Disney World

Animal Kingdom - Part Four

After our safari adventure, we took some time to walk through the Pangani Forest. Pangani Forest Exploration Trail is a self-guided walking tour of native African wildlife.

Pangani means "place of enchantment," and this exploration trail is an enchanting adventure into a lush, tropical forest and a verdant valley that are right out of the heart of Africa. Judy and I took a leisurely walk in search of rare African animals such as gorillas, hippos, okapi, naked mole rats, meerkats and many species of exotic birds.

This entomologist has to love termite mounds. Disney has dissected the mound in order one can observe the interior structure.

It was beginning to sprinkle a little, but the birds were still low in the forest canopy.

Meerkats! The meerkat is a member of the mongoose family. Meerkats live in all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana and in South Africa. A group of meerkats is called a "mob", "gang" or "clan". A meerkat clan often contains about 20 meerkats, but some superfamilies have 50 or more members. Meerkats have an average life span of 12-14 years.



We observed gorillas in their jungle habitat. They are impressive beasts indeed.

As we left the Pangani forest, there was one area that Judy wanted to check out before we had lunch.

The area she wanted to check out was Conservation Station located at Rafiki's Planet Watch. Rafiki's Planet Watch, an area dedicated to the preservation and conservation of animals. To get to Rafiki's Planet Watch, we boarded the Wildlife Express Train in the Harambe, Africa area of Disney's Animal Kingdom.

Remember that Ratiki is an important character in Disney's The Lion King. The Lion King begins when Rafiki, a mandrill, anoints Simba, the newborn cub of King Mufasa and Queen Sarabi, presenting him to a gathering of animals at the Pride Rock. Simba is next seen a as young lion, with Mufasa teaching him about the "Circle of Life".



The Conservation Center was very interesting with many exhibits geared to preservation of our planet.

Oh my, the kids love to pose with Rafiki.

This center is also a working hospital for the animals of Animal Kingdom. There was an observation window that provided an opportunity to see animal operations in progress. This morning the surgeons were operating on a zebra. This animal was shot with a dart containing a contraceptive. (All animals are tracked as to breeding and even control of their reproduction.) The contraceptive dart did not fall out as usual, but broke off in the hide. They were extracting the broken needle. This is a high tech facility with all the modern operating technologies that you would expect in a "human type" hospital. This is a training facility for vets working with exotic animals.


We once again boarded the train and were off to eat in Harambe village . Here is another super eatery - Tusker House.

The thatched-roof Tusker House in Harambe village featured a buffet with a definite culinary flair. Several stations, each with a different selection of African-inspired items, were located throughout the inviting open-air market-style interior. Blatjang chutneys with South African preserves, sambals tabbouleh, hummus and baba ghanoush, curried rice salad, couscous with roasted vegetables, vegetable samosas, seafood stew, roasted chicken, and a variety of other offerings are all on the menu.

Oh, here is my Judy posing with ANOTHER man once again! Love that woman!

Tomorrow's blog - We are off to Hollywood Studios.