Wild animals at Walt Disney World

[kaligal]

Lizards, snakes, ugly black and white ducks with red heads...and fire ants.

I've seen bunnies and squirrels, but I don't count them because I'm used to them.

 

[si-am]

We saw an opossum riding the surrey bike we renting at VWL. We couldn't believe our eyes. It walked right across the path.

I really thought at first that the 'possum was riding the bike. Now that would have been a sight!

 

[Emme]

Ok while driving on the bus from POFQ to MK on the side of the road were two pig like creatures with a turkey in between them...maybe boars?? I have never seen a wild "pig" so can't be sure but it looked like a pig . The turkey was actually directly between these two piggies like they were circling it ...

It was actually super amazing and very unexpected

 

[Bullseye]

A long skinny snake came right down the path at me at FTW . He wouldn't yield. I had to leave the path so he could go by...it was embarrasing

Saw little gators by the bridge in frontierland on a couple trips and a wookie at HS.

 

[buckeev]

We've spotted many of the previously mentioned critters, especially a bunch of WT deer last December!
Best show though was the huge jack rabbit that "chased" my daughter into the Contemporary! One of the funniest things I've ever seen in my many years! If I'd known she could run like that, she would've been running track years ago!

 

[wdwmom0f3]

Bus driver told us one time that there are areas Disney can't expand into because of the Florida Panther - protected areas.

That's really wild! I had to google an image to see what you were talking about because I saw a Bob Cat while doing laundry early one morning at Port Orleans Riverside. It was a Bob cat, not a Fl Panther that I saw, I am 100% sure. It was not that big, more like the size of a mid size dog. A man who had been running saw it too and walked in that direction. I saw him looking for it and I opened the door and he asked me if I had seen it. In the dense brush it disappeared real quick. That was the craziest thing I have ever seen there!

We have seen lots of bunnies, turtles, snakes, turkey, deer and even an alligator or two but the bobcat was the scariest to me.

I did see some strange critters though while staying there. They were almost clear looking lizard type things that clung to the ceiling outside of our room and down past other rooms. It creeped me out!!! I felt like they would fall off and land on us at any minute. Anyone know what they are?

 

[mad_for_mickey]

Where were you? Were you scared?

I was not at all scared, since I was in a vehicle. Just fascinated. It was in the median of the road that runs by Port Orleans. It was very obviously stalking something I couldn't see, which I figured was the only reason it was visible out in the open.

I had entertained the idea that it could be a Florida panther, but I thought the geography was a little off, as I didn't think their range extended that far north. In fact, until this thread I had sort of settled on the idea that it was someone's exotic pet that got loose.

 

[Jingle]

I saw a long black skinny snake, probably a black racer, slither across the sidewalk right in front of me. I was at ASMu, going from the Jazz building to the piano pool. I didn't know I had so much spring in my back jump!

 

[Tropical Wilds]

Either my first or second trip to WDW, we were on the Jungle Cruise and our skipper, while into what he was saying, was also quite obviously very rehearsed. He was just rattling through his spiel on one of the scenes when a little kid pointed and asked about the alligator. The skipper very casually said there were no alligators in this part of the jungle, and the kid replied, very impatiently, "Yes there is... He's right THERE!" And we watched as the skipper did a take, then a double take, and then said to us "This very real and authentic trip through the jungle just got a little too real!"

Sure enough, there among the fakey animals on the cheesy Jungle Cruise was a real alligator.

They shut down the ride for the rest of the day to fish the thing out. I personally thought it was the most interesting that the Jungle Cruse had ever been, or has been since.

 

[KMichelin]

Not terribly "wild", but when DF and I were in Epcot in December, we had quite a bit of fun watching a kitty clean itself in front of Test Track. We were walking up for our FP time and noticed this, probably, 6 month old cat smack dab in the middle of the walkway, doing it's thing. Paid no mind to all of the people rushing around it. Funniest part was probably when a little girl shrieked "kitty!!" and charged in it's direction. That thing took off like lightning!

