Animal barriers in Animal Kingdom

[southernbelle20]

Just wondering about the animal barriers. I know they are supposed to be invisable, but really, how do they keep the animals from attacking us? Just thinking about the tiger attack in California and it got me wondering....

 

[TheDisneyGirl02]

I don't know the exact details, but basically there are moats that seperate the animals from us. If you look very carefully, you can see them, especially around the lions. Hopefully somebody else can provide a bit more information. I've never once felt unsafe though.

 

[Safari Queen]

There are many different kinds of controls on the dangerous, carnivorous animals -- electrified metal "fans" that the animals don't cross, moats, chasms -- whatever works best for the particular animal. For instance, the tigers are behind glass and high walls, the pool wall slants back in the hippo poolso they cannot climb out, and there's a hidden moat around the lions. Vegetarians go where they please. As long as you stay where you belong, you'll be absolutely safe.

 

[Disney1976]

As pp have said, Disney has taken numerous precautions so that no guests are harmed while on the safari (or walking the trails) AND so that the carnivorous animals don't decide to snack on the vegetarian animals. You won't see a lot of what they do (Disney magic at work) but it IS there, and you need not worry.

Also, maybe the book is still out on that tiger attack, but wasn't the latest information that the victims were drunk and/or high and may have provoked the tiger? Obviously the zoo should have had better guards in place, but they weren't the only ones responsible.

 

[wilde_oscar]

it is all done via magic... kinda like the way the dolls for Small World are made from real children.

 

[froggygrrrl]

Barriers? I'm just banking on the fact that I probably taste gamey and that there are plenty more people that are scrumptuous, namely teenagers, with slingshots that provoke humanthirsty tigers. Yum!

 

[aspcamhreditor2]

Most of what you say makes sense ... hidden methods we aren't supposed to see and veggie-lovers more at large. Explains why we could almost touch a giraffe once on the safari. But, the safari brings up a question .... our last trip in Dec. '05 was a TREMENDOUS safari in terms of close animals, seeing alot, etc. One of the things my DDs still both talk about .... the rhino that charged our jeep. There is certainly nothing really right there along the route that you can say ... of course there wouldn't be .... you are supposed to feel like you are on Safari. But, let me tell ya' ... he got CLOSE. And, then just turned. I always wondered what magic device we couldn't see did that!

 

[Robo]

One of the things my DDs still both talk about .... the rhino that charged our jeep. There is certainly nothing really right there along the route that you can say ... of course there wouldn't be .... you are supposed to feel like you are on Safari. But, let me tell ya' ... he got CLOSE. And, then just turned. I always wondered what magic device we couldn't see did that!

Yes, we've been charged by rhino a couple of times.
Its far from the norm, however.
(Most guests on the attraction never see a rhino charge.)

Sometimes the rhinos can get territorial about their areas being invaded.

They stop short of butting the ride vehicles not because of "hidden magic" but more likely because they don't want to hurt themselves... and because the vehicle is not really moving aggressively back towards the charging animal.

(Yes, I know, take away his credit card and a rhino can't charge anything.)

 

[bradk]

this guy stuck his horn under the truck we were in and rocked it.. probably about 3x. needless to say our objective at that point was not to piss him off and hope he got bored with us

the animals that could cause some serious damage on the safari are restricted to an extent. giraffes are overly friendly and aren't really too much of a threat. the elephants are restricted but they have some freedom as well, but basically elephants are taught their boundaries (when you see those burlap 'walls' up around areas when there are babies (they say something like harambe relocation project or something like that), that's what they're there for - elephants see them as physical impenetrable objects and they're slowly lowered and the elephant just remembers they can't go past it - it's how ringling bros gets into that infamous practice of keeping a 'jumbo' elephant 'tied' with a little piece of rope because as an infant, the elephant learned that the rope restricted their movements, so even as adults, even though they could snap the rope as if it was nothing, they see it as an object they can't overcome.

now probably the 'free-est' animals are the gibbons. they do have some hotwire that would discourage them from leaving their posts, but ultimately if they wanted to, they could probably find a way.

so what keeps most of the animals at bay? they're more afraid of you than you are of them. that's why programs are in place at zoos and wildlife parks that actively try to prevent domesticating the animals and making them complacent and unafraid of humans.

 

[disnut8]

so what keeps most of the animals at bay? they're more afraid of you than you are of them. that's why programs are in place at zoos and wildlife parks that actively try to prevent domesticating the animals and making them complacent and unafraid of humans.

Very true. And when one person taunts an animal or throws something at them or otherwise behaves stupidly, the animals get confused. It will do what it does - act like an animal. If a person behaves like a human and treats the animal with respect, the animal will respond in kind.

One of my pet peeves is going to a zoo and seeing a kid or adult banging on a glass display case. Just because the animal isn't moving.

 

[SandrainNC]

When I read about the vehicle that caught on fire the other day, my first thought was what if the people had to evacuate in the rhino area?? Because I have heard about them occasionally charging the vehicle.

Sandra