Babies of the Animal Kingdom Theme Park and Resort

Animal Operations Director of Disney’s Animal Programs Matt Hohne shares the excitement of the baby warthogs that were born in February. There are five baby warthogs, three males and two females.

The piglets, which are still backstage, weighed 1 ½ to just over 2 pounds at birth. Adult females weigh 110-165 pounds and adult males are larger, ranging from 130-330 pounds. We expect the piglets to be out on the Kilimanjaro Safaris savanna with their mom by late April.

With the new additions, we now have four male and three female warthogs at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. In the wild, warthogs are designated as vulnerable due to habitat destruction and being hunted for meat.

Warthog Fun Facts:

Although the upper tusks are more impressive, it is the sharper lower tusks that are the warthog’s principal weapons.

Warts, which are prominent only on males, are skin growths and have no bony support. The warts are located on the side of the head and in front of the eyes. They serve to cushion blows sustained during battles over females.

Warthogs usually take over the abandoned burrows of other animals instead of making their own dens.

In the wild, warthogs’ habitat is widespread-they live in all African countries south of the Sahara Desert.

Over at Kidani Village, Animal Kingdom Lodge, the baby okapi can now be seen on the Pembe savannah. For optimal viewing take the path back by the Kidani Village pool to the viewing area for Pembe. If they are out and about, this is where you will see mom and the now 187+ pound youngster.

This female okapi was born in November, 2011. It’s unusual to see an okapi in a mixed-species savanna habitat, and guests are enjoying this special opportunity to observe, and snap photos of mom, Zoe, and her 5-month-old calf, whom the team named “Makemba” (an African name that means “goddess”). The Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge animal care team and savanna guides are having a great time sharing okapi fun facts with the resort guests: Did you know that the okapi, despite its stripes, is a relative of the giraffe and not the zebra?