With a new year and a second prolonged closure going on the zoo has introduced a second Zoo Food for Life campaign seeking to raise $35 000 to help feed the animals during this difficult time. Hopefully things go as successfully as last time. Check it out on Facebook. It's been up for an hour or so now and is already at $1100.
The Orang Project will move forward despite new rules in place! Dolf DeJong has confirmed on Social Media.
The Main climbing steel poles were being installed yesterday for the orangutans. Just another step forward for the Project.
The zoo is looking for a live streaming video company to come in and set up cams for a subscription based service. Now I feel like we are starting to cross a line for money. Most zoos provide their live webcams free of charge. I have zero interest in paying them for that. Ill just go watch San Diego's cams for free! https://www.torontozoo.com/pdfs/rfp...VE CAMERA SUBSCRIPTION - February 4 FINAL.pdf In more mundane news they are also looking at upgrading the bathrooms in the Rainforest pavilion. https://www.torontozoo.com/pdfs/rfp/2021/TZC T 02-2021-01 COMBINED.pdf
Agreed totally. It seems like the zoo is constantly stretching for ways to save money. Is it just me or are they so concerned about money they forget they are a zoo? I think they need to begin to turn their attention to San Deigo or Bronx and really understand the value of immersive exhibits, etc. Or perhaps remove some of the roles that are not 100% needed to free up significant capital. I get COVID is a thing but this ‘money grabbing’ has been a theme for many year.... just a thought maybe they should hire some of us as consultants.. take the time spent on these RFPs and put it to better use. *rant over*
@Quartz92 I love your rant. Sometimes rants reveal great truth. I love a lot of the changes. I'm fine with bleeding me with experiences when I'm at the zoo. I love the behind the scenes. If I was adventurous at all I would love the zip line, climbing course, and the second tree top zipline would be appealing. I appreciate the zoomobile. I have no problem with their money raising campaigns, though I really feel they need to find someone who is better at running it. Terra Lumina is not my thing but I get it might be for others. That's where I like choice. I'd be game for more experiences to pay for at the zoo. Making people pay for the live cam when everyone else offers them free and we have all gotten so used to free daily keeper talks on Facebook just seems greedy. You are right they really should look to some of us for vision. And I dont just mean zoochatters. Their annual visitor survey is a good start at seeing what we want but I have yet as a member to be asked my opinion on anything. Its the members you should look to for ideas. And I dont just mean surveys. Hold focus groups. Actually call members and just have a chat based on a questionnaire but a talk that can be organic. I am certain there are some long time members who could offer them a world of insights, ideas, highlight actual strengths and weaknesses ect. And some of these members might have time to volunteer in the traditional sense or want to stand by a table all day. But they have a wide variety of talents, skills and knowledge they can contribute and maybe find a different way to volunteer but you cant know that if you don't talk to people. They could find a PR genius or someone in charge of a marketing firm who would volunteer services and do a stellar job or help guide the zoos person. Maybe find someone who is great at finance and could help the zoo invest money to make more money. Meet architects and designers who never thought about building zoo exhibits but have amazing visions. Who knows what you could find and maybe you do find some new employees who never saw the zoo as a possibility?
Today's facebook live (Feb 21) is showing off the new winterized zoomobiles. They are kinda uglier than I anticipated. The driver car is a fake train engine and the cars all have doors and windows with nice padded seats. I wish the zoo had sprung for a paint job other than stark white. It could have maybe looked better if the engine was painted to look closer to real and the cars painted zoomo green. Or at least trimmed green. The solid white is just so bland and makes the drivers cab look just terrible when it had potential. I never liked the design when they announced the winner of the contract but there were photos of other peoples versions and the paint jobs varied. The better the paint the better it looked. Apparently one solid colour not the way to go at least in my opinion. I also question white as that choice. We all see how white cars end up looking dirtier then every other colour with all the bug splats and gifts from birds above. It probably would have cost more to paint multiple colours but I think it would have been worth it. We are supposed to be a world class zoo lets look it people. They showed off the zoomo running. They arent sure what the routes will look like. Sounds like there will be a summer and winter route which makes sense. I doubt the summer one would change much. The winter one they are busy testing out the capabilities which is also has to be a little hard to do without guests. You kinda need the weight. They did drive it up the path from tundra trek to the savanna then behind the watusi and back down to the temple. There was talk of seeing how it works and possibly if it can handle the weight doing runs down to the domain. That would be a unique feature and I might venture down that way again if I don't have to hike the hill. The goal in the winter too is to utilize the internal paths more allowing guests to see as much as possible from inside with stops at as many of the pavilions as possible. Not a bad idea. One part that has me a little concerned is they were asked if the new zoomo is being included in memberships and he answered they are looking into it. They better keep zoomo rides free for members. It's a pretty big perk especially since they ended the free parking for members at some point. The 10% discount off food and the gift shop and activities doesn't really count when you have to spend even more money to get it. For members who go often or families that can be a pretty big cost at $9 a person per visit. Might be risky to take things away from your most loyal supporters, the members. Hopefully the person talking was wording things weirdly and maybe they were just talking about what they are considering for winter zoomo ride costs. I could get that a winter ride might cost a different amount then summer costs depending on the routes.
