July 29 is International Tiger Day, an annual celebration to raise awareness for tiger conservation worldwide -- an important cause, considering that there are only an estimated 3200 tigers living in the wild.Busch gardens Tampa has dedicated the entire upcoming weekend to Tiger awareness, and you can enjoy it in the company of these little guys:

Sea World Orlando's baby dolphin seems to have started a trend -- two other area theme parks welcomed three other new babies, and it's not even officially Spring yet! Let's go alphabetically, shall we? A is for....


AARDVARK! Busch Gardens Tampa welcomed a baby aardvark on Tuesday, February 6, 2012. This healthy baby, now a month old, is the third offspring of parents Izzy and Friz (sister Adazee was born on March 26 last year and brother Zawadi showed up on April 10, 2011). The new aardvark baby is still so shiny, we don't even know if it's a boy or a girl, but the experts at Busch will figure it out before long. No word yet on when he or she will be making a public debut yet, either; right now, momma is sticking close, along with the animal care team.


Meanwhile, over at Disney's Animal Kingdom, G is for....



Gibbon! White-cheeked gibbon, actually, and once again, no one has been able to yet get close enough to determine if it's a boy or a girl. But the baby and momma are already charming crowds in the Asia section of the park, right near the entrance to the Maharajah Jungle Trek, along with dad, big sister, and big brother. 

And if that's not enough, S is for...

On March 26th, a bundle of joy was born at Busch Gardens - a baby aardvark! Aardvarks are difficult to find in zoos, and births in captivity are uncommon, so this rare occasion is cause for celebration!

The baby currently lives at Jambo Junction in the Nairobi section of the park, and will soon join its mother Izzy, father Friz, and year-old brother Zawadi in being an Animal Ambassador. The baby does look a little goofy now due to not having any hair yet, and as the sex cannot yet be detected, the baby hasn't been named.

You can visit the baby daily at Jambo Junction. Stop in and say hello to this adorable new addition to the Busch Gardens remarkable aardvark family!

Photo courtesy of AttractionsMagazine.com.

A year ago, a 16-week old female Golden Labrador and a 8-week old male cheetah were introduced to each other. While there are those who may think that dogs and cats just never get along, Kasi and Mtani have proven the naysayers wrong.

This friendship has flourished over the past year! The two have been closely monitored as they play, grow, learn, travel, and eat together, and they show no signs of slowing down. Not only are these kids learning, but the Busch Gardens staff is learning as well!

Happy Anniversary, Kasi and Mtani! May your friendship continue to flourish!

If you've ever wanted a sneak peek at what Busch Gardens Tampa's veterinarians do, your wish is about to come true. The new Animal Care Center will open on January 23, with floor-to-ceiling glass walls that allow a behind-the-scenes look at how the animals are cared for, given check-ups, diagnosed, and treated for various ailments.

Busch Gardens Tampa is celebrating the birth of two endangered red-ruffed lemurs, also known as two of the cutest things on the face of the earth. The babies were born on April 21 to proud parents Maditra (mom) and Bozeny (dad). The two curious little creatures are the first lemurs to be born at Jambo Junction, the home of Busch Gardens Animal Ambassadors, since mom and dad lemur arrived as babies themselves three years ago.

The babies are still too young to be sexed, so naming will probably be held off for a while. Trainers at the park are happy to report that the little ones are doing well and developing more every day. They are learning to be brave and curious, and have a great time exploring their enclosure under the watchful eyes of Maditra and Bozeny. The kids are a bouncing half and pound or so each, which is considerably larger than the 80 grams they were at birth! Eventually, they will grow to reach 8 to 10 pounds as adults.



Red-ruffed lemurs are just one species of this group of primates -- like humans, apes and monkeys -- native to the island of Madagascar. Madagascar is the only place in the world where lemurs live in the wild and every single species of lemur (50 that we know of) is on the endangered species list. Five different species of lemur live at Busch Gardens Tampa.

The SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund works to help save endangered and threatened species of animals, including lemurs. The group is a non-profit, private charitable foundation that was founded in 2005. To date, it was donated more than $6 million to projects around the world in support of wildlife and habitat conservation, education, research, and animal rescue and rehabilitation programs.

On March 31, 1959, August A. Busch Jr. officially dedicated Busch Gardens, which was, at that time, an admission-free hospitality facility for the nearby Anheuser-Busch manufacturing plant. Fifty years later, the manufacturing plant has long since closed, but the hospitality facility has developed into a bustling Tampa theme park filled with exhilarating roller coasters, beautiful landscapes, and exotic animal experiences.

To mark its successful history, the park has opened an incredible new historical exhibit next to the Clydesdale Hamlet. In the exhibit, guests can browse various displays featuring hundreds of memorabilia items and photographs marking every major event and attraction at the park over the past fifty years. Among them is a 100-foot memory wall featuring a photograph of Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio taken the day she started work at the park’s Zagora Café, a photograph of the day dozens of couples got married as they rode Kumba, and opening day aerial photographs that show the abandoned Army airbase runways that today lurk hidden near Adventure Island.

The park put out a call among its staffers for people to bring in any memorabilia they had lying around, and employees responded in force. One accounting clerk brought in her old belly dancer costume from when she was a snake charmer at the park, while others brought in painted gremlins from the Gnome Village, which had been serving as doorstops in the corporate offices. Other items now on display were dug up from the park’s archives, including conceptual art of rides like Montu, which was initially planned to be a coaster built inside a giant Egyptian pyramid.

The search for memorabilia is still ongoing as the exhibit, which will be on display at least through the end of the year, expands; by this summer, it will include video anecdotes from park veterans and former executives.

The exhibit is certainly a valuable look at the history of a park that has grown to become one of Orlando’s most popular, with six roller coasters, 2,000 animals, and 3,000 employees running the operations. Among the attractions at the Africa-themed Busch Gardens Tampa are Sheikra, North America’s first dive coaster which sends riders 200 feet up, then 90 degrees straight down; Kumba, a breathtaking ride featuring a 135-foot drop, 360 degree spirals, and one of the world’s largest vertical loops; Montu, one of the tallest and longest inverted roller coasters in the world; Gwazi, a wooden coaster with two interwoven tracks; and the Scorpion, featuring a 60-foot drop and 360-degree loop at incredible speeds.

Busch Gardens also offers countless animal encounters, available in habitats like Serengeti Plain, featuring hundreds of exotic African animals; Myombe Reserve, a lush forest filled with gorillas and chimpanzees; the Bird Gardens, containing almost 500 tropical birds; and Lory Landing, a domed habitat showcasing a variety of brilliantly colored birds. These exciting habitats, along with shows, tours, and other experiences, ensure that Busch Gardens will be Florida favorite for yet another 50 years.

If you’ve never visited Busch Gardens, don’t wait until its next bicentennial; make some time to explore this beloved Tampa theme park during your next vacation, and save on your adventure by purchasing discount Busch Gardens tickets from DWTickets.com.