In addition pheasants would be EXTREMELY easy to source. All of the species suggest above, and many more, are very well established in private aviculture in Canada.
Panda, Da Mao, is up to his winter antics again! I'm hoping to see the twins antics in the snow soon. CTV News | News Video - Top National News Headlines - News Videos
Awesome thanks for the heads up m30t. It wasn't on last time I looked. Off to enjoy double the cuteness.
Toronto is back to doing its 12 days of giveaways again this year on their facebook page. I was disappointed not to see it last year but its great its back this year.
Here's some none news for us zoo chatters... Amur Tigers are returning in 2018... Shocker as the panda exhibit was originally designed for them. The zoo hinted at a surprise exhibit for a current species to open at the same time... Again no surprise here for us on zoo chat. We all know they are talking about the orangs new outdoor exhibit. Siberian tigers set to return to Toronto Zoo | Metro Toronto
What we didn't know is that its all some big secret. What a waste of an opportunity to push their crowd funding attempt for the orangs. It's the season of giving why not push the orangs? Pretend the Amurs are a secret then. Their exhibit is done.
Kind of sad as I hoped to be able to watch their manes really come in. But I am glad they were able to find a home. Particularly interesting in a reply to a FB comment they state that there is no plans to breed the lions again in the near future. Maybe we can hope to get other adult lions through the SSP now?
I hear ya @m30t. I really wanted to see what these cubs would start to look like when their manes really start coming in. Keepers believe Gus will have the largest, due to his growth already. I wouldn't be surprised if they plan on breeding them again. Although, I'd love to see a Tawny pride. Tawny Lions will also help with the SSP which is always a good thing. I missed Rowdy and all of his magnificence. Fan fact, most of the Keepers for the Lions have never worked with a Tawny female. Remember, Lyndy and Jerroh's mother was a White Lion.
@cypher I fully agree. The upside is parc safari isn't horrificly far away, maybe I'll make a trip there when they get a little older. My first thought was this would allow them to breed again (perhaps even in time for this summer to keep crowds coming). The only thing that changed my mind was the zoo's response to that question on their FB post. But who knows if that is the definitive word on the matter. That is a really interesting fact! Do you know how long it has been since the zoo had a female tawny lion?
@m30t it is possible that Fintan and Makali are listed as don't breed until the boys are gone. Once they're gone, the zoo could change the current breeding status quo. Also, the risk of having another all male litter could be a deterrent right now. More males means finding another facility that wants to take them. I have no clue when we last had Tawny females. Nokanda, mother of Lyndy and Jerroh, was a White Lion and had been at Toronto Zoo since 1997 before she died in 2011. I don't know of any other females except for the 3 White Lion females that came for the summer of 1995. Hopefully TZFan can shed some light on this for us. Something else I'm wondering about is if Parc Safari gave us anything for the cubs. I know we were looking to get some Cheetah's from them. I wonder if them getting the cubs is part of a bigger deal in the shadows.
Glad the boys found a home. Sort of surprised that Parc Safari took them with a pride of whites just a year older than Toronto's adults. Yet no cubs have been born to their pride. The boys might provide alternative breeding males. Breeding isn't out despite what the zoo's facebook manager has to say. Cubs mean money. They have been able to place all four boys rather easily considering they are only 15 months old. I really thought they were heading overseas and it would take time. However rejoining the AZA might have changed the rules a little. The AZA has asked its zoos not to breed white lions or tigers. Its not a total ban but its very frowned upon. For the first time since I got an AZA membership our lions are listed as part of the ssp so things may be changing. The SSP said not to breed our lions. What they decide to do might be different. Cubs in 2018 would help to ease the loss of the pandas so they might hold off a year. I don't think they will aim for 2017 cubs so that the adults have time to recover from cub rearing. Usually lions are bred two years or more. The last time there was a tawny lioness... I don't have a definitive answer. I was young and I don't have the lion studbook to work from (a really crappy old one exists but doesn't help at all). There was definitely a tawny pride from opening day to 1995 when the whites visited. The whites from Philly did have a tawny sister. Between 1995 and 1997 when Nokonda arrived the zoo was undergoing a savanna reno and I really don't recall the pride. I think they tried the tawny females with Rowdy but they rejected him. It's part of why they brought Nokonda in. I think we had tawny females until just before Nokonda arrived but I'm not certain. If the AZA ever gives me a better studbook to work from I will figure it all out. I wouldn't be surprised if some kind of swap happened to get the lion boys. However I would be equally not surprised if they didn't do a swap. They needed a home for the boys and any home would do even if they got nothing out of it because it does free space up for potential breeding. Hard to say what the situation would be. The zoo might be looking for a pride of tawnies to breed and not break AZA rules. Who knows. Time will tell.
In other news, the renovated Indian rhino indoor exhibit reopened to the public today. Much better for photos. The entire inside is for the rhinos, Babirusa will be on exhibit outdoors during the summer and off exhibit in the winter.
I was hoping with the renos the rhinos would be able to enter their pool. Seems likely my hopes were in vain. Good to know they have the indoor viewing area to themselves though.
I didn't realize the rhino house was being renovated, but it sounds pretty good. I don't mind that the babirusa will only be visible in the summer if it means the rhinos have more space. It's also good news that the zoo found somewhere for the lion cubs to go. I do hope that at some point a tawny pride is brought in, although that might not be for a while.
That's great news. I didn't think the Rhino renos were going to finish on time. I believe they were suppose to be done by the end of this year, which is it clearly has. Glad to hear that they'll get more space and better lighting. Taking decent pictures in there was always a challenge. Although I agree with @Palorchestes and wish they had access to the pool indoors.
More renos to their rhino space will likely come once they move towards a real reno and integration with otters and gaur. The barn will need major work to house the otters and gaur too.
