Real Wildlife at WDW?

[Sharonofwindham]

We have seen:
A Snake at Fort Wilderness when we were wandering on quiet paths, no idea what it was but we gave it a wide berth.

Deer, Armadillo's and Turkeys at various parts of the property.

Lots of little Gecko's and bunnies at Port Orleans.

A gator in the water by Splash Mountain not big though.

Finally an Otter on the trip last year at Port Orleans.

A GATOR NEAR SM, HOW COOL ! I really want to see a wild alligator . If some of these posts are any indication, it shouldn't be too hard if I just keep my eyes peeled. How amazing to see an otter!

[rphillips14]

I have made known my love of the little green lizards in the parking lot at Port Orleans. We love watching them frolic and play. (My omage to a little green lizard)

[Amy]

I have made known my love of the little green lizards in the parking lot at Port Orleans. We love watching them frolic and play. (My omage to a little green lizard)

Maybe a dead skeletal one

[yodiwan1]

OK, well, I saw a gator in MK, by SPlash Mountain when I workere there back in 01, and plenty of deer and wild turkey as well. Bunnies too! IN January I was walking across the bridge in AK from Asia to Discovery Island and there was a beautiful hawk os some kind just sitting in a tree 2 feet from us! I took a picture of it and people that it was from an exhibit! lol

[leblanan]

I've seen about 5 ot 6 gators, usually on one of the golf courses. Twice they only a few feet away before I noticed them. And I saw one at Coranado. Just recently I talked with a cast member at Epcot, there was a mother with her baby ducks, apparently when they get out if the water a cast member has to walk around with them to make sure the guests don't try to grab them.

[Brian845]

I've seen about 5 ot 6 gators, usually on one of the golf courses. Twice they only a few feet away before I noticed them. And I saw one at Coranado. Just recently I talked with a cast member at Epcot, there was a mother with her baby ducks, apparently when they get out if the water a cast member has to walk around with them to make sure the guests don't try to grab them.

Heh, that's cute...Ducks are the one animal I remember there being plenty of in the Magic Kingdom.

[theBIGyowski]

Snake at OKW


Rabbit at Yacht Club

[northernmousefan2007]

I love seeing the giant grasshoppers, bunnies, lizards, and ducks at Disney World. We always joke about how at animal kingdom on the jungle treck when you are surrounded by exotic animals the Florida Mallard always has the biggest crowd around it.

[MadEye]

I've seen about 5 ot 6 gators, usually on one of the golf courses. Twice they only a few feet away before I noticed them. And I saw one at Coranado. Just recently I talked with a cast member at Epcot, there was a mother with her baby ducks, apparently when they get out if the water a cast member has to walk around with them to make sure the guests don't try to grab them.

Heh, that's cute...Ducks are the one animal I remember there being plenty of in the Magic Kingdom.

You don't remember the seagulls????

[Future Guy]

I've seen some freaky wildlife at WDW. A giant mouse in a tux. A giant duck wearing a shirt but no pants. And the chipmunks, the giant chipmunks. I still have nightmares.

Seriously, though, we've seen deer a few times. And I've heard stories about gators, although we've never seen one on property ourselves.

[Len90]

Of course they have tons of birds in WDW. I was cutting across the grass by the YC last year and a bird flew into my head. The thing hit me beak first and quickly flew away. The ducks have been all over for years already. We had one case in BW where a duck was hanging around our room. We fed it some pretzel pieces (it was all we had). The next day the same duck was back with a couple friends waiting outside our patio. She proceeded to come back everyday of our stay. It was the smartest duck I had ever seen. BTW: The duck had a distinctive marking that we were always able to tell it was the original.

[mindflipper]

I've seen some freaky wildlife at WDW. A giant mouse in a tux. A giant duck wearing a shirt but no pants. And the chipmunks, the giant chipmunks. I still have nightmares.

And you got to be careful, because I've seen reports on the news where guests have traumatic encounters, especially a giant yellow dog that can walk on its hind legs or a tiger that also walks upright with a bouncy tale. Sounds like the makings of a new reality show, "When Theme-Park Animals Attack!"

