There is a baby Egyptian fruit bat in the African Rainforest Pavilion. It is very hard to see and is always clinging onto its mother. Also, one of the naked mole rats is pregnant.
Warthog, Woody, has passed away. He died over Easter weekend. He and litter mate Norm are 10. Male warthogs often live to 11.2 years (18 being the max) so he was getting up there but they did come from some longer lived warthogs. Mom Pumba lived to 17, as did uncle Stephan and grandma Roberta. But dad Jack Junior only made it to 9 and grandpa Gonzo made it to 11. Once the current piglet are separated from Lucy I would guess Norm will become the breeding male. The SPP had said Stephan should be the primary breeder and if he died then either Norm or Woody. Stephan was able to sire both Lucy's litters prior to his passing. Woody never got the chance to breed with her once he as selected as breeding male because Lucy was already pregnant with the current litter. Adding to the sadness the zoo arctic fox, Venus, also died over the Easter weekend. I have no idea what happened to her just that she died. It's incredibly sad that over the span of one year the zoo lost 3 foxes. Cody's death was one thing but Venus and Jupiter were both so young. It makes me wonder if there was something in the girls genes that maybe made them more vulnerable. Bigger question now is what will the zoo do with their exhibit? I hope more arctic foxes will be arriving but if the exhibit could hold wolverines that wouldn't be so bad either.
That's a real bummer to hear about these death's. I especially had a fondness for Venus. She was always a joy to watch, and she had a near perfect fur coat. It would really suck to see the exhibit empty during the spring and summer. Hopefully the zoo has a plan for this.
With Venus's death being so recent and probably given her age at least somewhat unexpected, I highly doubt the zoo has any immediate plans. Replacement foxes would be great. The zoo originally planned on wolverines in Tundra Trek so perhaps depending on the exhibit requirements and availability of wolverines they might look at that option which would be cool. Its a small exhibit so that limits the possibilities. Maybe martin, mink, snow shoe rabbits. Maybe move the lynx. I cant think of much else. Tundra Trek is in a very odd position right now. With the exception of the polar bears the other exhibits are getting pretty empty. The fox exhibit is empty after loosing all three foxes. The wolf exhibit is down to three elderly males though this is far from unexpected based on the age of the pack when Tundra Trek opened. The snowy owl exhibit is down to one male after losing the female last year. And that's with the previous owl pair having passed soon after Tundra Trek opened (being fair they were old). The reindeer are down to 3-4 animals with one being outreach and another living in the Wilds. Lastly the snow goose exhibit only seems to have a handful of geese ever on display. For an area opened that just opened in late 2009 that is a lot of losses. Even more if one adds in all the cubs Aurora has lost (9 of 11).
Tundra Trek is in a tight pickle right now. The Arctic fox exhibit is both too small and improperly built for wolverines. With some expansion backwards and upwards they may be able to fit the Lynx, but if the Lynx are due to go to the New Canada, an expansion of that kinda may not be considered with so many other projects in need of funding. Rabbits would be cool, but if they behave anything like their domestic counterparts then it could be a boring enclosure. Who knows what they will really do. They may just find a new pair later in the year, but with so much focus on the other projects it could be a long time before anything fills that enclosure.
It's too bad about Venus and Woody. Like everyone else, I'm curious about what will happen to the fox enclosure. Arctic foxes are not very rare in captivity so it shouldn't be to hard to get more of them if that's what the zoo wants. Having wolverines or lynxes in that exhibit would be great, but I agree that it's probably too small for them. From what I've heard, wild rabbit species do not normally do well in captivity so they may not be the best choice.
I figured the exhibit wouldn't be able to hold wolverines. I know they are tough to house and the exhibit might need to be specially designed for them. Wishful thinking. I also wondered if the lynx would be too big for it but if they could somehow squeeze them in there it might be cheaper than building a brand new exhibit for them later on... though I think they will end up in the old snow leopard exhibit with few changes while the cougars would end up in the dhole exhibit with some major changes. Personally I would be disappointed with anything other than foxes, wolverines or lynx. Hopefully a new pair of foxes can be found. I love the dramatic transformation they go through every year.
I forgot to mention seeing them during my last trip to the zoo. I was surprised to see how active they were, hoping from adult to adult.
Gorilla, Sadiki, is recovering from a partial amputation of one of his toes after an infection set in when he broke a toe in December. Toronto Zoo gorilla recovers after foot surgery - Toronto - CBC News
I hope Tanuck enjoys his new home. On my zookeeper for a day Sadiki had already had the surgery and according to the keepers is doing very well.
Oh, forgot... I had heard that orang, Sekali, also had a toe amputated around the same time as Sadiki. I think it was a similar scenario... a break leading to infection. She is also doing well now.
The camel was giving birth last time we were there....but when there yesterday she has a bandage and no baby?
It's official friends, male giraffe Kiko is coming! His final goodbyes are being held at Greenville Zoo May 16th so my guess is he will arrive in Toronto soon thereafter. Kiko to leave Greenville Zoo | Local News - WYFF Home
That's great news to hear. His debut in in June/July will help bring in customers for the summer. I wonder how long it will be before he actually joins the females on exhibit. Because after clearing quarantine, I doubt he'll be put with the girls right away. It'll most likely be a slow and careful introduction.
Depends first on the length of his quarantine first. 30 days is standard for most but could be 60 to 90 days. I would think the goal will be to have him with the girls full time by early fall then they can be on display inside together all winter. Intros will be easier with plenty of space for all. Just nice that the zoo will soon have 3 giraffes. Since Ginetta's death I have been worried if anything happens to Twiga or Mstari the other one would be all alone. Once Kiko arrives that wont be an issue anymore.
I just remembered that I heard the Wildebeest will be going into Norm's exhibit, and he won't return there. Not sure where he'll be going, but I'm thinking he'll probably be left off exhibit.
Norm can move in with Lucy and the piglets now that Woody has passed. He might not be on display with them but he could rotate on exhibit with them. Given the piglets size he might be able to be with them.
The piglets are growing pretty nicely in size. Yesterday, I saw them practice fighting with each other, while Lucy napped. They're clearly becoming more independent. It would be awesome seeing Norm on exhibit, because he has those impressive looking tusks. they're just a pleasure to see.
