For all my animal loving readers (and I think almost all of you are), I want to remind you that Earth Day is coming up quickly. And because this week is dedicated to encouraging our children and students to pursue STEM careers, I want to be sure and share the upcoming release of Disney's African Cats.
This movie features the real-life love, humor and determination of the kings of the African savanna: Mara, an endearing lion cub who strives to grow up with her mother's strength, spirit and wisdom; Sita, a fearless cheetah and single mother of five mischievous newborns; and Fang, a proud leader of the pride who must defend his family from a rival lion.
AFRICAN CATS is Disney's third release under the Disneynature label, after OCEANS last year, and EARTH in 2009.
My kids do a LOT of research on animals in our science lessons. We just finished animal classification and are currently studying about habitats, so we are extremely anxious for this movie to come out. And with summer quickly approaching, I am looking for more "fun" topics to explore with the kids. Perhaps we could spend some time investigating predators, Africa, grassland habitats, or simply big cats?
And one of the best parts of going to see this movie is the "See 'African Cats,' Save the Savanna" program. During the film's opening week (April 22-28), a portion of the proceeds from that week's ticket sales will be donated to the African Wildlife Foundation through the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund to protect the Amboseli Wildlife Corridor, a passage between the Amboseli, Tsavo West and Chyulu Hills National Parks that is frequently used by lions, cheetahs, elephants, zebras, giraffes and a host of other animals in the African savanna.
As a former zoo keeper, I can't stress how desperately funding is always needed by conservation organizations. This is one of the ways that an ordinary person not in the field of conservation biology can contribute and help make the world a better place by preserving the habitat and lives of these precious animals.
I hope you will all be celebrating Earth Day in a couple of weeks and look forward to hearing about it. And if you go see this movie, let me know what you think of it!
Con mucho cariño...
Disclosure: Although I was contacted by Disney, who provided me with the images and video seen in this post, I have not received compensation for writing it.