The gorillas answer used to be Subira would return from Granby. However he is slated to go to Dallas anytime now to become a troop leader. He was on longer the most suitable choice. If he were to come that would mean Johari, Sadiki, Nassir and Nneka would all eventually have to go, the boys and Johari almost immediately which would leave Josephine who is post reproductive and Ngozi as the only breeder. Two to three more females would have to arrive. Thats moving at least 6 gorillas, and eventually 7 when Nneka matured. I think the most plausible answer will be Jawara who is at Granby. He is just about mature enough to become silverback. He belongs to Toronto already because his mother Julia was one of the original 6. He is not related to Ngozi, Johari or Nneka so they could all breed with him eventually, Johari right away. They wont have to transport him across the border. By bringing in a Granby male that would free up space for Sadiki and Nassir to move into the bachelor group in Granby should Jawara reject Sadiki (Nassir will go with Sadiki no matter how old he is because it is better for young males leaving the group to leave with their similar aged brothers). And because they own Jawara they would keep 100% ownership of all gorillas born at the zoo. Now to be honest the most recent SSP didnt say any of that... except Sadiki and Nassir being managed as a pair who will move together for their social well being when Sadiki is pushed out of the group be it by Charles or his successor. I have just looked at the available Toronto owned animals and Jawara is the most logical fit. There are other options but most would involve more transfers, cross border imports and animals not owned by the zoo. Granby houses Canada's only bachelor troop so they are the most likely receiving zoo for Sadiki and Nassir. Once Subira goes to Dallas and if Jawara came to Toronto that would mean they have two free spaces for Subira and Nassir. Zwalani is only a couple of years older than Sadiki so they should get along. Nsabi is about 20 so he would be their leader. He and Subira never got along because they are the same age and wanted to be top dog. Thats the best answer I can give. I would be willing to bet you Jawara is the future silverback for the zoo. I kind of wish they would bring him in now and have he and Johari start bonding and eventually breeding while Charles keeps Ngozi, the boys and Nneka. Josephine could travel back and forth. But thats just me and they probably dont have the space for two groups even if they are small groups. Disney actually has a bachelor group as well as a family group with a newborn.
Well, that was really informative. Thanks TZFan. Much appreciated. In terms of Disney, that's what one of the workers there was saying. The bachelor group has some pretty impressive looking males. The family group has the one male, who I didn't see. I did get to see the mother and newborn baby. Pretty cool. The highlight of that place was definitely the Safari Ride. To see all the mixed species exhibits was awesome.
What can I say I like the gorillas and have been very interested in their future. I know each gorilla that has passed though the zoo and who and where all of their descendants are, as well as if they belong to Toronto. Ever have a question about them just ask. Im also pretty well informed on the orangs too.
Yeah, Gorillas and Orangutans are a favourite of mine too. I wish the Orangutans had a better exhibit, which I'm everyone else wishes for as well. As for the Gorillas, I wish the outdoor exhibit was done better. I know there was talks of fixing it, and if they do, I'm hoping they opt for the moat barrier as oppose to the glass.
went to the zoo yesterday and got to take a look into the ostrich exhibit, although we did not see any baby ostriches running around, we did see three new eggs. One of the females was actually laying on for a little bit and the father was very protective
I'm almost positive that the news I heard was false and there are no ostrich babies at the zoo. The eggs you saw are probably the same ones that have been there for a while now.
I have also heard that there are no ostrich chicks. Must have been a misunderstanding. The odds of chicks from the eggs are low. Eunice is quite young and may not be fertile yet. While Miss Ellie and Orville haven produced a successful clutch in years. Might just have to wait a year so so for chicks.
Went to the zoo today. I was a little surprised by the time changes. Opening at 9:30 and closing at 4:30. There was no early Panda viewing for members. Last year the viewing went until Thanksgiving. Same with the hour changes. At the same time, I haven’t seen the zoo this quiet since the winter. With everyone going back to school there were no loud kids running around screaming their heads off. I was actually able to hear the crickets in the fields. Plus just about everything was closed, except for the Peacock Café and African Restaurant. Oh, and the Canadian Domain was closed off as well. Not sure why. Clouded Leopards are not on exhibit yet. But there seemed to be a lot of Keeper traffic in the Malayan Woods Pavilion. On a separate not, anyone have any idea if the zoo got or is getting Atlas Moths this year? Saw them a couple times last summer. They’re pretty impressive to look at. On my way to the Gorillas, I saw 2 Peahens walking around with 5 Peachicks. Can’t be sure which chicks belong to which hen. The Giraffes are still restricted to the first yard, which begs the question of when they’ll be given access to the other 2 yards. The third yard is fill with trees, so I’m not sure what the plan for that is, but the second yard looks decent enough for the Giraffes to walk around in. 2 Arctic Foxes were out today. They were both sleeping, so I wasn’t able to identify them, but it looked like the 2 girls. The problem with that is I remember hearing that one of them (Jupiter) was put down. If that were the case, Venus is the girl that stayed white, as she was the one I was able to identify. Cody and Jupiter both turn brown, and it was pretty hard to tell them apart if they were not next to each other, as Cody is larger. Today, there was a brown Arctic Fox with the White one, but they were not close to each other, and the brown one was sleeping in the long grass. From what I saw, it looked like the other girl, so it would be appreciated if someone can confirm the status on the Arctic Foxes. Second time that I’ve noticed that there was only 1 Green Tree Python on exhibit. There have always been 2 since last year. Anyone know anything about that? No more Zoomobile rides on weekdays, so I have no clue of any news about Eurasia.
