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Mr Wrinkly

Dhole

Dhole
Mr Wrinkly, 17 May 2014
    • TZFan
      Great shot from the zoomobile. I rarely get moving pictures worth anything.
    • arcticwolf
      Thanks for sharing this picture! Dholes (along with wolves and hyenas) are my favourite animals at the zoo and it really upsets me that the only way to see them is on the zoomobile. Part of me hopes that once the pandas leave, their exhibit will be used for dholes instead of bringing back Amur tigers.
    • Animal
      Is there no path to them anymore?
    • Mr Wrinkly
      The Eurasia section of the zoo has been closed for two years for new building and refurbishing. Last spring the zoomobile began running thru there again so you can see a few species. Now the reopening is probably July although no date has been announced yet.
    • arcticwolf
      Also when Eurasia opens again, the dhole exhibit will not be accessible by foot path. The path that was used to get to the dhole exhibit is now part of a drive through area with mouflon, yaks and wild horses. In the future the current dhole exhibit will probably become part of a new Canadian wilderness area.
    • Mr Wrinkly
      Do you know where the Dholes are going in Eurasia, arcticwolf?

      And of course you are not serious about Dholes for Tigers.
    • arcticwolf
      I'm almost positive that dholes won't be included in the new eurasia exhibit. They will probably remain in their current exhibit where you can only see them from the zoomobile.

      I am serious about the dholes for tigers though. The zoo already has Sumatran tigers and I personally think dholes are a much more unique and interesting species.
    • Mr Wrinkly
      No, no, more cats! Anyway, you know it won't happen. Dholes are just not a draw.

      Dr Crawshaw described the Panda exhibit as a Tiger exhibit adapted for Pandas.
    • TZFan
      Unfortunately for you Arcticwolf the dholes just arent a feasible option for the panda exhibit. Forget the fact the exhibit was always designed with the Amurs returning in mind... thats irrelevant.

      The simple fact is that getting more dholes is nearly impossible right now. There are very few of them in North America to begin with and most of them are related to Toronto's original stock. There isnt the genetic diversity for a healthy population so the small group will eventually be extermely inbred and die out.

      Importing more you say? Right now that's almost impossible. The AZA and other zoos are working on improving the chances to imports but will that happen? Right now its not looking good.

      They could move the current dholes temporarily but they are so old the move would probably be hard on them and they wont be alive long enough to make it worthwhile.

      I prefer Amurs to Sumatrans anyway so I like that they will be returning. If they werent to return I would prefer to see the zoo bring in Sun bears... and if I cant have them Sloth bears. The exhibit is designed to hold bears so it works. Those wont be happening either though because their populations are in trouble. So give us back our Amurs.
    • arcticwolf
      I know it will never happen, but I can dream.

      I still love Amur tigers though, and I also like them better than sumatrans.
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  • Category:
    Toronto Zoo
    Uploaded By:
    Mr Wrinkly
    Date:
    17 May 2014
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