Join our zoo community

Greater Vancouver Zoo Greater Vancouver Zoo News

Discussion in 'Canada' started by snowleopard, 1 Mar 2009.

  1. StellarChaser

    StellarChaser Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    22 Aug 2020
    Posts:
    360
    Location:
    Markham, Canada
    I just feel that both the government and the public in Canada don't want to support the zoo that much. Vancouver has the best environment in Canada for a big zoo, since it has warm temperatures and mass of wealthy citizens, and it is a well-known city for tourism. But Greater Vancouver Zoo doesn't utilize this environment at all. When I see those great projects being done by Leipzig, Zurich, Prague, and Lodz, I always wonder when can I see similar work done by Canadian zoos, but their cities are very supportive of the zoos, while cities in Canada may not.
     
    kermodei and squatch like this.
  2. Elephant Enthusiast

    Elephant Enthusiast Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    29 Nov 2017
    Posts:
    448
    Location:
    British Columbia, Canada
    Conservation:

    The Greater Vancouver Zoo, along with Wildlife Preservation Canada (WPC), released 2000 Taylor's Checkerspot butterfly larvae into the wild on Hornby Island.

    Greater Vancouver Zoo | Facebook
    Butterfly Release | Blog | Greater Vancouver Zoo

    Acquisitions:

    Three snow leopards named 0.1 Batu, 1.0 Bodhi, and 1.0 Kyanada arrived in mid-November from the Assiniboine Park Zoo. The snow leopards are currently exhibited in the former yellow baboon exhibit.

    Snow Leopard | Greater Vancouver Zoo

    Two alpacas named 1.0 Titus and 0.1 Penelope arrived in mid-November from a private facility. The alpacas are currently exhibited in the American flamingo exhibit.

    Alpaca | Greater Vancouver Zoo

    Six bighorn sheep named 1.0 Lutin, 1.0 Saturnin, 0.1 Demi-Lune, 0.1 Blanca, 0.1 Olive, and 0.1 Popcorn arrived in late February from the Saint-Félicien Zoo. The bighorn sheep are currently exhibited in the former aoudad exhibit.

    Bighorn Sheep | Greater Vancouver Zoo

    Two reindeer named 0.1 Dancer and 0.1 Vixen arrived in mid-April from Grouse Mountain. The new reindeers are currently exhibited in the very south-west corner exhibit beside the dwarf zebu and common eland. They are currently undergoing quarantine there before joining the zoo's resident herd.

    Reindeer | Greater Vancouver Zoo

    General News:

    Princess, the zoo's 16-year-old female common eland, has been moved to the dwarf zebu exhibit. She now lives with Zeus, a dwarf zebu, and Ernie, the zoo's 18-year-old male common eland.

    Common Eland | Greater Vancouver Zoo

    Fidget, a red-necked wallaby, has a joey, who has just started to venture outside of their mother's pouch.

    Red-Necked Wallaby | Greater Vancouver Zoo

    Developments:

    • Construction of the new giraffe barn is progressing well.
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    • The giraffe and tiger gazebos at the picnic area have been demolished, new foundations have been constructed, and a new tent structure has been raised.
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    • ‘This exhibit is currently being renovated’ signs have been hung up at the American alligator exhibit. Also, the American alligator sign has been replaced with a ‘Native Species around the Zoo’ sign.
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    • The informational signage at Conservation Corner have been given a much-needed update.
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    • The forested area west of Mesozoic Adventure has started to be cleared out.
    [​IMG]
     
  3. Elephant Enthusiast

    Elephant Enthusiast Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    29 Nov 2017
    Posts:
    448
    Location:
    British Columbia, Canada
    General News:

    The Greater Vancouver Zoo has followed suit with several other American and Canadian zoological institutions by moving their avian species to indoor areas and modifying the enclosures to protect the birds against the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).

    Update on Avian Influenza | News | Greater Vancouver Zoo

    Tess, one of the zoo's white lionesses, has been introduced to Boomer, the zoo’s African lion. The zoo now maintains two prides: Boomer and Tess in the southwest enclosure, and Kasal and Prim, the zoo’s other white lions, in the northwest enclosure.

    Lion | Greater Vancouver Zoo

    The red-necked wallaby joey has been named Sydney.

    Red-Necked Wallaby | Greater Vancouver Zoo

    Dancer and Vixen, the zoo’s newest reindeers, have joined the zoo’s resident herd in the reindeer enclosure.

