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Animal Kingdom Carries Environmental
Message
The Messages Will Be Everywhere.
They will be in the story lines of the
rides and attractions and in the pre-show spiels used to
distract tourists waiting in long lines. They will be
found on signs along a nature trail overlooking the
savanna and on paper cups and menus in the restaurants.
You may even find them while using the
bathroom, where there has been talk of displaying such
odd trivia as this: When hippos scatter their feces to
mark their territory, they add important nutrients to the
waterways where they live.
Wildlife education and conservation
messages are nothing new at zoos and other animal parks.
But Disney's Animal Kingdom aims to take these efforts to
a new level that reaches a mass audience.
 And
while the $800 million park still is months away from
opening, the early consensus is that Disney has what it
takes to achieve its goal: big money; a multimedia
entertainment empire; enough room for large enclosures;
animal experts from the nation's most respected zoos;
and, thanks in part to millions of dollars in Disney
grants, the support of many zoos and wildlife groups.
Animal Kingdom, dubbed "a new
species of theme park" in marketing and on
merchandise, will open May 6 to enormous expectations,
both from tourists looking for a good time and from
wildlife advocates looking for a commitment to
conservation.
Few details have emerged as Disney
officials race to finish work on everything from school
programs and employee training to special merchandise and
guided nature walks.
But from the day it was announced, Walt
Disney World's fourth theme park has been touted as
having a mission not only to entertain but to change
attitudes about wildlife and to promote conservation.
This hybrid of zoo and theme park will
have high-tech rides, glitzy shows and a simulated
African "safari." But Animal Kingdom officials
say the park also will emulate the nation's best zoos in
its zeal to promote conservation through education,
breeding, on-site research and work at field locations
throughout the world.
Bob Lamb, the park's vice president,
describes the project as "the most important thing
I've ever done."
 The
close-knit zoo and wildlife conservation community seems
confident that Animal Kingdom can have greater impact
than any zoo in the country.
"It remains to be seen the level
of conservation that will actually be accomplished but
they have started out in a very strong way," said
Terry Maple, director of Zoo Atlanta and an unpaid
adviser to Disney on Animal Kingdom's development.
The marriage of theme park and zoo
isn't new to Central Florida. Sea World of Florida and
its sister park, Busch Gardens in Tampa, highlight
threats to wildlife in exhibits and shows.
But Animal Kingdom could reach a lot
more people. If the new park matches the track record of
other Disney parks, attendance could grow to 10 million
or more a year.
Animal Kingdom also will be part of a
global entertainment empire that includes television,
movies, merchandise, computer software and on-line
services.
With that high profile will come
intense scrutiny. But Disney may have deflected some
potential criticism through its Wildlife Conservation
Fund, a grant-making organization created in 1995, the
year Animal Kingdom was announced.
Wildlife Grants Awarded
The fund has sponsored scores of
projects and generated considerable goodwill among zoos
and conservation organizations. Recipients range from the
Central Florida Zoo, which will compete with Disney for
visitors, to Zoo Atlanta, which has lost key personnel to
Animal Kingdom.
The American Zoo and Aquarium
Association, which accredits zoos, has received Disney
grant money for a wide variety of projects, including a
study of tuberculosis in the bongo antelope and
publication of the AZA's annual report.
Disney does not reveal the amount of
individual awards because of intense competition for
grants in the zoo community. Overall, though, the fund
has provided more than $1 million annually since its
inception. Company officials expect that figure to climb
once the park opens.
Groups Support Project
Disney estimates it spends $4 million
per year on conservation programs, including grants,
research and education.
 "It's
a pretty big commitment from an operation that hasn't
started yet," observed William Conway, president of
New York's Wildlife Conservation Society, a leading
proponent of conservation work by zoos. His group has
also received numerous grants from Disney.
Because funding in the zoo community
often is tight, Disney's grant program almost ensures
their support, said Richard Farinato, director of the
Humane Society of the United States' captive wildlife
protection program. The Humane Society has not received
grant money from Disney.
"It's a wise move because it puts
Disney right into the captive animal community," he
said. "It could be interpreted as greasing the
wheel."
Even as Disney rallies the support of
the zoo community, opening an animal park exposes the
company to new public relations challenges. For example,
some animals -- perhaps some very popular ones -- will
get sick and die. And whether they die of natural causes
or not, people will ask questions.
