Haven’t been to the zoo since September, so I decided to take a trip there today. I was focus on getting certain shots of certain animals in the snow, so I didn’t go everywhere. First stop was the Pandas, and for the first time, I got a chance to see Er Shun and the cubs in the large exhibit. I got a couple shots of them in the snow fall, only to have a keeper bring them inside. Very infuriating, as it wasn’t really cold. Next stop was the Snow Leopard. There was only one I could see on exhibit, resting in the cave. Quite a letdown. I then went to Tundra to check out the Wolves. Usually have good luck with them in snow. This time was not the case, but I did get some shots of the Polar Bears in the yard exhibit. Afterwards I headed to the Cheetah talk. Before the Keeper arrived, Lani and her cubs were running and chasing each other through the snow. They were having a great time, and I’m hoping my shots of their play came out nicely. The Keeper mentioned that they’re hoping to keep the cubs with Lani for at least a year, which would be the end of April. Last stop was the Lion Keeper talk. Keeper mentioned that Lemon is starting to become more dominate since Makali was spayed. It’s an interesting dynamic for the Keepers to witness. Lemon is still at the bottom of the chain, but she stands her ground more often than before. Also, Lemurs look to be off exhibit while they begin redesigning the exhibit to hold Aldabra Giant Tortoise.
I forgot to mention, at the Lion Keeper talk, someone asked what the plan is for the future of the lions since both Makali and Lemon are now spayed. Keeper said that there are talks of bringing back Tawny lions and phasing out the White Lions. This is obviously far in the future, but it looks like that's where things might be heading.
Had a fantastic yearly Christmas eve visit at the zoo today! Lani and her kids were very busy today, and Lowland gorilla boy Nassir was a real ham today, the hyena was active and lions were out in their heated rock, chilling out. Had my first visit at the hospital were I learned different, neat stuff. Love that the Aldabra Tortoises are coming back! I was sad to see them go when they left years ago, loved them when I was a little girl. It's great to see that many of the "new" species planned for Toronto Zoo are old school species that were previously displayed (coyote is another). One bit of info I got today was from a volunteer who said there's a different species of tiger coming to the zoo. She said they weren't Amurs.
I also toured the health centre today. A number of basic zoo facts the volunteer guide said were in error. It's even been in the news & other zoo documents that the Amurs (Siberians) are coming back.
Don't get me wrong...I've gone on the health centre tour many times & the volunteer guides have been great! I didn't feel today's tour was so good.
Yup it's possible. I know I was excited when I heard a "Chrysanthemum Dog" was coming into the grooming shop I work at -- turns out it was just another name for Shih Tzu Alternative names for species/breeds can throw you off.