    Reindeer | Greater Vancouver Zoo

    Bob, the domestic donkey, Pearl, the American miniature horse, and Zeus, the dwarf zebu, have been moved into the vacant enclosure beside the scimitar-horned oryxes.

    Domestic Donkey | Greater Vancouver Zoo
    American Miniature Horse | Greater Vancouver Zoo
    Dwarf Zebu Cattle | Greater Vancouver Zoo

    Births:

    Gigi, one of the zoo's female grey wolves, has given birth to six (0.0.6) pups. The pups emerged from the den on June 4th, and are expected to become more active over the next few months.

    Grey Wolf | Greater Vancouver Zoo

    Developments:

    • The wood and wire fencing at one of the old farm exhibits has been replaced with new wood panel fencing.
    [​IMG]
    • Construction of the new giraffe barn is still ongoing, but progressing. Exterior panel siding has now been added.
    [​IMG]
    • The zebra gazebo has been demolished and a second canopy tent has been raised at the pavilion area. A new foundation has been constructed where the zebra gazebo once stood.
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    • The American miniature horse and domestic donkey exhibit is now vacant, and the informational signage has been removed. A ‘This exhibit is currently being renovated’ and a ‘Where did the animals go?’ signs have been hung up at the exhibit.
    [​IMG]
    • Hazina and Haben, the zoo’s hippos, are now sharing the same space again. During my visits, Hazina and Haben were together in the outdoor enclosure.
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    • The former American alligator exhibit is now home to Philly, the zoo’s Indian crested porcupine.
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: 4 Jul 2022
  4. kermodei

    kermodei Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    11 May 2022
    Posts:
    91
    Location:
    Canada
    Will be interesting to see how things between Boomer and Tess workout, especially considering Tess is several years Boomer's junior. Do we know if one or both of them are fixed?

    (Not gonna lie, I'll miss the animal-themed gazebos :'c)
     
  5. Giant Giraffe

    Giant Giraffe New Member

    Joined:
    1 Aug 2022
    Posts:
    3
    Location:
    Coquitlam, BC, Canada
    There are also Panda cubs that have been born. No word on the number or names as of yet.
    They are both fully intact, so we may have some new additions in a few months.
     
    kermodei likes this.
  6. TZFan

    TZFan Well-Known Member 10+ year member

    Joined:
    3 Jul 2012
    Posts:
    7,530
    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    170 Western painted turtles have been released to the wild throughout the Fraser Valley.
     
  7. RIPPompadour

    RIPPompadour Active Member

    Joined:
    16 Jan 2022
    Posts:
    26
    Location:
    Canada
    Any updates on the red pandas?
     
  8. Giant Giraffe

    Giant Giraffe New Member

    Joined:
    1 Aug 2022
    Posts:
    3
    Location:
    Coquitlam, BC, Canada
    I was at the zoo today. There are 2 red panda cubs. No idea when they will be out for viewing. Generally, the cubs would begin to start exploring their enclosure any week now.
     
  9. Cheetah

    Cheetah Member

    Joined:
    12 Aug 2022
    Posts:
    23
    Location:
    Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada
    The zoo has updated the info on their site regarding the birth of the red pandas. It looks like the got the date of birth wrong by one day though. I've been sitting on the pictures below for the past couple of months as the zoo wasn't ready to announce the newcomers quite yet. The picture showing the afterbirth was taken on the 13th of June. It was close to closing time so I didn't get a chance to alert zoo staff till the next day that the birth had taken place. So as far as they are concerned, they likely thought it happened on the 14th.

    [​IMG]

    Animals | Greater Vancouver Zoo
     
    Smaggledagle likes this.
  10. Proud Peacock

    Proud Peacock Member

    Joined:
    13 Aug 2022
    Posts:
    10
    Location:
    Abbotsford
    Tess and Boomer have been mating again the last few days so could be she isn't pregnant. It is unusual but lionesses have been known to mate even while pregnant . If she is pregnant litter should be mid Sept.

    Plan is for Black Bears to move over to the enclosure they are working on by Shadow and the grizzly cubs move into black bear enclosure.

    Also the Alligator Pandora died this past winter sometime.
     
