All types of animals inhabit the grounds of Disney's Animal Kingdom. Photo courtesy and © 1998 Jacquie Kubin.

Natural Delights
Education at Animal Kingdom does not only come from man-made animatronic exhibits. For instance, some of the gentlest learning is done while watching a real-life black rhinoceros lumber across the Kilimanjaro Safaris roadway. The Safari presents visitors with a 100-acre African Serengeti-inspired savannah, or grass land. It is here that the lion's share of the Animal Kingdom inhabitants live.

Harambe Village serves as the gateway to the Safari and the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail. Before taking the safari journey, visitors who walk down the trails will find themselves staring face to face with a family of hippos who swim gracefully before the plexi-glass viewing windows.

Down another trail, children can be heard exclaiming their amazement at a family of silverback gorillas. The mother has made herself and her young baby a bedlike nest right next to the protective window. She seems to watch the mothers and children on the other side almost as intently as they watch her. In the background, a proud father roughhouses a bit with his teenage son before stopping to snack on some of the plants growing within his home. Visitors are also able to stop within what seems to be an open-aired aviary where colorful birds fly directly overhead.

"Festival of the Lion King" is an elaborate 28-minute stage extravaganza featuring performers in tribal robes and costumed characters from The Lion King. © 1998 Disney. All Rights Reserved.

It is then on to the Kilimanjaro Safaris, an open rover ride through grasslands filled with sable antelope, reticulated giraffes, rhinoceroses, Thompson's gazelles and other wonderful animals native to Africa. The stars of this journey though are the elephants. These graceful giants are part of the conservation story told by Kilimanjaro Safaris while visitors wait to board the vehicles and en route.

Disney has outfitted the rovers with "two-way" radios through which the driver keeps in contact with the reserve's warden. Through their conversation, riders learn that the Thompson's Gazelle is called a Tommy by natives and that the white and black rhinoceros, along with the elephant, have been killed to the point of endangerment. In fact, there are less than 5,000 black rhinos left in the wild. Adding a bit of danger to the ride, as it crosses an old bridge, the rover almost seems to slip into the river below. Beyond the curve, riders can see the African Elephants with flapping ears and searching trunks walk, eat and play in a pond no more than thirty feet from the vehicle.

As the rover continues through the grassland there is a sudden urgent call from the warden in his plane overhead. It seems that poachers have tried to capture Big Red and her calf, Little Red. The warden requests the rovers help to block off the poachers' escape. Of course, this being Disney, everything works out, the elephants are rescued and the last animal visitors see on the Safari is an animatronic Little Red in the back of a truck.

The learning continues throughout the park via fun activities and wonderfully produced stage shows such as the "Journey into Jungle Book" at DinoLand U.S.A. or the "Festival of the Lion King" in Camp Minnie-Mickey.