I grew up on an avocado and orange ranch in San Diego County where my family also raised chickens, cattle and pigs. I raised sheep as a 4-H project and had dozens of cats, dogs, and even a peacock as pets. I wanted to be a large animal vet when I grew up with plans to attend CalPoly. But when my lamb got sick and I had to give it a shot, I fainted instead. My weak stomach continued to give me problems. My grandparents lived 1.5 miles away from Disneyland which was built the same year I was born. When my family would go to Disneyland, they couldn’t tell me about their plans because I would throw up in excitement. Instead, my parents would keep it a secret and at the last minute and get off one exit earlier than my grandparents house. Each time we visited my grandparents, I would watch and watch for the Matterhorn in the distance, then wait to see if we were going to the Happiest Place on Earth. Since my parents couldn’t afford to go except every few years, it was unusual for them to make that exit. But each night that we visited my grandparents, I would struggle to stay up late enough to see the fireworks from their front yard. Animals and Disney; it was almost like they built Disney’s Animal Kingdom for that little girl who loved all things Disney and animals.

A few years ago, we moved to Florida to be near our granddaughters. Yes, I realize that is a little backwards, but we truly enjoyed sharing our love of Disney with them as they grew up. After they were grown, we retired and moved close to Disney World and became annual passholders. Today I can visit all the parks as often as I want and Disney’s Animal Kingdom is the closest to our house. We were one of the first subscribers to Disney+ and I was delighted with the new show, National Geographic’s Magic of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. But after each episode, I wanted to know more about each animal and started my research and filming. This book is a compilation of my research and a homage to the Disney cast members; especially the keepers and medical professionals that keep them happy and healthy.