As big of a deal as Disney made about the new finale including Zebras on Kilimanjaro Safaris at Animal Kingdom, the Zebras were quietly removed from the attraction recently. Disney has sited “acclimation” issues for the animals, deciding that thew new home just wasn’t working out. Some insider reports claim that the zebras were troublesome and would constantly block the vehicle path or bite each-other and attack vehicles filled with guests. Whatever the reason, they were removed and will be replaced with Addax:
Here’s video of the Zebras from when they debuted in “Zebra Glen” back in November:
Glad I got to see them during their short stay.
The Addax were there last week when we were there. We saw the zebras in December so I was surprised when we did the safari last week and Addax were there instead.
Ridiculous. No one knew the overall demeanor or behavior of Zebras before this?! Boooooooo.
It's unfortunate that these lovely animals didn't settle as they expected in one of our favourite parks, they are one of the great 'children's favourites' as wild animals.
(Wrong Park Brand – But can't help think of Marty the Singing Zebra, trying to think up a cunning escape plan!)
I think putting the zebras there was a great idea. Too bad it doesn't seem to be working. I actually spoke to this problem back in 2012 in another article, which addresses why we see a cage on one side of the dolphin habitat at the Living Seas. See http://disneyatwork.com/2012/02/the-morning-repor…
I doubt we will ever see much of them again along the trail, though I think I've seen them from time to time over at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge. They will also probably seen in the distance when you cross the rickety bridge. That's where they've been confined for some time.
Can't wait to try the Zebra burger they will introduce soon.
Not sure why they tried this because the zebras already showed this behavier earlier. Why would they stop?
I like the new animals they put in there.
Nice to see they ruined the end of the ride for something that didn't work out. My kids loved the old version of Kilimanjaro with the chase at the end. We rode the new version in December and it was kind of a let down.
Trial & Error, Dani. You don't know how good it will be until you try it.
This is surprising to hear as they were just added a couple of months ago. I assume in the future the zebras will be visible from some other area, say the Animal Kingdom Lodge?
They are already at Animal Kingdom Lodge
We were there on Friday (March 29), and we saw the zebras while on Kilimanjaro Safaris. We had ridden it earlier in the week and didn't see them, but they were definitely there around 4:00 on Friday afternoon.
Exactly. San Diego Zoo's Safari Park (Previously "Wild Animal Park"), determined this problem years ago. They built a fence around their zebras.
Disney mentioned they moved the zebras here originally because they were causing problems with the other animals, I'm sure simple oversight led to no one considering that they could be problems for the trucks as well.
The moral of this story is that equine animals are angry, territorial beasts.