pride (noun) a group of lions forming a social unit
You know how when you check out at Disney’s Animal Kingdom they ask if you want to donate to the Disney Conservation Fund? I never knew where that money goes until now. Recently Disney invited me to the park to learn about the Protect The Pride campaign to help save.. lions?
Lions resting at Disney’s Animal Kingdom on Kilimanjaro Safaris
Since The Lion King was released in theaters 25 years ago we’ve lost half of the lion population in Africa. Only 20,000 remain. Can you imagine a world without lions? The decrease is due to poaching, loss of prey and destruction of habitats. Here’s where Protect The Pride comes in. Disney launched The Lion King Protect The Pride campaign in conjunction with the Wildlife Conservation Network’s Lion Recovery Fund in an effort to double the lion population by 2050. “Disney is committed to supporting lion conservation efforts and we believe The Lion King is the perfect story to remind us of the role each of us has in ensuring a world where these majestic animals are treasured and protected,” said Elissa Margolis, senior vice president, Enterprise Social Responsibility for The Walt Disney Company. Claire Martin, the Senior Manager of Enterprise Social Responsibility at Disney Conservation Fund, shared the ultimate goal is for the initiative to amount to a $3,000,000 donation. They are well on their way and here’s how you can get involved.
Ways to Protect The Pride with Disney
- Disney Conservation Fund donated $2 (up to $350,000) for every guest who rode Kilimanjaro Safaris at Disney’s Animal Kingdom during opening week of The Lion King (July 19 – 25) to Wildlife Conservation Network’s Lion Recovery Fund. You may have helped without knowing!
- Next time you make a purchase at Disney’s Animal Kingdom or Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge round up your purchase to make a donation to the Disney Conservation Fund! A Cast Member told me the fund’s donations for the three months following when The Lion King film debuted will be allocated to Protect The Pride.
- Purchase these special Simba and Nala plush at Disney’s Animal Kingdom or on ShopDisney.com! These benefit Protect The Pride with $5 from each plush going to the cause. There are 40,000 plush to represent each of the lions Disney and the Lion Recovery Fund are working to ensure a future for.
- Tell someone about Protect The Pride. I was surprised to learn the lion population has diminished so much. I shared this on my Instagram Story and a lot of people messaged me with sad reactions. There have been other species whose existence has been threatened but, with heightened awareness and conservation efforts, are now doing just fine. The bald eagle is a great example and now has an increasing population. People can’t care about something they don’t know about.
Learn more about this important campaign at Disney.com/LionKingProtectThePride
Read my review of the film here: The Lion King 2019 Review