[Fantastory]

I work at Animal Kingdom and oh boy, the wildlife. I love the little brown lizards, and we have these MASSIVE cricket-things. Maybe grasshoppers, I don't know, but they're yellow, black, and green and the size of my hand, and like to hang around Theater in the Wild and Everst. I let one climb onto my (latex-gloved) hand one day, then shook it off when I realized it had nowhere to go but up my arm. Those little feet are sticky! The ibis (little white birds with the long curved beaks) are everywhere and always nest in the trees on the Camp Minnie-Mickey side of Oasis bridge at night. The egrets (huge white birds!) congregate around the turkey leg cart outside Dinoland (cannibals) and I've seen them actually menace guests for their turkey. I haven't actually seen the snakes yet but I constantly have to tell people to not climb on a certain statue for fear they'll fall in and get bit. We have a surprising amount of mourning doves, too, that kids love to chase because they look like little grey pidgeons. The ducks love it everywhere - they especially seem to like the Camp funnelcakes - and you have to be careful walking around the Oasis because they fly low! One of these days they're going to whack someone in the back of the head. (Funny story, there. A friend of mine was backstage at AK with coworkers and two birds flew smack into each other in the air. They both fell down dead. The CMs were like "...what?")

The bunnies are sweet. We try to keep guests from feeding the wildlife as best we can (though they do it anyway) but a few weeks ago I found a little girl and her grandma sitting on an out-of-the-way bench and a bunny had come RIGHT UP TO them from behind (the bench was against a planter, so it was face-height for the girl). They were feeding it the carrots from the girl's kids meal and it was eating them right out of her hand. It was so cute and I've never seen a rabbit get that close to a human voluntarily, so I just watched with them until it got full and hopped away. Most adorable thing ever. Of course, it's fairly common for kids to be on the safari or near the majestic tigers and then "Look mom, a bunny!" *headdesk*

The squirrels. Good lord, the squirrels. They are everywhere at AK and once you feed them they DON'T go away. Especially around stroller parking - I spent 10 minutes hanging around Lion King strollers because a squirrel had actually chewed through a lady's bag for the food inside. I wrote her a note and moved the bag into the stroller, but the squirrel came back and just moved onto her other bag. It creeps me out when squirrels run right up to a human or don't run away when you shoo them or smack their tails, makes me think rabies. I found a family feeding a squirrel grapes once with their fingers literally one inch from its mouth. I moved the people back and went to shoo the squirrel off with my sweeper...little sucker attacks my broom! I do not like that squirrel. I've started naming the ones with distinctive markings.

[Amy]

Great stories Fantastory! You've got the inside scoop on the wildlife ~ cool!
The scarlet ibis was one of my favorites at the old Discovery Island, but I really loved the Spoonbills ~ those are an awesome looking bird

[jeebz68]

Have you ever seen any wildlife at WDW that you didn't expect to see?
I've heard they employ a gator wrangler for the occasional alligator that strolls onto the property. I remember reading in the guide we received at FW check-in if we ever saw a gator, and I think it said cotton-mouths and another type of poisonous snake, to contact a CM immediately . We were always looking in the creeks of Ft. Wilderness when we stayed there in hopes of getting a glimps of(little)one. The armedillos were a real treat for us yankees as well. Saw my first one, then many, at Ft. Wilderness . And those adorable bunnies that run wild in FTW! So cute, yet I wonder if Disney has had a problem with them procreating and taking over the resort .

The Company has a department simply called 'Pest Control', they handle everything from ants and bees to gators, etc. Working in at MK, it was common to either be on the phone requesting them or seeing them backstage taking their catch out. A few times a month you would see a CM from Frontierland staring aimlessly at the water of the Rivers of America from the view of the Guests, however they were on gator patrol. Once a gator was reported to be in one of the many waterways in the parks/resorts, Pest Control was notified and a CM was put on watch so the animal isnt lost and Guests arent put in danger. All this usually goes on without the Guests knowledge, which helps preserve the Magic were making!