Toronto Zoo Toronto Zoo Discussion thread 2024

I want to know where is the exhibit for White Headed Vulture. Last time, I walked the entire Africa pavilion but I did not see the vulture. Is it indoor or outdoor? Is the orang-outan group kept separated because I saw only 2 orang-outans in the exhibit?

 

Lloyd, the white headed vulture, is outside with the kudus in the summer. In the winter he is backstage in the holding barns and not viewable. His nest outside the past summer was up in the back on the right hand sided of the exhibit on a small hill.

The orangs are exhibits in small groups that can vary. These are what I think the most common groupings are.
1. Puppe, one of the original animals of the zoo, Grandma to our newest baby
2. Ramai and Jingga, a Mother- Daughter combo
3. Ramai and Budi, have been paired to breed for the last two years or so, but no luck so far, Budi can be on his own as well
4. Sekali and Wali, mom and her almost two year-old baby
5. Kembali, unflanged male, non breeding

 

I will try to find the vulture next time I visit. Thank you for the information

 

Not sure if he nests in the same spot each year, but if you are heading into the savannah from the giraffes, when you get the the "Kesho Park Headquarters", where the volunteers are in the summer, take the little off shoot path to your right and look to the back of the kudu exhibit, sometime you can just see his white head poking up haha

 

Thanks for the advice to find him

 

Dropped in yesterday and was happy to report that the temporary barriers at the Amur tiger area have been removed and you can walk through as normal. Hari was indoors and Kemala outdoors; both seemed very comfortable in their new space and Kemala came right up to the glass to say hi.

My partner and I also got a great close encounter with Pemba. Normally I see him sitting up in the artificial mountain in the middle of his area or on his platform, but he was roaming around towards the "back" of his enclosure (further away from the above-ground viewing area) and he sat down on the ground right in front of the fence, in an area right where you can walk up to within maybe 3 or 4 feet of the chain-links. So we got to say hi to him only a few feet from a very relaxed and happy snow leopard!

A Zoo volunteer we spoke to later in our visit mentioned that Pemba had been much more active lately ever since his keepers had begun doing introductions between him and Jita, the female snow leopard the Zoo just received from Granby. The Zoo posted on Instagram about Jita yesterday after we left and apparently those introductions between the two are going great, so optimism is high I think.

 

I have heard the sumatrans have settled nicely, but perhaps Mazy the Amur, is taking time getting use to her new "renters" that are staying with her. Seems like she has access to the larger outdoor area and the box at night and then they are splitting the inside viewing for the sumatrans at night with one having access to the smaller yard.

I don't think they ever have Mazy in the back with the sumatrans at the same, so they never actually see each other.

Interesting to see what will happen with the Snow Leopards, curious to see if they aim for breeding this spring, or wait until next year. Would be an exciting addition for the 50th year this year.

 

Apparently 2021 inventory list states that they held they tarantulas.
Cameroon red baboon spider (Hysterocrates gigas), South American bird-eating spider (Lasiodora parahybana), Peruvian black bird-eating spider (Pamphobeteus nigricolor), Haitian brown tarantula (Phormictopus) and Brazilian blue violet tarantula (Pterinopelma vitiosum). Do they still have any of these species?

 

It's possible they still have all of these species tarantulas can be long live but most of there invertebrate collection including a leaf cutter ant colony is kept behind the scenes.
Joel Sartore of the Photo Ark took a number of photos of their tarantulas and you can see them on his website if you search Toronto Zoo.
I know they've had South American Bird Eating Spider - Lasiodora parahybana, Red Island Birdeater - Phormictopus atrichomatus, Goliath Birdeater - Theraphosa blondi on display in America's and may also have Rose Haired Tarantula Andy Greenbottle Blue Tarantulas

 

Got some updates from Eurasia for you guys

Snow leopards Pemba and Jita were on exhibit together today, they seem to be pretty comfortable with each other. Apparently today was their first day out together and breeding has already happened which is very nice to hear.

The sea eagles have constructed a new nest, so there's a chance this'll be the year although I'm not holding my breath

The mouflon herd seems to have thinned a bit, not many were out today. Of course that could've just been me getting unlucky

 

Jita and Pemba were breeding quite a lot today. Keepers said they leave them out all night together as well. Things seem to be going quite well. Access to the polar bears was also blocked off today. They’re trying to test out if Juno and Hudson can be together to give them more options for display and not have Juno all by herself. They were doing construction at the front all day today and working hard on that area. There’s also now a sign outside of the red panda exhibit stating that Sakura is here and getting used to her surroundings and should be out on display shortly!

 

Fingers crossed for some Snow Leopard Cubs for the summer. Would be nice to have them for the 50th!

 

Saw on Zoolife today that Pemba and Jita are in the snow leopard area together at the same time now. I'm no expert (just an amateur Zoo-goer of course) but that seems like a good sign for cubs that they're comfortable enough to be around each other and relax in the same space already.

 

The Toronto Zoo made a video about the Macro weight loss journey. He was 30,8kg.

 

They are actually doing a new community based award concept. The Wellie Welfare Awards. There are 6 featured stories, some new and some already published about animal welfare initiatives in the zoo and the public can vote on them.

Neat new concept to highlight some of the cool work.