    Last edited: 13 Aug 2022
  11. RhinoHippoElephantGiraffe

    RhinoHippoElephantGiraffe Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    24 Jan 2022
    Posts:
    317
    Location:
    United States
    On the zoo's website, it says that they have 0:2 River Hippos that are sisters. Does that mean that Haben is actually female, and not male? By the way, the two hippos have been successfully reintroduced to each other, as stated by @Elephant Enthusiast.
    https://gvzoo.com/animals/hippopotamus/
     
    kermodei likes this.
  12. Proud Peacock

    Proud Peacock Member

    Joined:
    13 Aug 2022
    Posts:
    10
    Location:
    Abbotsford
    Think they made a boo boo they are half siblings but not sisters.
     
    kermodei likes this.
  13. Elephant Enthusiast

    Elephant Enthusiast Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    29 Nov 2017
    Posts:
    448
    Location:
    British Columbia, Canada
    Smaggledagle and snowleopard like this.
  14. RhinoHippoElephantGiraffe

    RhinoHippoElephantGiraffe Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    24 Jan 2022
    Posts:
    317
    Location:
    United States
    Does anyone know the origins (birth dates, birthplaces, and parents) of the zoo's former Common Hippopotamus pair "Gertrude" and "Harvey", who passed away in August 2004 and January 2005, respectively?
     
  15. TZFan

    TZFan Well-Known Member 10+ year member

    Joined:
    3 Jul 2012
    Posts:
    7,530
    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    Harvey was born at Granby on Dec 12 1983 and was called Alcide 4. He arrived in 1984 at 10 months old. His father was Patriarche and his mother was Sirene. He was the older full brother of Toronto's Petal and Perky II as well as the late Samson, Philly's Cindy, and 4 other siblings (also named Alcide 1, 2, 3 and 5).

    I cant tell you anything about Gertrude.
     
    Last edited: 16 Aug 2022
    kermodei likes this.
  16. Proud Peacock

    Proud Peacock Member

    Joined:
    13 Aug 2022
    Posts:
    10
    Location:
    Abbotsford
    Smaggledagle and Tigergal like this.
  17. Elena

    Elena Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    12 May 2020
    Posts:
    653
    Location:
    California
    A sad update on the wolf pack. Chia was found deceased on the side of the road. Tempest, a female born at the zoo last year, remains missing.

    News Update
     
    Smaggledagle and Tigergal like this.
  18. Zoofan15

    Zoofan15 Well-Known Member 5+ year member

    Joined:
    7 Mar 2015
    Posts:
    16,336
    Location:
    New Zealand
    Missing wolf (Tempest) safely recovered:

    Canada zoo finds escaped wolf pups in moment of joy tinged with tragedy

    In a statement on Friday morning, officials at the Greater Vancouver Zoo said Tempest, a one-year-old grey wolf, had been found and was “back with her family”. She had been located near the zoo, the statement said.

    The news came a day after the zoo announced that another escaped wolf, Chia, had died, probably after being hit by a car.
     
  19. bubblywums

    bubblywums Member

    Joined:
    21 Jun 2022
    Posts:
    20
    Location:
    Canada
    Very sad to hear about Chia, but wonderful news that pup has been found. Truly makes you wonder what goes through peoples heads when they do things like this, thinking they're "saving" the animals and end up causing their death instead. :(
     
    kermodei and StoppableSan like this.
  20. kermodei

    kermodei Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    11 May 2022
    Posts:
    91
    Location:
    Canada
    I've been following this story, both as a local and someone with an interest in zoological facilities, since the news first broke and honestly?... I'm not at all surprised this happened.

    This isn't the first time someone has broken into the Greater Vancouver Zoo, and every one of my recent visits has only reaffirmed my concern on the zoo's lack of security. During my visits, I never encounter more than 1 to 3 zookeepers, and only once have I seen a security guard. In the back corners of the zoo (which is where the wolf enclosure is located), it feels very empty and un-managed, if that makes sense?

    I sincerely hope this terrible incident prompts a serious upgrade in security measures at the zoo, for the safety of the animals and people, otherwise I really do fear something like this will happen again.

    Made the mistake of reading the comment sections of several articles/social media posts on the incident, and the brain rot is real. "Sorry to hear [you're] back in prison" and "Awe... I sincerely wanted the wolf to be free..." were just two of the many comments I came across, and they just highly how utterly disconnected most people are when it comes to animals in captivity.

    Is the Greater Vancouver Zoo a great place to be as an exotic animal? No, not in its current state, but neither is being "released" into an environment (i.e. suburban Aldergrove) that you, an animal who's spent their entire life in captivity, are completely ill-equipped for.

    Gah, okay, mini rant over lol.

    At the end of the day, I'm very glad to hear most of the zoo's pack, especially the recent litter of six's parents, are safe and sound. And am super curious to see what comes of the investigation into the break-in/vandalism.