Caution: Friendly Animals At WDW

[Feralpeg]

The wild animals such as squirrels and rabbits are very friendly at WDW. They are so used to people that they are not afraid to approach. Please be aware that there has been a larger than normal number of rabid animals reported recently in central Florida. Don't be afraid of the animals at WDW. They are adorable, but use some caution when letting your children approach them. Better to be safe.

 

[ellenmiele]

Actually, small rodents (squirrels, mice) and lagamorphs (rabbits) are 2 groups of animals that are almost never infected with rabies and have not been associated with transmission of the diease to humans in the US. Therefore they are not considered high risk unless they are behaving strangely or appear sick. Depending on just how many incidences of rabies have been diagnosed in FL, I suppose this may change but the CDC website has excellent information on the topic of rabies and state or local health departments should always be consulted in cases of wild animal bite for the final determination as to whether post-exposure prevention (i.e. rabies shots) would be indicated.

 

[civileng68]

While most everyone ignores the sayings not to feed the animals, one day while feeding little ducks at the Animal Kingdom, an employee told me a story about why they dont like people feeding animals..............she was VERY nice and I'm glad she did this.

She explained how that while what we think we are doing is good and nice for the animal, their bodies do not break down the chemicals and types of foods we feed them and they literally can die to heart attacks or choking or not digesting the food. She said even bread can badly damage a duck or bird.

 

[ReggieB]

Popcorn is really bad for birds, as it expands in their stomachs. They think they are full so don't eat...never feed popcorn to animals.

 

[wfloyd]

Judging from the number of sea gulls that eat popcorn and still wind up multiplying, I think they must be immune. Although maybe if we fed them enough popcorn they would stop attacking people as they walked across the parks.