I will be excited to try the new Zoomo, but some good news besides that is the Toronto Zoo has partnered with Dr. Jill Bueddefeld a social scientist for public engagement and activities. Her goal is to make and effective and Important impact on the public and make some positive changes around the zoo for the guest experience.
I saw that too and totally forgot. I hope the Dr. Bueddefeld can really help the zoo. Bringing in someone to study what they have in terms of guest experience and impact could really help push the zoo forward. I do think it is a shame she hasn't completed her study already because the new master plan is not going to be impacted by her work. Not that they cannot pivot and adjust but might be a stronger vision going forward after she is done or at least further along on her path. Good luck Dr. Bueddefeld!
The Wildlife Conservancy posted a new update on the orangutan exhibit. There is a new fundraising campaign called “Reaching New Heights for Orangutans”. It’s a final push to raise $2.7 million with a deadline of April 30th. They’ve already raised over $7 million of the $10 million budget. There are also new construction photos and a new PDF going into more detail about the habitat and process. It’s worth checking out! WILDLIFE CONSERVANCY | Orangutan Habitat Project
I attended the webinar for the master plan. I want that hour and a half back from my life. It was sooooooooooooooooooooo boring. I didn't care what their thinking was on how they develop it. I wanted to know some of that they were putting in it. There were a few glimpses. The zoo has until 2025 to meet accessibility requirements throughout the site so a lot needs to be done. One accessibility concern they talked about was the rainforest. They are thinking about utilizing the space better by putting us in the cage and let us move through a tunnel. I think she said suspended. Dont quote me. When the master plan person was talking I zoned out a fair bit. The new savanna building sounds like its going to be an early priority. They are planning on building it in phases it sounds like. It will be located just off the gorilla habitat and swinging into the service area where the barns all are. I would like to see the gorilla habitat expanded first then use the remaining space for the barn but I know I dont get a vote. They are really focused on building the daycare. I think they have dropped the idea of moving the domain completely. It was mentioned that maybe some of the bison, the otters and beavers would move to the space between Tundra Trek and the drive thru and yet somehow be outside of the zoo so people can see them for free. I didnt understand the logic in that. I dont see why you would move the bison who arguably need the most space. If anything and you want to keep it local species then why not shift the moose and eagles up to the area. I think they have also dropped the idea of a Canadian pavilion which then begs some questions about the future of the Americas. The now it seems plan to keep the temple and expand the jaguar habitat. They want to expand the Amur tiger habitat and barn. Seems weird its pretty much the last major thing they built but what do I know. In the parking lot they are thinking about planting more trees on the islands to provide habitats for animals. Heck I think most people would just like shade for their cars. Make the walk from your car seem a little nicer too. The tech guy was far more interesting then the master plan lady. He mentioned they are looking at so many things to integrate tech into the zoo. Some of the key things I remember include an interactive app that will be your map and provide animal information, audio guides, VR experiences... there were some more things but I might have been texting while watching too. They want to expand the ugly zoomo fleet. Yippie... more ugly white fake trains... The new monorail deal isnt dead yet. Though they seemed less sure about it then they had in the past. I think its probably going to fall through. They are working with other nearby transit to see about getting buses into the zoo thus expanding their possible visitor base. They want to continue to ramp up their social media presence and do new cool things as the tech on site improves so they can take us places we have never been before. Im guessing they are just talking about their clearly spotty wifi in a lot of the buildings. They are actually reading our surveys. Several times they made mention of feedback they got from those. And they made a huge mistake where I'm concerned and let me know an email address. Suckers. You can email the team instead of sending in a million surveys at [email protected]. Alright friends, go nuts and send them your brilliant thoughts. We know we all have at least 5 amazing ideas that could improve the zoo and someone is finally asking us for them. Will they do something one of us suggests? I don't know but they are at least hearing us which is revolutionary for the zoo. The master plan should be done by the end of June and from the sounds of the master plan person they are not firm on most of their ideas. The only things that sounded like certainties to me were the savanna barn and daycare.