It sounds like you had a nice quiet visit to the zoo cypher. I haven't seen any peafowl chicks this year, but it's nice to know that at least some were hatched. I'm almost positive that Jupiter was put down. That means you must have seen Venus and Cody.
Ah, a second confirmation that Jupiter was put down. That sucks because before she was put down, Jupiter was pretty active in the exhibit. I find Venus to be pretty lazy of late. She's always sleeping. On my next visit I'll try confirming that it was indeed Cody in the exhibit with Venus.
Also forgot to mention that they have added a sign in the Malayan Pavilion for the Boelen's Python. I'll post a picture of it later.
I can assure you Jupiter was put down. She got sick and there was nothing they could do to rally her. I dont know about the butterflies but I think the zoo orders up a bunch and they kind of get what they can. They could have ordered Atlas Butterflies but they might not have lived for whatever reason. Just a theory. I wonder too why the giraffes are restricted to just the one yard. Is there still construction in the 3rd yard? Or the feeding deck? Either one of those things could be part of the reason. It also might just be for now they want them in a place were people will see them since there is only two. The domain is closed to be repaved. It appears like the Canadian Wilderness is awhile off making repaving worth it. I have no idea what the timeline is but I wouldnt believe it even if I knew. I have heard a variety of dates for Eurasia's opening. Without a solid answer it still seems like fall is still an option. Glad you had a good day and at least got a good picture of the yak calfs (a season long goal for you) on your last visit before the zoomobile switched to weekends only.
If the Canadian Domain is being repaved, it must mean the zoo plans on keeping it open for a while. I'm not surprised though, especially after seeing how long it's taking for Eurasia to open.
What I have heard is that IndoMalaya will be the focus following the Health Center. But with new plans being drawn up in the next little while we will just have to wait and see what the project order is going to be. I would guess the repaving would drop the priority of the Wilderness for now. With all efforts rightly directed towards the Health Center if they ever finish Eurasia other big project will be sidelined until 2017-2018 when that might be finished. The zoo will just have to look to big births and new species to be the big draws while thats going on... Both options sound great to me.
I was reading a article about how our winter through off all construction schedules in Southern Ontario. Because of the deep freeze we had, outside construction can't start until the frost in the soil is clear. Some places didn't see the frost leave until mid-spring. This could of very well been the case with the zoo and Eurasia. If they couldn't start construction on schedule, there's a high chance they had to reschedule due to the company they were working with having other clients. Since the Health Centre is the next major construction project, we probably won't see the Canadian Wilderness construction start for another 5 years give or taken a couple years. If that's the case, repaving can't hurt as the roads are still used by pedestrians and vehicles.
I remember watching a video for the zoo's 40th anniversary that said the next major projects would be the animal health centre and the Canadian Wilderness. I would love for Indomalaya to be next though. Like I've said many times before, the zoo needs to focus on building an outdoor exhibit for the orangutans.
During the last time I attended the Orangutan Keeper talk, I asked about the outdoor exhibit, and the Keeper was really annoyed with the situation. I was suppose to start this fall, but something was prioritized to the Pandas and other, "more valuable" animals, that she felt were already well taken care of. Because of this the Orangutans outdoor exhibit has been pushed back to at least 2018. She said if we the customers want to see results, send emails to the CEO of the Toronto Zoo. Other than that, we won't see results.
The orangs deserve an outdoor exhibit dont get me wrong but the money just isnt there for it. It has been slated for external funding which means donations and in this economy that isnt easy to achieve. Hopefully when they get around to completing the master plans that $2 million donation will got right to the orangs. It would go a long way to the goal. I wish the zoo would try a kickstarter campaign for it. Sure it might not get the money it needs and fail but marketed the right way I think they would stand a chance. Get the word out to the media outlets. If its the first exhibit being funded that way at a zoo it could hit the international stage. I mentioned it to Wildforlife who works in the fund raising department but they said they looked at it and thought it wouldnt work. Sometimes though you need to try something risky because the rewards were huge. Oh well not much we can do to influence them.
Have the polar bears started denning? I know it's still early, but Aurora has had cubs in October in the past...
Today both Aurora and Nikita were out in the field. Humphrey was in the big pool yard. So I don't think they've showed signs of denning just yet.
