Wow I ignore zoochat for a few hours and it explodes, fantastic! I'm going to try to answer everything I can. Hyena142 has done a decent job of most of it thankfully.
@hyena142, great job snooping. I was the one who accidentally started the seating rumor. I was just spit balling ideas that could take a long time with them. I doubted they would do it. If they didnt before the penguins moved in I doubt they will. Pity they dont because its an eye sore.
Most of the animals still outside will probably be out until the temp really plunges or the snow flies. The monkeys for instance will probably be back out if the temp is warm enough.
The mystery of spider monkey Lucas has been put to rest for now. He could leave at any time because he's just moving over to Granby.
Neat use of the old lionfish exhibit. They tried something creative with the exhibit so I will give them props for that. Dolf seems to be letting the exhibit design team be creative. Bet they are thrilled to finally be able to do cool things.
Thanks again for the research trip! Lol.
Oh and San Diego's platypuses are not the first out of Australia ever. The Bronx tried three separate times between 1922 and 1958. None of them lived long. San Diego has already been more successful with their 5. Gosh I wish Toronto stood a chance at getting a platypus. That would be so cool. Dream animal. Yep. Who wouldn't want a beaver, otter, duck which is venomous!
@AJ the TZ Guy,
@hyena142 is right. The Aussies tend to keep a iron tight grip on their native species. The deaths of wildlife from fires has nothing to do with it. In fact I think it would work in our favor. They have a flood of animals who will not be able to go back to the wild. They only have so much space to house them so zoos overseas could relieve the pressure. I think that is why the zoo thought there was a shot at getting the koalas. Covid hitting has probably hurt the chances of getting them though. If we were to get two or three they have been trapped in Australia for the last 2 years. Thats a lot of time for the Aussies to change their mind. Don't get too psyched for them until the zoo says they have arrived. We all got bit in the butt when they announced walruses no one ever thought would be possible and now its 2 years later and there is virtually no chance that will ever happen. There is also our sadness from thinking we were getting sea otters for the front entrance which as been changed back to river otters. Until the animal arrives nothing is certain.
I'm almost certain the ring necked pheasant is dead. He's not been spotted since reopening I think. He was an older bird and has outlived his females.
The hopes of keeping the hippos are slim to none. They are a problem for a number of reasons. The biggest issues are the barn and exhibit. They are housed in the old elephant bull barn. It was never built for hippos in the first place. They have retrofitted it but roughly half the barn is unused. The building though is very old and isnt well suited for them. The animal plan made mention that the hippo barns roof and some of its major structure is in need of total replacement. Its deemed as being a job that is so expensive it probably will make more sense to just demolish the building. Now one could rip down the barn and start over but its hard to justify that project. The current site of the barn is too far from the exhibit. Keepers do struggle at times to convince them to go back and forth. Then there is winter. Its a lot of money to invest in a species that can only be outside from Mayish to the end of October. Moving the barn is an option but that will be more expensive because they would have to build that new barn in a spot with no infrastructure. By moving the barn there is the benefit of being able to create a winter indoor exhibit but that adds more cost. Lets not forget that the main exhibit is undersized per SSP regulations. That needs to be fixed too and that means the cost of expansion. All those costs go up if Toronto wants to hold a breeding herd. Ultimately most hippo exhibits cost $20-30 million, for the single species. Ours might cost more because of the need for an indoor winter exhibit and a new barn is necessary. Financially keeping the river hippos when so many other exhibits need major overhauls too just doesnt make sense. It's a crying shame. Wish the zoo could fundraise the same way US zoos do but it cant. At least can take solace in the fact we still have the pygmies.
The hippo girls are currently available for placement on the SSP. They are not for sale. I'm not even sure if Toronto owns them. They were born at Granby so they may have ownership and they have just been on loan. Ownership is a complicated issue for all species. The zoo might already know their future home if someone wants to take them. Being non breeding isn't a big issue. There are lots of other hippos who have unknown pedigrees like the girls who will never be allowed to breed. Disney for example has a big pod and the vast majority of those are never to be bred. The bigger issue is they are in that late middle age, old age phase and that can be expensive for their new home. I wont be sad if they struggle to find a new home for several years.
The foxes did indeed all die of neurological conditions, except Cody who was unfortunate enough to be killed and eaten by a great horned owl. It was not pretty. The foxes all came from I think Parc Safari so makes me wonder about the bloodline if they were all related but you cant rule out a problem with the exhibit. 7 foxes and all of them last only a few years. Cody was the longest lived. Thanks a lot Mr Owl. They might go back to the arctic fox but given the track record I dont hold out hope. Something is wrong. If they all had different causes of death then you could just say bad luck but 6 of 7 being neurological isn't coincidence. Either the Animal Plan or something we saw for the upcoming master plan indicated they were talking whooping cranes for that exhibit. I want wolverines or lynx as they will be a better fit for the tundra but no matter how many times I say it the zoo doesnt seem to hear me. Lol.
The chamois are also hard to spot because at best there are only 2 left, but based on a lack of sightings possibly just one. They are elderly and phase out so any time you see one it could be your last.
Ok I think I got all of the questions still needing explanation. This is great!!!