I also attended the virtual planning session. It sounds like they want to put in the effort to make the Savanna area a good pavilion. Mentioned that it might also be winter holding for the baboons if there still around at that point. They even mentioned using it as maker space during the summer for nature themed arts and crafts and other creative endeavors. The way they talked about the Amur Tiger and Jaguar habitats I couldn't tell if they meant expanding them or just bringing up the area around them to up to the disability requirements. It sounded like they wanted to split the Bison herd bringing some up and leaving the rest down for continued breeding which I think was always the plan. It seemed like they wanted to bring the raccoons, saved lynx up. Don't think there currently are any bald eagles down there. I don't remember hearing anything about grizzlies or the moose. Correct me if I'm wrong but Bailey the Cougar is an older cat let's see if they even decide to replace them when he passes. The last thing for this is they wanted too put the cabin for glamping on the ridge. Dolf specifically mentioned the juxtaposition of watching the bison from the ridge and hearing threw heavy breathing. I don't seen them wanting to gut the ridge to much so I thought they might knock down the lynx exhibit and put it there. As too more trees in the parking lot they floated the idea of a tree nursery that they would then take trees to plant and place in different areas of the zoo. I would personally like to see the shade structures that Cincinnati has that are fitted with solar panels on top. If the zoo could get off the grid that would n save a lot of money and help make them a green leader among zoos. I think they mentioned digital memberships so you scan in and out eliminating the need for big lines. Can't remember which presentation it was in but they mentioned the education segments they've been doing and talking about expanding them for schools. They also said they want to reach schools across Canada and America. I would be really excited to see they Toronto Zoo taking a really leadership position again in being on the forefront of zoos. When the zoo first opened they employed a lot revolutionary ideas. I think they've always met there commitments to conservation but it feels like we've lagged behind in areas of innovation at least in the public side.
Board meeting stuff is up for the April 13th meeting. Attendance report... yeah no attendance. But interestingly the zoo has nearly tripled its expectations for educational programing. The pandemic has done a lot of damage to the zoo in a lot of ways but this is certainly a good impact. They are seeing there is an desire on the part of educators to connect kids with the zoo in a digital way. From the master plan meeting I watched they said they have been connecting with kids all over the world so hopefully they keep up these distant connections. Transit report - They are continuing to work with local transit authorities to develop new routes bringing guests to the zoo from different areas. Durham has tentatively agreed and York is seriously looking into it. The new routes would run weekends (possibly Friday through Sunday) May through Labor Day and possibly longer depending on demand. Great news for those who don't drive in those areas. Construction - work on roofing and skylights in the giraffe house and Canopy Classroom, Education Building will happen this summer. There are some other things they will cover but there is nothing to read about them yet. Collective bargaining time is up again but that will be an oral report.
I think distant education programming is a great idea! We have some animals that are not present in other countries and vice versa. Funnily enough, back in January when TZ had a little Virtual Learning segment, my cousin in England tuned in with her students. She teaches biology and though it was a good opportunity to show her kids a Canadian Zoo. She has visited TZ with me on multiple occasions. My cousin once interned at Chester Zoo in England and studied fertility in their Okapi!
I can't help but note that there is no zoo design firm among the consultants. The team looks talented but it mist be significant that zoo design firms were not included.
The Zoo has just confirmed that Bucky is being held in the gibbon exhibit for the winter. His summer home will be back out in the yard next to the rhino house. Bummer that he didn’t get mixed with the orangs, but things could always change.
Moving babirusa, Bucky, back and forth seasonally is an interesting move. If he's getting along so well with the gibbons I don't see why they don't just leave him be. He gets the social stimulation there that he would not get in the rhino barn where he doesn't get to interact with the rhinos or even female babirusa Olive. Perhaps he really enjoys his outside time and they don't want to deprive him of that. But keeping him over in the gibbon habitat would free up space in the rhino barn rotation. Olive could spend most of the summer outside while the rhinos rotate between the outdoor exhibit and outdoor holding as well as the indoor exhibit. Considering Asha must be getting close to pushing Kiran away that could be beneficial. Pity Bucky isn't staying with the gibbons full time because the exhibit looks so much fuller and lively with him in there with them. Oh well.
In amazing news for the zoo the union has voted to ratify a new 5 year agreement which averts a strike which could have happened as early as April 24th. Another strike is the last thing the zoo would have needed... although it is closed anyway and it would have saved wages. In the end its what is best for the animals. Glad they could work something out that so many of the zoo's employees could get behind. Toronto Zoo Workers Ratify New Contract With City of Toronto | The Star Phoenix
More details on the new bus route from Durham. The new route could start on June 26 (if the zoo is open again) and run weekends and Holidays until Labour Day at least. It should run along Baseline/Baily and make stops at the Oshawa Town Centre and Pickering Town Centre as well as Durham GO Train stations before stopping at the Rouge Park entrance and the Toronto Zoo transit loop. The times have yet to be determined. Hope that info helps someone. The zoo also has a new program for kids. Keepers will read animal themed stories every Thursday night at 7pm on Facebook and YouTube starting April 22. I think its a nice way for keepers to connect on another level with kids. When kids can go back they might want to meet their favourite keeper just as much as their favourite animal. I bet there are a number of keepers who will really enjoy getting to connect with little ones again.
