world around them, so the herd’s help in those first few moments is invaluable.
For pictures of all three of these sweet babies, go here, here, and here.
Related Articles:
Conservation at the Animal Kingdom
Kunekunes Come to the Animal Kingdom
Stomach Virus Spread at Disney’s Wild Africa Trek
A Beastly Glimpse Inside Disney’s Enchanted Forest
*(This image by jacobdragoon is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.)
