I know, I know. Woody Woodpecker belongs to Universal Studios, not Disney/MGM Studios. I just couldn’t resist making the comparison!
Five pairs of federally endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers have recently been moved from their homes in Apalachicola National Forest to what will hopefully become their new homes in The Disney Wilderness Preserve in central Florida.
The preserve is a 12,000-acre sanctuary that currently shelters seventeen endangered and threatened species just south of Orlando at the headwaters of the Everglades ecosystem. The preserve provides the animals with plenty of solitude due to its being bordered by two large swamp systems along with Lake Russell and Lake Hatchineha. The preserve was established by The Walt Disney Company, Greater Orlando Aviation Authority and The Nature Conservancy. The Nature Conservancy, which own 1.2 million acres in Florida, has owned, maintained and worked on restoring this preserve for the past fifteen years.
Apparently the The Disney Wilderness Preserve’s longleaf pine habitat is ideal for the red-cockaded woodpecker which prefers mature longleaf pine trees with heartrot. (Even woodpeckers don’t like to bang their heads against trees all day. The rotten core of the tree makes it easier for them to bore their nesting holes.) The Nature Conservancy scientists did make it easier on these first five pairs of birds to set up housekeeping though. They installed man-made holes in the trees before moving the birds so that they could have immediate shelter.
The Nature Conservancy receives funding from the Florida Forever land acquisition program which is funded by Florida residents via their tax dollars. For more information on the Florida Forever program, please visit their website here.
For more information on the Disney Wilderness Preserve, please visit the official website here .
For more information on the Nature Conservancy and their worldwide efforts, please visit their website here.