Located south of Walt Disney World Resort, the preserve sits at the top of the headwaters of the Everglades watershed and  is home to more than 1,000 species of plants and animals including bald eagles, sandhill cranes, wild turkeys and red-shouldered hawks.

Open to hikers and bird-watchers, the Preserve is  a national model of innovative, large-scale conservation that was created in the early 1990s when The Walt Disney Company donated 8,500 acres to The Nature Conservancy as part of a visionary approach to responsible development and mitigation.

“We learned everything we know about wetlands restoration there,” says Tricia Martin, director of conservation for The Nature Conservancy chapter inCentral Florida. “It was the first project to take on the challenge of transforming an entire degraded landscape back to a healthy, functioning ecosystem—one right at the head of the Everglades.”

The scope of the work and the large scale ecosystem approach to mitigation represented a sea change in conventional thinking— and a unique collaboration among government, conservation organizations and business. The conservation and restoration work is already improving the quality and quantity of water within the Greater Everglades and has served as a springboard for The Nature Conservancy’s work in the larger landscape.

Visit the Disney Wilderness Preserve web site: http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/florida/placesweprotect/the-disney-wilderness-preserve.xml

The day-long event is designed for “birders” of all skill levels. Disney Cast Members with an affinity for bird watching taught the Girl Scouts which birds are found in Central Florida in the winter and how to recognize bird calls in the wild.

Together Cast Members and Girl Scouts counted 107 different bird species and over 16,000 individual birds, including 20 Bald Eagles, at Walt Disney World Resort. This year, Holiday Bird Count participants even spotted some species new to the resort, like the Virginia Rail.

Information gathered during the counting is shared with conservation organizations, enabling them to follow trends in bird populations and help focus conservation efforts.

One new event at the Walt Disney World Holiday Bird County was the Family Birding Festival, where the Girl Scouts and Cast Members’ kids participated in a variety of fun activities that included a nature walk.

To watch the video from the event, click here

As a licensed wildlife rehabilitation center, Walt Disney World Resort is one of several organizations working with the New England Aquarium to provide medical care for the weak sea turtles after the New England Aquarium sea turtle hospital reached capacity. Disney’s Animal Programs’ team members picked up the sea turtles and provided thorough medical assessments including x-rays and blood tests.

Sea turtles are vulnerable to cold weather and frigid waters that lower their body temperatures and slow their metabolism, which could lead to life-threatening comas.

“The team at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and The Seas with Nemo & Friends celebrate and conserve turtles and tortoises every day,” said Jackie Ogden, Ph.D., vice president, of Animals, Science and Environment for Disney Parks. ”Over the years, our animal care team has nursed more than 300 endangered sea turtles back to health and released them back to the wild.”

Currently, Disney’s animal care experts are focused on increasing the turtles’ body weight and strength for open water swimming in the ocean. According to the care team, the sea turtles are eating well and recovering nicely. The ultimate goal is to release them into the wild, under direction of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

In addition to caring for the Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles, Disney’s Animal Programs Cast Members have transported cold-stunned loggerhead sea turtles to other rehabilitation centers in Florida.

Did you know?

• Disney’s Animal Programs often is called upon to help distressed animals. Disney animal care experts help to support the rescue and rehabilitation of hundreds of injured and orphaned animals every year.
• Since its inception, the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund has directed more than $1.1 million to sea turtle conservation efforts.

In addition to providing immediate supplies to help equip a disaster response trailer, the DWCF grant will also help IFAW to plan for the future by providing resources for future response efforts, as well as training sessions for disaster preparedness globally.

According to rescue team members, families affected by the storm were concerned about the welfare of the pets they had to leave behind and were relieved to know that organizations like IFAW were working to ensure that their animals would be safe.

Funding for this DWCF grant was provided by Disney Friends for Change, which contributed the proceeds from the iTunes downloads of various songs including “Rise” and “Send it On.” Guests at Disney Parks and Resorts also help support the DWCF through contributions made at various parks and resorts and even while sailing with Disney Cruise Line.   These contributions as well as the proceeds from various programs, tours and merchandise are all directed to the DWCF annual conservation grants program to help engage people and protect wildlife around the world. Disney matches guest contributions and covers all administrative costs.

This year the DWCF celebrated a $20 million milestone of giving through its various programs to support the study of wildlife, the protection of habitats and the development of community conservation and education programs in critical ecosystems around the world.

The DWCF has supported IFAW’s efforts for more than 10 years, including the rescue of 20,000 endangered penguins from an oil spill in South Africa in 2000, and support for the animal victims of Hurricane Katrina, the Asian tsunami and the Haiti earthquake.

For the Horns to Heroes project, Harmon used one of the rhinos he cares for as a model to make 40 horns by hand using a process known as rotational casting. The pieces are made of foam-filled resin and stand 16 inches tall and 7 inches wide.

He then recruited Central Florida painters, tattoo artists, sculptors, graffiti artists, illustrators, photographers and special-effects artists to create original and unique works of art. Each one was auctioned off with proceeds benefitting the International Rhino Foundation which funds research programs and helps protect threatened rhino populations in Africa and Asia.

“By supporting the International Rhino Foundation, The Horns and Heroes Project will help fund programs that support the courageous and dedicated rangers who risk their lives to stop poaching and give rhinos a chance at survival,” said Harmon. “We’re hoping that these works of art will help spark more conversation about how to protect these species.”

Though at one time there were 30 living species of rhino, only five species remain today, and those populations are facing the severe threat of extinction. Without immediate action, some rhinos could be extinct within the next 20 years, due to poaching, forest loss, habitat conversion and encroaching human settlements.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom currently includes a herd of white rhinos. Since the park opened in 1998, nine rhinos have been born at Disney’s Animal Kingdom as part of a white rhino breeding program coordinated by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The program focuses on sustaining the white rhino population in North America.

Guests at Disney’s Animal Kingdom were able to learn about these often misunderstood birds during International Vulture Awareness Day Sept. 5. This special celebration originated in South Africa in 2006 and was designed to raise awareness and learn more about conservation efforts to protect vultures

Guests participated in a variety of activities that included trying on a replica of vulture wings, creating a craft vulture or vulture mask, learning about digestion and even taking part in a vulture meet-and-greet.

Between Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, three species of vultures are on exhibit including:

·         Lappet-faced vultures, which unlike the other species of vultures, lack a good sense of smell;

·         Black vultures, are smaller in comparison and have a wingspan of five feet, while others can reach nearly eight feet;

·         Ruppel’s griffon vultures are highly social, can fly more than three miles in six minutes and are able to stay in the air for as many as six to seven hours a day.

“Awareness and knowledge about the environment are the first steps in appreciating vultures, which help to keep the earth cleaner and disease-free,” said Jackie Ogden, Ph.D. vice president of Disney’s Animals, Science and Environment for Disney Parks and Resorts. “People also can support conservation efforts that help vultures survive in their ecosystems, such as the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund.”

Since the first International Vulture Awareness Day six years ago, the event has expanded around the world, focusing on issues and conservation programs that are affecting these birds.