Care, feeding of a (closed) Kingdom

A conversation with a Disney Parks executive on the current reality.

COMMENTARY place,” says Penning, who has been with the company since 2012.

We chatted about baby zebras, the animals’ air-conditioned bedrooms, an unusual Earth Day 2020, the physical beauty of a theme park that’s (temporarily) closed and his educated guess about which DAK residents might be missing park guests.

Here’s what Penning, in his own words, had to say …

We’ve got this young-ish gorilla, Lilly. Lilly’s just the funniest character. She will take a banana leaf or something like that or a piece of enrichment, wrap it around herself and then roll down the hill towards the window where the guests are watching. And the guests find it hysterically funny, and she loves the fact that what she did made everybody react, so she’ll go and do it again. I think she’s probably looking up and saying ‘This is a little boring. Where’s my audience?’”

JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL Gino, the patriarch of the western lowland gorilla troop at Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail, forages at the habitat at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

WALT DISNEY CO. Mark Penning, Disney Parks’ vice president for animals, science and environment, comes face to face with a porcupette.