Changes

Construction on Disney's Animal Kingdom began in August of 1995. Four million cubic yards of dirt were moved and nearly 40,000 plants were added during the parks park's construction <ref name= "trivia"/>. During this process it was decided that the plants in Animal Kingdom would need to be in the ground for two growing seasons before the animals arrived. This meant that the horticulture team , led by Disney Legend Bill Evans , had until the spring of 1996 to get all the plants in place <ref> http://allears.net/ae/issue863.htm </ref>. This deadline was met, and in the fall of 1997 , the animals were brought in to into the park <ref> http://land.allears.net/blogs/jackspence/2011/01/kilimanjaro_safaris_at_animal_1.html </ref>. They came from various zoo's or wildlife preserves around the world. A few animals were also from the wild, but were too injured to be re-released. In total Animal Kingdom is home to over 1,700 animals.