"Caring for live animals brings up
ethical issues and public relations issues ... that
aren't there with animatronics," said Michael
Hutchins, director of conservation and science for the
AZA and another Animal Kingdom adviser.
Top Zoo Managers Hired
Hutchins and others in the zoo
community are confident Disney is up to the challenge in
part because the company has hired away some of the
country's top zoo managers. Many of them have played
pivotal roles in AZA-run breeding programs and other
wildlife preservation efforts.
With the park's key managers largely in
place, the company is finishing plans for incorporating
conservation inside and outside Animal Kingdom.
 It
starts with incoming hourly employees. Animal Kingdom
officials have developed a day-and-a-half's worth of
extra training that will go along with the usual
orientation. The goal is to familiarize everyone -- from
popcorn vendors to the cleaning crew -- with all of the
ways the park will preach conservation.
For visitors, the focal point of the
park's educational programs will be an area called
Conservation Station. There, visitors will be able to
talk with Disney scientists or perhaps watch footage of a
rain forest project supported by the wildlife fund.
Disney also is developing special
programs for high school and middle school students. For
example, students might spend a few hours at a
"backstage" vantage point where they could
observe animals for a science lab.
"This park is not about getting
people so excited about animals that they want to have a
lion as a pet," said Beth Stevens, conservation and
science director at Animal Kingdom. "It's about
wanting people to be excited about animals in wild
places."
Park To Teach Lessons
On a broader level, the park will weave
many of its conservation messages into traditional
attractions. Animal Kingdom's towering icon, the Tree of
Life, focuses on bio-diversity with its intricate
carvings of animals. Countdown to Extinction, a ride that
will be the central attraction in the park's DinoLand,
U.S.A. area, has a more obvious theme.
Judson Green, president of Walt Disney
Attractions, emphasized there is a lot of room to expand
on the park's programs and attractions. He suggested TV
specials, programs on the Disney Channel and other
spin-offs.
Animal Kingdom, like most large zoos,
also will breed endangered species, including black
rhinos and lowland gorillas. Research on animal behavior
and other aspects of wildlife management also will be
prominent at the park.
Still, it's unclear whether Disney can
live up to its "new species of theme park" tag
line.
But even a skeptic such as Farinato
sees reason for hope. Disney has immense influence over
Americans, along with a proven track record when it comes
to capturing people's attention and imagination, Farinato
said.
But he added that education often is
overshadowed by entertainment at zoos. He cited studies
showing that zoo visitors spend no more than 30 seconds
reading signs.
 "There's
no definitive work to show that zoo education is
effective," he said. "There's no real proof of
that."
Farinato wonders whether Disney can be
any different, particularly because the theme park will
be home not only to animal exhibits but to shows and
thrill rides.
Those doubts, combined with opposition
to keeping healthy wild animals in captivity, already is
spurring criticism of the not-yet-open theme park by some
animal rights groups.
People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals, for example, aims to build on an earlier call
for travel agents to boycott the park. The group says
Disney has an abysmal track record on animal care,
pointing to the 1989 cruelty charges brought against
Disney and its employees in connection with the deaths
and mistreatment of vultures at Discovery Island.
The charges were dropped after Disney
made changes at that attraction, although the company
never admitted any wrongdoing.
Talk Is `Hypocrisy'
PETA is considered one of the more
hard-line groups, but other animal rights advocates also
plan to raise the issue as a counterpoint to the
company's talk about conservation at Animal Kingdom.
"It's utter hypocrisy, given their
history," said Jennifer O'Connor, a cruelty case
worker at PETA.
The consensus in the zoo community,
however, seems to be that Disney learned from the 1989
incident and is making a genuine effort to address the
needs of endangered wildlife. Maple, of Zoo Atlanta,
points to the AZA's decision to hold its annual
conference at Walt Disney World in 2000 as a clear vote
of confidence.
But even he, a supporter who has had
considerable influence on the park's development, is
reserving judgment until after it opens.
"This goes far beyond just opening
your gates and letting people come in and see animals
living in a very good zoo," he said. "It's what
they do (after) the revenues are in and the accountants
have done their work -- that's where the opportunity
lies... .
"The real question is what do you
do outside Orlando."
Source:
Date: |
By Christine
Shenot and Jill Jorden Spitz, Published in The
Orlando Sentinel,
September 28, 1997 |
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