 

[DOOM1001]

I saw a huge deer with horns running in the TTC parking lot,an alligator in the Celebration lake on Main Street,a hawk in a neighborhood just outside DTD and apparently dozens of rabbits in the bushes of Saratoga Springs.

 

[CandleontheWater]

I was not at all scared, since I was in a vehicle. Just fascinated. It was in the median of the road that runs by Port Orleans. It was very obviously stalking something I couldn't see, which I figured was the only reason it was visible out in the open.

I had entertained the idea that it could be a Florida panther, but I thought the geography was a little off, as I didn't think their range extended that far north. In fact, until this thread I had sort of settled on the idea that it was someone's exotic pet that got loose.

I used to work with an environmental services company in Florida that helped with the Panther census, and I'm sorry to say that it was unlikely that you saw a panther. As far as I know there are no known panther populations in that portion of central Florida. There are between 100-120 panthers living in the state currently (numbers are rising! ) but they are mostly south of Lake Okeechobe.

That being said, it could always have been a rouge cat, who somehow wandered its way north. I remember when I was working there was a lot of excitement because there were reports of a panther on a huge undeveloped property in St. Johns county. We didn't find any evidence, but with numbers increasing, its possible in the future we'll be seeing more panthers throughout Florida.

 

[Celine]

I'm jealous of all the sightings!! The most we got to see were those cute bunnies all around our hotel (POR) and, of course, the plethora of lizards everywhere!

 

[Suzanne033]

I will be the first to admit that I was absolutely SHOCKED when I saw an armadillo rooting around in some evergreen bushes near our condo in Kissimmee.

My first comment when my DD and her friends said there was an armadillo was, "you guys are crazy. Armadillos aren't in Florida." I was proved wrong when a cute little armadillo poked his head our from under the bush.

Later on one of the parents actually picked the little guy (or gal) up. A couple of us googled armadillos and found that 1/3 of the cases of leprosy in the US occur in ppl who have come in contact with armadillos. The dad immediately stripped down to his swim trucking and dove into the pool. He sayed there for quite awhile.

 

[bluejasmine]

We see rabbits and deer every trip even saw a deer once with such a huge rack it reminded me of bambi dad! Lol.

See rabbit at all star movies, Cbr, ssr and poly! Seen deer on the side of the road just driving around the property

 

[Pixie Princess]

Count me in for three turkeys in the Magic Kingdom parking lot. We thought that was random!

Me too! There were of 5 or 6 of them just meandering through the MK parking lot. It was funny because it was the Sunday after Thanksgiving. It was as if they new they were "safe" and could come out of hiding.

 

[tofubeast]

Also saw an alligator while eating on one of the decks at Flame Tree Barbecue.

I first read this to be "an alligator eating a duck" haha. I also love the real Jungle Cruise alligator story. Too funny.

I live in FL, so some of the sightings aren't as obvious to me anymore. I've seen a baby alligator in the lake at CSR. Fortunately there was a cement wall separating us, but he seemed interested in my breakfast. I also saw a ton of little grey rabbits at POFQ. I've also seen a huge Yeti during some expedition I took at AK.

 

[Shel]

Not exactly exotic, but while at World Showcase in March we watched a duck and her chicks waddle across the main promenade, into the China pavilion, and then down into the pond in the China pavilion and watched them swim around for a while. It was cool because it was crowded and they just found their way around all the people.

We were also there in March & saw the mama duck & her babies. They were over just across the International Bridge heading away from UK. It was the cutest thing!! And you're right, there were tons of people milling around & she was just leading her babies, and people were getting out of their way.

 

[mamaprincess]

Why am I reading this thread. I may never leave our Treehouse Villa!

 

[AmberHeartsDisney]

Homosapien are every where around that area. Scariest thing I ever did see.