We wanted to ask for some help identifying animals that may or may not be at the Toronto Zoo. Most have signs but are never there. Some are on the website but not on display at the zoo. AMERICAS Surinam Toad Giant Pacific Octopus - confirmed by a keeper to no longer be there Sailfin Sculpin Blue Dacnis Blue-Grey Tanager MALAYAN WOODS Shrimp - There was a small shrimp in one tank with no label. Just a few days ago. BURROWS & CAVES of AFRICA Scorpion - We have seen it in there but just labelled Scorpion Whip Spider Jade Headed Buffalo Beetle Yellow-Bellied Congo Chafer Beetle AUSTRALIA GREAT BARRIER REEF Semicircle Angelfish INDOMALAYA Black-Breasted Thrush Cabot's Tragopan AFRICA Blue-Bellied Roller Home's Hingeback Tortoise There is a new tank with African Lungfish etc. There was a reedfish and some white blotchy perches (perhaps) in this tank when we looked. The other tank also had fish we couldn't identify. Hopefully it is a work in progress and the fish are on their way. This tank along with the ones near the chameleons are very confusing. African lungfish reedfsh - This one we confirmed, just in wrong tank Rainbow Killifish Chocolate Striped Squeaker - has squeakers but not sure they are chocolate striped Synodontid Catfish - this category includes Squeakers we believe (also saw a bristlenose catfish before) African Bonytongue Leopard Climbing Perch Yellow-Tailed Congo Tetra Congo Tetra Malagasy Killifish Gold-ringed Pufferfish Freshwater Pufferfish Elephantnose fish (the zoo used to have some of these so we hope they are returning) Thanks for any information anyone may have.
I also seem to recall signs for a Himalayan monal in Indo-Malaya but have never once seen it there. I believe for the burrows area the labels have been scratched off some of the displays so what is now simply "scorpion" probably said "emperor scorpion" some time ago.
Sorry cant be a help on much of your list... If it isn't fuzzy and sometimes feathery I don't tend to focus. The blue bellied rollers may or may not have escaped their aviary... ok have. You really have to look around to find them. I think if memory recalls there is only two males. Look high they like to be up near the roof. They can be anywhere from the meekats to the lemurs. I accidentally noticed one up in the rafters last time I was there.
Thank-you for the input. We think the Himalayan Monal and signs may have been a long time ago. They would have made our list if we had noticed a sign. Outside near the Gaur exhibit was always a wood post with Muntjac on it, many years after they were gone. We suspect you are right about the 'emperor' scorpion. We will also keep our heads up next time we go through the African Pavilion in hopes of seeing the escapees.
There is one Blue-bellied Roller living high in African Rainforest.. Sometimes late afternoon you can see him down around the lemurs or the Sacred Ibis, stealing food. Blue-bellied Roller | ZooChat
The new signs point to the perches being cichlids. They don't seem to have specified which cichlid it is, though. As for the other tank, the fish seem to be the Lake Victoria cichlids - it seems that the Toronto Zoo decided to move them out of their old tank in the African Caves and Burrows exhibit. The Surinam Toad's sign has been there forever. They've currently moved that sign to the Eyelash Vipers exhibit, but I have yet to see them. I can confirm the Giant Pacific Octopus no longer being at the zoo - the exhibit was completely empty when I went and there was a sign in it instead. I also have yet to see the Sailfin Sculpin - my guess is that they are probably hidden somewhere in their exhibit. The Shrimp is gone! The zoo is apparently down to one shrimp - their former exhibit in the Indomalaya pavilion is gone and their temporary exhibit in the Malayan Woods exhibit is gone as well. The Jade Headed Buffalo Beetle and the Yellow-Bellied Congo Chafer Beetles haven't been in the zoo since forever. All that exists of their exhibit seems to be their labels and the green sign. I doubt that they'll be coming back, honestly... I believe that the Home's Hingeback Tortoise lives with the Radiated Tortoises. I saw a tortoise yesterday that looked exactly like them...
Thanks for lots of information. We will see how things are signed next time we go. We had noticed that the aba-aba fish was down near the bats last time that we visited. You are probably right about the other missing animals. Time to take down some signs. Surinam toads used to be floating without moving in a tank, but that was years ago. We will check the tortoise shells to see which one doesn't belong. We also posted a picture of what we now think is a Black Diamond Cichlid Black Diamond Cichlid | ZooChat
