Basko the Baby Tiger at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
One of the newest residents of Animal Kingdom Theme Park is Basko, a tiger cub. Basko, the baby tiger, was born in September 2024, and is currently about 5 months old. He is an adorable and very playful tiger cub. We enjoyed watching him frolic around his habitat with his Mom, Sohni. He is the first tiger born in Animal Kingdom in seven years.
Basko playing in his habitat
Basko is very playful
Basko plays hide and seek with his Mom
There are less than 600 Sumatran tigers in captivity and managed care combined, and his species is considered endangered. As a part of the partnership with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the Species Survival Plan , Disney hopes to bolster the numbers of these beautiful tigers. By looking at Basko, you can tell he is going to be a big boy. Just look at the size of his paws:
Basko playing fetch with a stick
Sumatran tigers are the smallest of the known species of tigers. At full size, male tigers stand approximately 7 and 1/4 to 8 feet tall and weigh 220 to over 300 pounds. Basko’s giant paws will allow him to run about 40 miles per hour.
Basko enjoys running as we watched him running and then jumping on his mother Sohni. You could tell that Sohni found him tiring, after all what mother doesn’t tire after chasing a toddler all day long, as she would often roll over a try to nap when he jumped on her!
Basko and Sohni are found in Animal Kingdom’s Maharajah Jungle Trek. We visited on a Saturday, and were able to see him twice, once about 9:30 AM and again about 2PM. The tiger habitat viewing area was somewhat crowded both times, but if you wait patiently, you will eventually find a spot near the viewing window. There are three main viewing areas, so don’t hesitate to move around to a different location if you don’t see Basko and his mother immediately. There is no real queue, just crowds of people waiting to see them.
According to the Disney’s Animal Kingdom experts, Basko and his mom Sohni are both allowed out when weather permits and when they would like to come out and play. As one of two large cats that enjoys the water (the jaguar is the other), it would be fun to return and see Basko frolicking in his pond. When we visited, he would walk along the edge of the pond but didn’t go in.
As you know, when visiting Animal Kingdom, it is important to have a water bottle and sunscreen handy. We recommend these below:
Water bottle:
Sunscreen for face:
Overall sunscreen:
After we concluded our morning visit with Basko, we went to the Dinosaur ride. As you are well aware, Disney is re-theming Dinosaur land starting this year. They announced “2025 is your time to visit Dinoland before it goes extinct.” We enjoyed the ride and are excited about the upcoming refurbishment.
Lunch was at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Rainforest Cafe. This was a pleasant surprise for both Lenny and I. The lunch menu has a variety of options, with prices ranging from $14-$45 per entree. In typical American style, the portions are huge, so much so that we did not eat dinner that evening. The quality of the food was good, and the service was great. This is a huge upgrade from the last time we visited this restaurant, about ten years ago.
Welcoming Sign to the Rainforest Cafe
The Kilimanjaro Safari was our early afternoon treat. Surprisingly, the animals were lively (we heard they tend to nap in the afternoon) and plentiful. We particularly enjoyed the flamingos, rhinos, hippos, and giraffes.
Beautiful flamingoes on the safari. They get their pink color from the crill that they eat.
Rhinoceroses enjoying the sunshine
A giraffe enjoying his lunch
We made one more visit to Basko and his Mom Sohni before we exited Animal Kingdom. Please note there are bigger crowds in the afternoon as compared to the morning. For best viewing of this precious tiger cub, we recommend getting to the park as early as possible.
All the best,
Jennifer
