A new set of kangaroos and wallabies is keeping things hopping at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
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The animals — collectively known as a mob — make up the population of Jumping Junction, an attraction at the theme park’s Conservation Station. Visitors there are in close proximity to the full-time furry residents. They’re inside the fencing too.
“Having the ability to actually share space with animals, it just lets you connect with them on a different level,” Maggie Mariolis, a zoological manager at Walt Disney World, said during a tour of the Jumping Junction this week.
“Animal Kingdom is known for inviting our guests to come in and kind of creating their own story, where they get to be the center of that adventure,” she said. “Having a walkabout — almost a Kilimanjaro Safari that you can do on foot — is just the next way for us to give our guests an opportunity to have a bigger adventure.”
There are rules, people. Visitors must stay on the winding pathway within the fencing, and touching the animals is not allowed. Small groups of people are toured around by cast members, loaded with marsupial information.
Meanwhile, the kangaroos and wallabies roam free, exploring and foraging, sometimes approaching the humans. These animals are crepuscular, Mariolis said, meaning they are most active around sunrise and sunset. They are more likely to bounce around, like they have a case of the zoomies, at those times.
“Once the day gets to be the hottest point of the day, you’ll see them doing exactly what they’re supposed to do — napping,” Mariolis said.
Kangaroos are more social than the wallabies, perhaps because they’re bigger, she said.
“They’ve adapted very quickly to being Disney stars, especially the joeys,” Mariolis said.
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The Jumping Junction group features six wallabies, 10 red kangaroos and two Western grey kangaroos, which are less than 2 years old. This is a different set of animals than the Western greys seen near the park’s Tree of Life. That’s a breeding group, Mariolis said, and the Jumping Junction mob is not.
The new additions have two yards to explore, with shrubs, shade structures and edible plants. Wallabies, which typically live in forested areas, are inclined to find their shade, while the kangaroos, hailing from more desert-like areas, tend to dig holes in the dirt and lie down.
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There’s an adjacent barn, where the animals typically spend their evenings.
The wallabies and kangaroos were introduced to their space in early May, and Disney gradually allowed more interaction with people, first with keepers and select cast members, then with the public, at a distance outside the fencing. Jumping Junction officially opened in June.
Before all that, they were quarantined and given medical exams to establish baseline physical health. They had CAT scans, which help with their dental care.
A lot of their lives are spent grazing and moving quickly, so energy and eating are required, said Joy Boyer, an education guide at the attraction.
“Being able to sustain that with their food is a high priority,” she said. “Without those teeth, it’s going to be harder to break down a lot of their diet, so it’s really important for them to be able to pluck and pull and then send it back to kind of grind up.”
Like other animals at the theme park, the kangaroos are being encouraged to participate in their own health care. In this case, it’s pouch-check training, and it’s not unlike a pediatrician armed with lollipops.
“Our keepers here are trying to train to get them to present the pouch so that the keepers can see how things are going for them without, you know, crossing boundaries — making sure the animals are comfortable the entire time, so the ‘roos can kind of present the pouch, and then they’ll get positive reinforcement,” Boyer said.
Visitors may see the animals move rapidly around the perimeter, use their tails for balance and display “boxing” behavior. Keepers set up enrichment activities and monitor their eating preferences (favorites include corn and sweet potatoes).
“This is their space, and we are guests in their space,” Mariolis said.
Jumping Junction is set up in the former location of Affection Section, a petting zoo. It’s adjacent to the new Bluey’s Wild World, a character-driven play experience. Together they create an Australian atmosphere. The area is accessed via the Wildlife Express Train.
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