Toronto Zoo | Welfare Awards

Stories include:
Flap the African penguin, and his paralysis and subsequent recovery
Matumani the giraffe, and his hoof/tope injury
Jesse, straw coloured fruit bat that was hand reared
Kamala the sumatran tiger, and getting her back to doing voluntary medical proceedures
The orangs and their new exhibit
Macro the racoon, and his weight loss journey

 

Oh I was torn by what story to choose. For me it was down to Flap and the orang exhibit. Bless his little heart Flap has fought back against incredible odds and his team was with him every step of the way. As long as he wanted to live they were willing to fight for him no matter the cost and the little guy did it. But seeing Puppe outside for the first time in 49 years? Being the first orang outside in the incredible exhibit we had been waiting over a decade for? I cant lie seeing her out there brought a tear to my eye. Oh who are we kidding? Puppe always had my vote. I adore that orang and nothing is too good for my old friend. I had doubted she would make it to that momentous day given all the delays. But Flap gave her a run for her money in my brain. My hear won.

You cant discount the incredible work put in to Matu and his recovery. Hoof injuries in giraffes can be severe enough they need to be put down for humane reasons. They have been working very hard to avoid that and it sounds like they have done an amazing job. So critical he survive for the welfare of his species. After the death of his uncle Michael he is now the most genetically valuable male Masai giraffe in North America. Ensuring he can have a normal long life will be critical. That was a close third for me.

Jesse is a good story but they have had to hand rear straw coloured fruit bats before. They know how to do it and are very good at it. He follows in the footsteps of Zoo Dairies star Stevie... sad hes now passed.

Kemala's work is important but kinda routine.

And my gosh that raccoon was fat. You have to feel bad for him but his recovery wasnt well documented for the public so its unlikely to be the winner. The staff did a good job in getting him back to being a raccoon even if hes still a hefty raccoon. Hes a work in progress which is fine. We are all works in progress.

I think Puppe will win hands down.

 

There was a post on Instagram for world frog day that said the zoo has over twenty species of frog

Americas

• Blue Poison Dart Frog
• Dyeing Poison Dart Frog
• Green and Black Poison Dart Frog
• Lemur Leaf Frog
• Panamanian Golden Frog
• Puerto Rican Crested Toad
• Splashback Poison Dart Frog
• Yellow Banded Poison Dart Frog

​

African Rainforest​

• African Clawed Frog
• Baron's Mantella?
• Golden Mantella
• Tomato Frog

Australasia​

• White's Tree Frog
• Solomon Island Leaf Frog

I talked to a keeper today and he didn't think they'd had Andean Marsupial Frogs for at least two years but maybe they're behind the scenes somewhere else wouldn't be the first time a keeper in one section doesn't know about something somewhere else.

I believe they've worked with Wyoming Toads and Dusky Gopher Frogs behind the scenes in the past.

Can anyone confirm what they're still breeding behind the scenes or any frogs or toads I've missed.

 

On Dolf Instagram post story. One of the gorilla glass broke. It looks like maybe a gorilla hitted the glass. I saw plenty of gorilla hitting the glass in zoos. That is why they added the emergency phone(See Toronto development thread). The gorilla will not be viewable for a period of time maybe for reparation.
Edit: The image cannot show. Idk why. I deleted the image but it still shows the icon on display.

Link works finally.
Animal not viewable
Gorilla broke the glass

 

I had a free day, so I went to the zoo. Last time I visited was in September, so there are plenty of updates and construction going on. Some of these things might have been brought up already, so sorry if that’s the case.

So, we know the entrance is no more. It’s all torn down and in the process of being replaced. What I noticed is that the ground is currently heavily lopsided. It’ll definitely need fixing, which I’m sure is on their schedule. Just awkward few steps when first entering the zoo.

It was good walking through the Malayan Woods again. Nice seeing the Clouded Leopards again. The invertebrates on exhibit in the terrariums are Malayan Walking Stick, Gooty Sapphire Ornammental, Bush Katydid, and Giant Asian Millipedes.

Orangutans on exhibit were Ramai and Budi, at least I think it was Budi, because he was covering his face with some fabric. Definitely an adult male.

The Indo Boardwalk is quite extensive. The fencing for the Sumatran Tiger exhibit connected to the Pavilion has been completely removed for the construction. It’ll be interesting to see this completed.

The mobile/temporary education Bat exhibit is currently stationed outside the Caribou Café in the Tundra Trek.

The Stellar’s Sea Eagles are back in their Eurasia exhibit. One was sitting in the makeshift nest, however, I no idea if the recently laid eggs were in the nest.

The Polar Bear “yard” exhibit has the addition of some giant metal monstrosity. It’s clearly something for enrichment, but It’s an absolute blemish to the exhibit. It sticks out like a sore, beaten, thumb. Ruins the whole aesthetic of the exhibit.

The America’s Pavilion now has 3 species of Bird-Eating spiders. The Goliath Bird-Eating Tarantula, Red Island Birdeater Tarantula, and South American Giant Bird-Eating Spider.

Before heading down to the Canadian Domain, there’s a sign at the African zoomobile station showing which animals are currently viewable on exhibit in the Domain. Really nice addition to let people know what’s on exhibit before committing to making the long trek.

The Canadian Domain is filled with new signage which is great overall. The new Courage, Bowen is a joy to watch. He’s curious and very interested in visitors at times. He even came up to the fencing just to vocalize as I watched him.

The new shade structure in the Bison exhibit is a nice addition. The Bison seem to like utilizing it for shade.

All in all, very nice trip. If anyone has any questions, I can try answering them.

 

So much for attempts to do away with bars, it's not the first time an animal ran right through the glass plate enclosure, an Aardvark did that in the Africa pavilion before too.
I remember the tests of them using piano wires instead of bars too, that was another total failure.