Wildlife Wednesday: New Disney Animals Fact-Filled Pages Debut Online

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Do you know why rhinos roll around in the mud or what elephants can do to lower their body temperature? Did you know that one shark can have as many as 30,000 teeth during its lifetime?

There’s a fun new way to find these answers and learn a lot more about some of the animals at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Epcot and what we are doing to protect them in the wild! The Walt Disney World Resort website has introduced a new Disney Animals section that provides a wealth of information about 10 species that are a very special focus for us.

You can go to DisneyAnimals.com to read about African lions, Asian tigers, rhinos, African elephants, Western lowland gorillas, sharks, cotton-top tamarins, sea turtles, coral reef and migratory birds. While it’s not a complete list of all the animals you can see at Disney’s Animal Kingdom or at The Seas with Nemo at Epcot, it represents 10 conservation species Disney is working to protect and provides a valuable connection to nature. We hope this fun animal information inspires you to action! All of the species you read about are endangered, which makes it even more important for us to understand them and to learn more about what we can do to help save the species. You also can read a bit of behind-the-scenes information about how we care for these animals at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Epcot, as well as some fun facts like the ones that appear at the beginning of this story. Speaking of those, do you know the answers?

• Rhinos roll in the mud to keep themselves cool, get rid of parasites and prevent sunburns.
• Elephants can flap their ears to lower their body temperature.
• Sharks can have as many as 30,000 teeth over their lifetime because their teeth are not rooted in their jaws or gum lines. They can lose teeth when they take a powerful bite out of their prey. But don’t worry! New teeth can grow in just two to eight days.

Now it’s your turn. Pop quiz! Here are a few questions, and the answers can be found by reading our new Disney Animals pages. When you’re finished, you can check your answers here.

1. How many lions typically make up a family group, or pride?
2. Guests can see a critically endangered Sumatran tiger on the Maharajah Jungle Trek at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. How many of these tigers exist in the wild?
3. How can you tell the difference between a black rhino and a white rhino? (HINT: It’s not the color of their skin; both are gray.)
4. Other than humans, elephants do something that few other animals are known to do. What is it?
5. Gorillas share 98.3 percent of humans’ DNA. However, gorillas have two things humans do not. What are they?
6. How many species of sharks are there in the world?
7. Where do cotton-top tamarins live in the wild?
8. How do female sea turtles choose where to lay their eggs?
9. Corals provide a home for what percentage of the oceans’ fish?
10. Name a significant threat to migratory birds. How many birds are killed each year because of this threat?

Wildlife Wednesday: New Disney Animals Fact-Filled Pages Debut Online by Dr. Jill Mellen: Originally posted on the Disney Parks Blog

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