Animal Kingdom mating?

[jwbeck3]

Do the animals mate at Animal Kingdom, well im sure they do but have there been any babies born since the park opened

 

[tmm7899]

There have been some births since the park opened, last year there was a baby black rhino and a baby white rhyno born. One last november and the other I think in march or april. They have a pretty strict breeding policy for a lot of the animals.

 

[jwbeck3]

So does Disney control if the animals mate or not?

 

[Tigggrl]

Yes, they do control the mating of the animals...if you go into Conservation Station, many times there are Cast Members who will describe the methoods they us. Zoos have been using Birth Control for animals for quite some time....AND in case you were wondering, the Tigers are a Hybrid Breed, and all 5 are girls.....

 

[Coronado]

Yes the anuimals do mate....On one famous trip we saw a couple of those very small deer like animals.... a little girl in the back of the truck yelled "look mom they are playing leap frog"...:lol:

 

[tmm7899]

Well Disney does not really control the mating, one of the criteria for AZA facilities is a controlled breeding program. Another thing that Disney is part of is the Species Survival Plan, if I am not mistaken then with that plan they only mate when it is nessacary for the survival plan.

 

[McArcDes]

Official Disney policy for cast members if asked about animals seen mating at AK is to say that they are not mating but playing.

 

[Cindy Rella]

Originally posted by Coronado
Yes the anuimals do mate....On one famous trip we saw a couple of those very small deer like animals.... a little girl in the back of the truck yelled "look mom they are playing leap frog"...:lol:

Believe these are called Dik Diks - the animals

 

[sillyspook13]

Two years ago I saw some kangaroos mating. Last year I saw some bongos mating. This year I saw som crocodiles mating.:hurl:

 

[ToTBellHop]

Disney cannot completely control this...obviously. The Species Survival Plan only applies to endangered species. The Plan assigns an ID number to even animal in the species it covers, and it chooses which genes would work well together. Then, disney will place those two animals alone together for a few nights. If they don't want to mate, disney certainly can't make them mate. Also, in terms of elephants, it is the matriarch of the herd that decides which males mate which which females. The male they want to mate currently is a bit young and the matriarch says "NO!" Needless to say, Disney cannot control this. Disney would be VERY pleased, however, if they did mate. Actually, there have been MANY births at animal kingdom since opening. The fowl mate on a yearly basis and disney has had tremendous success with some of the endangered (SSP) animals--this is why other zoos send their head zookeepers to Animal Kingdom for tips. Disney literally has the best vets and keepers in the nation.

 

[AkiraRaptor]

We went on the Backstage Safari last year, and they do indead mate.

We got into a lengthy discussion with the Elephant trainers and they were all exceited because they were waiting on test results that day to see if one of the females was pregnate. They had tried normal (put them together for a while) tacktics, but they adventually just did artificial insemination.

The one rhino was born the a few days before we did our tour, and we saw him out on the safari for the first time that day. He was very energetic.

We also saw two of the antelope species babies that were born only a few hours earlier that day.

The tigers, because they are not full breed species are all "fixed". No baby tigers. But Disney was forced to do this as part of the captive breeding program they are in.

 

[MinnieFan]

I believe they have a baby elephant on the way, so something must be going on.

 

[tmm7899]

If indeed an elephant is pregnant then it will be about 18 months until it is born.

Kyle, you are correct about the best care though, I know many of the vets and keepers and they are all very passionate and know what they are doing.

 

[bearboysnc]

quote" Yes, they do control the mating of the animals...if you go into Conservation Station, many times there are Cast Members who will describe the methods they use."

Theres a good demo in the Wonders of Life pavillion, too.:lol:

kidding

 

[Brer Penguin]

We saw the Dik Dik's "mating" one year, too. A little girl and her father were standing near us. He turned her around so that she would start walking to the next animal, and said to us "Well, I guess we all learned something today"

Its was pretty funny