Leisure: Caution: Live Animals

From Mickey and Goofy to the Lion King’s Timon and Pumbaa, animals have been valued–and immensely profitable–members of the Disney family. But caring for the live creatures at Animal Kingdom is different from controlling the animated critters for which the company has been famous. Over the past six months, more than a dozen animals have died at the Disney zoo or on their way there. Last week, prompted by the string of deaths, the U.S. Department of Agriculture launched an investigation to determine whether Disney has violated the Animal Welfare Act.

Among the animals that died were four cheetah cubs, two hippos and two rhinos. The causes of their demise ranged from heart attack to kidney failure, the latter possibly brought on by ethylene glycol, the main ingredient in antifreeze. Two otters also died, one after gorging itself on seeds from nearby loquat trees. Disney has uprooted the trees and removed them from the habitat.

Animal-rights activists claim the deaths are further evidence of Disney’s abysmal record with wildlife. They recall the cruelty charges brought against the entertainment giant after six vultures died at its Discovery Island park in 1989. “When it comes to animals,” says Joe Taksel, managing director of the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida, “Disney should stick to Mickey Mouse.” Some activists plan to picket the park on opening day.

Outside zoo authorities say the company is getting a bad rap. All zoos experience attrition, and a dozen or so deaths among a population of more than 1,000 is not out of line with the norm. “Eventually, all of them will die,” says Jane Ballentine, a spokeswoman for the American Zoo and Aquarium Association. “Just like humans.”

That didn’t lessen the embarrassment when two East African crowned cranes died during the final weeks of preparation for the park’s April 22 grand opening. Both times one of the birds darted beneath an open-air tram on the Kilimanjaro Safari ride and was killed. Disney officials called the deaths “unfortunate accidents,” but the remaining cranes were moved to a location near a walking trail, and the trams were outfitted with additional mirrors to improve visibility for drivers.

The irony is that Animal Kingdom sees itself as joining the ranks of the new, state-of-the-art Uber-zoos, like those in the Bronx, San Diego and Washington, whose mission is to help save species from extinction by breeding and studying them in captivity and, when possible, returning their descendants to the wild. Critics argue that the new zoos are merely high-tech amusement parks masquerading as research centers and that they divert funds from legitimate habitat-conservation programs. To be fair, several species have been saved through the efforts of these zoos. But as the deaths at Animal Kingdom show, it can be tricky to mix ecology and entertainment. “What we’re experiencing,” says Disney spokesman Bill Warren, “is what you really can’t plan for in many cases–and that is the unknowns in dealing with exotic animals.”

–By Tammerlin Drummond/Orlando