Disney Celebrates the births of 3000 New Baby Animals in 2020

Cuteness alert! We have updates on some of your favorite Disney babies, including the aardvark!

3000 Baby Animals

Disney is celebrating this Thanksgiving by expressing gratitude for the 3000 new lives that came to Walt Disney World this year. That’s right…3000.

While the human world has had a rough year in 2020, Disney animals are going strong! Earlier today, Disney Parks Blog released a message in celebration of all the successful births.

Invertebrates!

Disney has been quite vocal in sharing news surrounding the births of giraffes, rhinos, and zebras, but did you know that this year Disney has welcomed over 1000 new snails? This year a huge number of Partula Snails emerged at Disney.

According to Disney Parks Blog, ” These little ones actually produce one offspring every 4-6 weeks and can reproduce without a partner. The baby reaches maturity between three and six months and can start producing their own offspring.” (2020).

No wonder Disney ended up with so many snails. Curious about what they look like? Check out this photo below.

In addition to these snails, Disney welcomed 1500 other invertebrates to the World. These included multiple types of insects and arachnids.

If you want to see some of Disney’s invertebrates in real life, you can head  to the aquariums at The Seas with Nemo & Friends at Epcot or the Conservation Station at Rafiki’s Planet Watch.

Rhinos

This year Disney announced three white rhino pregnancies. For the full story on when to expect these babies, head here.

On October 25, Animal Kingdom’s Kendi gave birth to the first of the three. While he is still unnamed, he looks like he is doing well.

He is certainly growing. He is already up to 200 pounds!

We are looking forward to finding out his name and to one day seeing him out on the savanna. He is projected to join the rest of the crash at Kilimanjaro Safaris in early 2021.

You can read about his birth here. And if you want more baby pictures and stories about this not-so-little-guy, you can check here.

Giraffes

Disney also welcomed a duo of baby Masai giraffes. Two new babies were born within a month of one another.

The babies both have names now! The baby pictured below is called Zella, which according to Disney Parks Blog means, “beautiful girl who knows the path” in Slavic and African languages (2020).

The giraffe pictured below is called Maple. She received the name when her keepers noticed she had a distinct spot shaped like a maple leaf.

Perhaps her leaf marking will make her easy to recognize when she is out and about on the savanna. Maple and Zella will both be making their debuts any day now, so if you spot either of them on an upcoming trip, let us know!

If you missed the original birth story, don’t worry. you can check it out here.

Giraffes Zella and Maple will make their savanna debuts any day!

Horses

You might also remember that Disney’s Tri-Circle D Ranch at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort, we welcomed a filly. They decided to name her violet, and she is doing well!

If you want to pay her a visit, you can. She can be seen at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. daily.

Aardvark 

If you love Disney+’s Magic of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, then you are probably familiar with the very popular love story of two aardvarks. Couple Peanut and Willie captured the hearts of Disney fans everywhere when they starred on the 5th episode.

Not too long ago, Peanut welcomed their baby! To read the full story click here.

The staff named her Karanga, which is Swahili for “Peanut” after her mother. The little one is doing well and growing happily.

Here is a photo for her fans who want to catch a glimpse of her. She is shown enjoying a Pluto plushie!

She was the very first aardvark born at Disney. We are looking forward to being able to see her at Animal Kingdom when the time is right.

Mandrills

Disney also welcomed a Mandrill this year. The baby is named Olive, and she is having fun getting to know her world. You can read her story here.

She can be seen above playing with her grandmother. How cool is it that Disney has multiple generations of animals all living happily together?

Babirusa

You may remember several months ago Disney’s first babirusa came into the world. Staff named the baby Kirana, which means “sunbeam.”

You might have seen her parents Betty and Mentari on Magic of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. They star in episode three, which was cleverly titled “Betty and the Beast.”

Since Kirana was born before the episode aired, you may have been wondering whether the two ever had a baby. But, as you can see the pair did indeed successfully reproduce. To read the full story click here.

From her photos, it looks as if she is growing nicely. Betty is doing well too.

If you want to see the pair made famous by “Magic of Disney’s Animal Kingdom,” we have good news for you! Betty and Kirana can be seen daily in the Oasis in Animal Kingdom.

Zebras, Zebras, Zebras

This year Disney also welcomed quite a few zebras. Five stripped babies were born between Animal Kingdom Lodge and Animal Kingdom.

You may have seen one of the babies on Magic of Disney’s Animal Kingdom as he and the herd were transferred to a new section of the savanna. It is part of episode 3, the same episode featuring the Babirusa.

Now you might be able to see him on Kilimanjaro Safari. Let us know if you happen to spot the herd!

Guests with views of the savanna at Animal Kingdom Lodge might be able to spot some of the other babies. You can read about them here and here.

These babies Laylee, Phoenix, Asha, Kidani, and Zuri bring the total number of zebras born in Disney to 15. We hope the herd continues to grow through the species survival plan.

Conservation

Disney’s Conservation Efforts have certainly been booming in 2020. If you want to see more of these fantastic animals, head over here for a heartwarming compilation video.

To learn more about Disney’s Conservation program, you can visit the web page here. It is definitely a program animal lovers can be thankful for as it has been instrumental in stabilizing populations of many endangered and threatened species.

Have you seen any of these babies in person? Are you excited to try to spot them on an upcoming trip? Let us know on the Kenny the Pirate Facebook page. Don’t forget to join the KtP crew page too!