Toronto Zoo Toronto Zoo Discussion thread 2023

Two, hopefully final, questions for the species list. Both deal with waterfowl.

1) In the Arctic area there’s a sign for geese by a pond exhibit that notes they’re off exhibit due to avian influenza. There were snow geese in another habitat that was rather unsuitable for them and I suspect was meant for foxes or lynx. What species of goose lived in the little pond exhibit? Just the snow geese?

2) Are the trumpeter swans / herons / ducks / turtles in the overlook in Canadian Domain wild or are they zoo animals? I would think the latter but they also had signage for songbirds they can’t possibly contain in that area so now I’m not sure if the signage was just for wild species that might be seen there.
 
@Persephone 1) It was just the snow geese, they used to be there. They moved to their current exhibit when the zoo decided to stop housing Arctic foxes after a series of deaths

2) The trumpeter swans are wild animals managed by the zoo if that makes sense, the zoo works in a conservation program with them that helps them breed. Here's a tweet from 2019 where the zoo talks about them. The rest are wild birds that like to hang out at Weston Pond, the zoo has those signs up to help guests identify them
 
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TZFan said:
@Zoo adventures, @hyena142 is correct about the hippos, mostly. It's not so much about weather. Yes we do need to build a winter habitat so they arent off display as much of the year if we were to build them a new exhibit but it's almost entirely the cost for a single species. The AZA has asked that all zoos housing hippos in the future have space for bachelor bulls as well as cows with calves. They would like larger groups than 2 plus a calf to be kept. They have long lives and if they arent needed for breeding they will be around for a long while. To keep the population diverse and the age structure stable more holding space is needed. In Toronto's case the exhibit is already undersized for the girls. We would need to expand the exhibit and build a new indoor exhibit. You might say well why not convert their current barn? Yeah that barn is in such rough shape the zoo would like to get rid of the girls and just rip it down. Converting for the hippos just wouldnt be worth the absolutely massive expense. A new barn would be cheaper. Plus the barn is too far from the exhibit and makes transfers back and forth tedious and tricky if one of the hippos chooses not to participate. Another concern would be the absolutely colossal cost of filtration. Hippos are gross and poop tons in their water. That requires very expensive filtration so the pool is as gross. What they have now works but its as old as the exhibit and with a bigger exhibit and a brand new barn they would need to start over. Hippo exhibits are some of the most expensive exhibits zoos can invest in. What they would spend on keeping the hippos is probably equivalent or more than what it will cost to build the Savanna pavilion which will service at least 7 species.

Breeding has nothing to do with it either. Toronto willingly took a sibling set in 1990. They knew then that by taking Sampson, Petal and Perky that they would never have calves as long as all three lived. Their parents pedigree could not be confirmed so transfers were highly unlikely because they would never be requested by the SSP for breeding. However prior to receiving the trio, Toronto as a hippo producing machine with Flagstaff and Perky I producing 6 calves which all survived in just 10 years. Their first calf arrived just 10 months after Flagstaff joined Perky I (she was our first hippo to arrive).
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Thank you for all the information, pygmy hippo should take the hippo exhibit and improve the habitat. Are Petal and Perky from zoo Granby, I don't know where I saw this information, I could be wrong.
 
@Zoo adventures, yes Samson, Petal and Perky were all born to the same parents in Granby. Samson lived at Zoo Sauvage for nearly 20 years before coming to Toronto. Petal spent 2 years at Bowmanville before landing in Toronto. And Perky came straight here. You probably saw it all in my family tree thread.
 
TZFan said:
@Zoo adventures, yes Samson, Petal and Perky were all born to the same parents in Granby. Samson lived at Zoo Sauvage for nearly 20 years before coming to Toronto. Petal spent 2 years at Bowmanville before landing in Toronto. And Perky came straight here. You probably saw it all in my family tree thread.
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It is also quite possible that female hippo Delilah that briefly lived here for 10 months in 93-94 was also the Toronto Zoo's hippo trio's sister, though they never had all 4 at once! Her birthplace of St. Felicien is doubtable, and she was likely instead born in Granby Zoo.
 
