When all of the giant pandas are gone from Calgary Zoo by 2023, there are already plans to turn the building into a home for orang-utans.
I recently saw Panda Passage and the giant pandas on a members preview day before the exhibit opens to the general public! On the day of my visit, I was more interested in just enjoying the giant pandas and didn't do an extensive analysis of the exhibit. As far as overall impressions go though, it is a very good exhibit, but doesn't quite reach the levels of some of the truly outstanding animal exhibits in North America zoos. The mix of close up viewing and open views across moats is great, but the dry moats seem over-engineered compared to the barriers for giant pandas at the San Diego Zoo. It is possible that the barriers were also designed for orangutans. The space is definitely a big improvement over the stark and barren pachyderm exhibits it was converted from. I was hoping for more climbing structures though. If any structures are added they should be designed to harmonize with the other features. Hopefully, the Calgary Zoo will continue to move towards a more landscape dominated design approach on the island in the future. Five pictures from my visit have been uploaded to the Calgary Zoo gallery here on Zoochat.
Calgary has created an amazing exhibit for the pandas. It makes Toronto's attempt look pretty amateur. Calgary Zoo welcomes family of 4 pandas on loan from China #OurYYC On the Road: Global News at the Calgary Zoo’s Panda Passage Giant pandas begin five-year stay at Calgary Zoo; officials expect rush of visitors
To be fair, the Calgary Zoo did spend significantly more on their giant panda exhibits than the Toronto Zoo, $14 M versus $3 M Canadian. The Calgary Zoo also invested much more on improving their whole facility before the arrival of the pandas. I think the Toronto Zoo thought that the pandas alone would be enough to attract visitors, while the Calgary Zoo thinks that the whole zoo experience has to be good to achieve their attendance targets. My bet is that the Calgary Zoo is right, but we will have to wait to see.
Yeah Toronto's was pretty much a reno plus new holding facility with indoor viewing which is an ideal I really like. I wish Toronto could have put the money into it. I have no doubt many wanted to. Calgary just does a much better job of it. Maybe Toronto can really look at big budget ideas for smaller areas once they complete the first round of improvements throughout the zoo. Calgary has a massive advantage in that its older so its projects have been staggered and when improvements are needed things can be focused on instead of crud the whole zoo needs things like Toronto is facing with many things 40 plus years old. The difference between what has been done is staggering. It almost has me wanting to go to Calgary... then I remember I'm not rich and if I'm going anywhere it's to San Diego to achieve a life long dream.
I was very excited to learn that the Calgary Zoo is now home to a male Pallas cat (manul) named Igor! Manul are famous for their very expressive faces. The only other Felinae (small and medium sized cats) species at the Zoo are cougars. Pallas cats do not do well at lower elevations, and the Calgary Zoo is one of only a few AZA zoos to hold the species. The manul will be exhibited in the former snow leopard enclosure in Eurasia that temporally housed peacocks last year. They were doing some landscaping work in the exhibit on my last visit and had already installed a large window looking into the exhibit. In the past few years the Calgary Zoo has decreased their overall collection, but added several interesting threatened species including Siberian musk deer, Chacoan peccary, Egyptian tortoise (Kleinmann's tortoise), marbled teal, and now manul. I have been really pleased with their collection planning recently!
I am puzzled as to why CZ does not hold Amur tiger, leopard or snow leopard. All these felids seem well suited to the boreal northern clime.
Red River Hog, Ine, has given birth to her 18th and 19th hoglets. Wish her sister Tisa in Toronto would have just one. Colobus, Mosi, delivered a stillborn female. Mosi is recovering with the group. Bactrian camels, Zsa Zsa and Eva, have returned to the zoo. Male Ollie will join them next month. The otter that passed away was male, Casey. He was fine minutes before he was found dead. Testing continues.
Panda family has 'adjusted beautifully' as Calgary Zoo memberships get a boost Camels, Ollie and Eva, have had a calf. Calgary Zoo welcomes new baby camel to the Eurasian section One of the red river hoglets died due a result of injuries from dad Neosho. He and the rest of the family has been separated from Ine, the surviving male and an older sibling. Three new wolves have arrived, male Takoda, females Tadita and Tehya.
Snow leopard, Leika, gave birth to twins but neither cub survived. Both cubs had congenital brain defects. Over at the conservation center better news with the birth of two Przewalski's horse foals.
The zoo has released 4 pairs of burrowing owls they took in last year to increase their odds of survival during their first winters. It's hoped they will all breed. Soldiers and Calgary Zoo staff help return burrowing owl mating pairs to CFB Suffield
