Toronto Zoo Meaghan's Zoo Visits

Thought I'd make one thread for my zoo visits, since I go there pretty often and don't want to create clutter

I had today, and truly had a terrific time!

-Red Pandas weren't just highly visible, but were also very active! That has got to be my favorite sighting of them in a long, long time.

-Not only did I pet the rays, sharks and Horseshoe Crabs, but I also got to feed them, too. The sharks sucked the little fish up like a vacuum and the rays practically drowned me I think the crabs already had their fill but still seemed to appreciate a gentle rub to their shell.

-Hyena (lone) was up and about for a moment before retiring to his den. Surprised me to see him since the board mentioned hyenas was off display.

-Groundhogs in the Children's Zoo were active; they and the skunks had switched enclosures. Also, Guinea Fowl in the exhibit that was previously home to Wild Turkeys. Crested Crested Seriema was moved to an enclosure that I believe had an owl.

-African lions Rowdy and Nokonda were out on exhibit. For such an old cat, Rowdy is looking great, somehow looking younger than I've seen him a while ago. Lyndy and Jerroh are going to be turning 10 years old!

-Polar bears were enjoying a swim, while the wolves and foxes were flaked out.

-African pavilion is coming along nicely; the detailed pillars are already looking far better than the old plain concrete ones that they had. Was money the reason this area wasn't redone when the gorillas were getting a new exhibit?

 

Yes I believe so, I think money is the reason why it was scaled back like many of the other projects happening around the zoo !

 

Thought as such! I wouldn't doubt this area alone is costing at least a million or more to redo.

 

I think I read somewhere it was about 1.6 million to redo? I'm not to sure I will have to check again soon.

 

Are the concrete pillar being renovated to look like trees/tree trunks?

 

Yep! I always thought they looked kinda out of place left plain.

 

That's awesome! I'm excited for this new renovation, especially with the Duikers coming in.

 

I'm most excited about the duiker, too. The closest I've seen to a duiker are the muntjak at Toronto and the dik-dik at North Carolina Zoo.

Oh, and the fur seal exhibit was roped off, maybe they're working on the coastal bird/penguin exhibit?

 

The seal exhibit has been roped off for a very long time now, its actually due to the fact that Rosi is never/rarely on exhibit.

 

Where do they keep rosi if she is not on exhibit, would that not be the best pool for her to be in?

 

There is two pools in the seal exhibit. The main exhibit pool is freshwater and the smaller off exhibit pool is saltwater. Rosi has a few health problems so keeping her in the smaller saltwater pool is better in a health related way, however I believe she still gets access to the main pool a couple times a day.

 

O that's interesting, was not aware that the seals would be okay in freshwater. Thanks for the info Quartz

 

Thanks foro the info, Quartz

Oooh, and that dirt pile behind the cheetahs, etc? When I saw it again I thought of my plans all over again for what I'd love to see there!

 

My GF was at the zoo said there was workers in the seal enclosure from what she saw, but scince rosie is yet to go I guess they were keepers. She got me all excited.

 

Head's up, I'll be going on the weekend (probably Sunday) and I'll tell you all my report I haven't' been going too recently because I was on vacation for a few weeks in October and November was busy for me.

 

Another terrific visit! Saw some really neat things.

-Observed some interesting interaction between the Saki monkeys and sloth; sloth (surprisingly active!) was going to move onto a branch when the Saki monkey vocalized and tried to smack the sloth.

-While the wolves were lazy, the Arctic foxes were busy, busy, busy! Hard to photograph The polar bears were chilling out, save for one of the ladies who was having a swim.

-Dholes were vocalizing! I haven't heard a Toronto dhole vocalize since they had their old female.

-Saw the young cheetahs and lions munchin' on their bones. Overheard those famous cheetah chirps as they played, too. What a delightful little sound!

-African Rainforest pavillion renos coming along very nicely. The keeper who was doing the lion feeding said they may place the African Crested Porcupines in the pavilion as the porcupines will likely just dig and hide away from visitors in the former caracal exhibit.

 

Hmm, Interesting about the Porcupines. Thanks for the updates!

 

You're very welcome! I'll be going tomorrow. I understand there is a baby Guar and I'll be checking the little guy out.

 

When I went last week, the baby was inside with his mom. The rest of the herd were outside.

 

I m off to the zoo today as well. I last went on the boxing day treats walk on dec 26. I went pinto the winter indoor buiilding and immediately had practically the whole herd looking right at me as I was the only one in the building. I only got a brief glimpse of the little guy before mommy moved between him and me. Everyone else had individual stalls and were happily eating away.