In celebration of Earth Day, Dr. Mark Penning, Vice President, Animals, Science and Environment, Disney Parks, shared details on five types of wildlife guests will be able to find when they visit Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point this summer. The island is home to unique plants and animals, and Disney’s conservation experts have been working for years to create this special cruise destination where nature can thrive.
Penning shared an inside look at the wildlife they’ve met along the way and highlighted some of the impressive conservation work Disney is doing to continue its long-standing commitment to protecting the natural beauty of The Bahamas. This includes more than 80 grants provided through the Disney Conservation Fund to nonprofit organizations working with communities locally to protect nature over the past 25 years.
Over 100 Bird Species
Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point is home to more than 100 dazzling bird species, including the Kirtland’s warbler you see in the photo on the left and the thick-billed vireo on the right, both perched on the hands of our Bahamian conservation managers Bradley and Pachancia. You’ll also want to keep an eye out for the gray and white piping plovers dotting the shoreline – you might recognize relatives of these birds from the Disney Pixar animated short, Piper.
We started a bird monitoring program to help us identify where the island’s resident flyers call home, and we purposefully designed the destination to avoid these sensitive areas. We continue to monitor the island’s bird species to this day through a tagging and tracking program so we can help protect these feathered friends.
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Barrel Sponges Towering from the Ocean Floor
We found nearly 50 giant barrel sponges off the coast of Disney Lookout Cay. These important invertebrates are the largest species of water-filtering sponge and are sometimes called ‘Redwoods of the Reef’ due to their size and long lifespans.
To preserve these sponges along with corals and other marine habitats, we designed an innovative open-trestle pier that extends into deep waters. Designing the pier with its long, slender stilts helped us avoid dredging the ocean floor to build a dock for our ships. For the few giant barrel sponges that fell within the pier’s footprint, we expertly relocated them using a groundbreaking method with the help of our friends in EPCOT’s costuming team, who designed the innovative mesh carrier you see above. Initial results show the relocated sponges have taken root and are expected to thrive.
Fish and Other Marine Life Swimming Offshore
It’s no surprise the waters off Disney Lookout Cay are teeming with marine life, including 74 species of fish and more than 60 other species we’ve identified so far. While enjoying the ocean, keep an eye out for silversides like the ones pictured above as well as Nassau grouper, parrot fish and blue tangs we’ve seen swimming just offshore.
To help these fish and other sea creatures, just keep swimming around Lighthouse Point, we added some special features under our open-trestle pier. By repurposing 30 limestone boulders already on the site, we built artificial reefs to establish an underwater ‘fish highway.’ These structures provide fish and other marine species a natural shelter so they can move safely through the pier’s support legs.
Land Crabs Scurrying Across the Sand
Land crabs are important to the Bahamian way-of-life, and you’ll see plenty of them when you visit Disney Lookout Cay. Don’t be surprised if you see the ghost crab, black crab or the black-backed crab like the ones pictured above scurrying across the sand or on walkways. Just give them some space and they’ll walk right by you.
Since these crabs are abundant and important residents of the island, we’ve been tagging them and tracking their natural behaviors so we can learn more about them. This is one of the first studies of this kind in The Bahamas!
Diversity of Native Plants Growing Across the Island
From the moment you arrive at Disney Lookout Cay, you are sure to notice the destination’s rich and diverse plant life. Home to nearly 200 species of plants, the island features dense evergreen forests, open-water ponds, mangroves and more. The shrub-filled sand dunes like you see in the photo act as an important animal habitat and help maintain the island’s natural shoreline.
To preserve the native vegetation, we’ve intentionally only developed about 16% of the land – much of it for low-density uses like beach chairs, umbrellas and small support structures. For the areas we developed, Disney Imagineers relied on elevated walkways and structures that all help reduce impacts to the natural environment. We’ve also partnered with a local Bahamian plant nursery to conserve a variety of native plants.
Disney’s Animals, Science, and Environment team worked alongside Disney Cruise Line, Walt Disney Imagineering, and local organizations in The Bahamas to create this destination, inviting guests to embrace Eleuthera’s natural beauty. Do you have plans to visit this new island destination when it begins welcoming guests this June?
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