There is still no pairing for our hammerkops however I did learn something interesting about the species which helps to explain why Toronto isn’t getting a female and might well never get one. Apparently in hammerkops males survive far longer than females. If they survive the first year a male’s lifespan averages nearly 13 years yet females are lucky to live to be six. That difference means there is more males in the population than females. FYI our older male is 13 and thus is now considered an elderly bird but could live another 5 or so years if the zoo is lucky. The younger one is 6. I cannot tell you if Homer or Hector are the older one. Given that Homer is out and a bout in the larger free flight space I would guess he is the younger bird but that’s just a guess. Has anyone heard if our new females scarlet ibises have arrived from Europe yet? It would double the flock from 2 to 4 if anyone has noticed more of them. The White-crested Laughingthrush is considered too old to breed so there will be no mate for him.
2016 summary. Births 4 lions - Gus, Hank, Oliver and Harrison 2 pandas - Jia Pan Pan and Jia Yue Yue 1 polar bear (one died) - Juno 1 southern ground hornbills (one died) 1 indian rhino - Nandu 2 lynx 3 tur (4 died) 1 camel (one died) - Jamarcus 1 zebra - Rey 1 burmese star tortoise 9 vancouver marmots 7 black footed ferrets 3 grassland whiptails Deaths 2 Lion - Lindy and Jerroh 5 Bison 1 elk - Megan 1 Gaboon Viper 1 zebra - Luke 5 tur - Fate plus 4 newborns 1 snow leopard - Tiga 1 moose - Elliot 1 wombat - Hamlet 1 Camel - stillborn 1 Polar bear - unnamed newborn 1 Grey Kangaroo - Robbo 1 Arctic Wolf - Loki 1 Sable Antelope - Millie 1 bennett’s Wallaby - Hobart 1 boa constrictor - Cleo 1 sloth - Tania 1 gaur - Forrest Notable arrivals 1 Hyena - Kanzi 1 Pygmy Hippo - Kindia 1 camel - Suria 1 Tree Kangaroo - Collins 2 Polar Bear - Hudson and Humphrey Notable departures Tree Kangaroo - Harrington
A final update on the baby boom of 2016. Lions and camels and bears, oh my: Catching up on the Toronto Zoo’s baby boom | Toronto Star