TZFan said:
@Zoo adventures, yes Samson, Petal and Perky were all born to the same parents in Granby. Samson lived at Zoo Sauvage for nearly 20 years before coming to Toronto. Petal spent 2 years at Bowmanville before landing in Toronto. And Perky came straight here. You probably saw it all in my family tree thread.
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I saw your family tree. And Granby said they had 17 hippopotamus births during all these years, but I did not know where all these hippos went. I know Coumba(the one still in Granby), Perky, Petal, and maybe Delilah like the Nile hippo expert said.
Nile Hippo Expert said:
It is also quite possible that female hippo Delilah who briefly lived here for 10 months in 93-94 was also the Toronto Zoo's hippo trio's sister, though they never had all 4 at once! Her birthplace of St. Felicien is doubtable, and she was likely instead born in Granby Zoo.
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@Zoo adventures, all of the hippos in Canada except Granby's Polita descend from Toronto or Granby lines, most both.

Petal, Perky and their late brother Samson were all from Granby's original pair, Patriarche and Sirene. Delilah could have been their sister too. There were 5 other brothers and a sister. One brother lived in Vancouver his whole life. Their sister Cindy lives in Philly. So that's 9 of the 17 for Granby.

Calgary's Sparky was born to Toronto's Flagstaff and Perky I. Her son Kiboko is Polita's mate and together they have had Kiboko II at Gulf Breeze, a female who died at about 6 months old, Hazen and Haben in Vancouver, Gladys and Bobo at Safari Niagara, Lobi in Calgary (who fun fact sired forbidden ill fated premature twin sons with his grandmother), and Coumba at Granby. That's another 8 bringing us up to the 17 you needed help accounting for.
 
TZFan said:
@Zoo adventures, all of the hippos in Canada except Granby's Polita descend from Toronto or Granby lines, most both.

Petal, Perky and their late brother Samson were all from Granby's original pair, Patriarche and Sirene. Delilah could have been their sister too. There were 5 other brothers and a sister. One brother lived in Vancouver his whole life. Their sister Cindy lives in Philly. So that's 9 of the 17 for Granby.

Calgary's Sparky was born to Toronto's Flagstaff and Perky I. Her son Kiboko is Polita's mate and together they have had Kiboko II at Gulf Breeze, a female who died at about 6 months old, Hazen and Haben in Vancouver, Gladys and Bobo at Safari Niagara, Lobi in Calgary (who fun fact sired forbidden ill fated premature twin sons with his grandmother), and Coumba at Granby. That's another 8 bringing us up to the 17 you needed help accounting for.
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I found out that Gertrude (died 2004) from Vancouver was the same animal as Toronto's calf "Tulip" who was born in '83.
Tierdetails
 
Is Toronto zoo one of the only holders of Arctic wolves? I know there are some at Edmonton valley zoo and a few across Canada but I can’t find any outside of Canada.
 
For those interested and able to go to the zoo on November 2nd white lion Fintan will be in the health center to undergo a dental procedure.
 
The Zoo posted on their Facebook page: Matumaini, a 1.5-year-old Masai giraffe
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, is currently dealing with a medical issue with his hind left foot.

You can read the long post here: The Toronto Zoo | Toronto ON
 
Also, there has not been an Indian rhino birth. The last one was in 2018. Someone knows why they are not mating. Are Asha and Vishnu too old to breed again? Are Nandu and Kiran still at the zoo? It has been 5 years since the last birth of Indian Rhino.
 
Asha died in March of 2022 after a long gastrointestinal illness. Currently it is just Vishnu and Kiran at the Zoo. They are on phase out - so who knows how much longer we will have them.
 
Jefferson said:
Asha died in March of 2022 after a long gastrointestinal illness. Currently it is just Vishnu and Kiran at the Zoo. They are on phase out - so who knows how much longer we will have them.
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It is sad they are gonna phase them out, it is a cool animal. That is why I only saw them alone in the exhibit. Vishnu is maybe gonna die in these few years
 
Vishnu isn't going anywhere any time too soon. Kiran however might be heading to Miami, if I remember right. Plans for him have changed a few times so we shall see but getting him back into the US is a pretty high priority since Asha was such a high value female and Vishnu is pretty good as well. He and if the SSP ever asks for him, Nandu, could do a lot of good with their genetics south of the border.
 
I will be going to the zoo tomorrow on a school trip (very excited) and I was wondering what to expect in terms of closures, off-exhibit animals, etc. Any info would be much appreciated.
 
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