Toledo Zoo Toledo Zoo and Aquarium news 2025

[Nile Hippo Expert]

A barn owlet hatched on April 12th.
The Toledo Zoo on Instagram: "We are shrieking with excitement to announce our new Barn owlet! Hatched in captivity on April 12, the owlet came to the Toledo Zoo to be raised as an ambassador animal for our education programs. These nocturnal birds are known for their heart-shaped faces and they inhabit a wide range of environments, including farmland, grasslands and woodlands. These efficient hunters rely on exceptional hearing and keen night vision to locate small mammals like mice and voles. Unlike other owls that hoot, barn owls make a shrieking noise instead. The owlet is currently behind the scenes being hand-reared by our bird department, but we look forward to sharing updates here on social media. Stay tuned for the gender and name reveal!"

 

[JVM]

I'm hoping to visit Toledo in the near future. I know the Reptile House closed this year, but I have heard some species were relocated elsewhere in the zoo. Is there more information available about what is and isn't visible? (Also their website really under-serves their mammal collection!)

 

[USZOOfan42]

I'm hoping to visit Toledo in the near future. I know the Reptile House closed this year, but I have heard some species were relocated elsewhere in the zoo. Is there more information available about what is and isn't visible? (Also their website really under-serves their mammal collection!)

Majority of species aren't visible. You can see the zoo's entire venomous reptile collection in the museum (20-30 species) and the brand-new conservatory with desert reptiles. If you go off the path and look in the conservatory, perenties and other monitors can be seen.

 

[JVM]

Majority of species aren't visible. You can see the zoo's entire venomous reptile collection in the museum (20-30 species) and the brand-new conservatory with desert reptiles. If you go off the path and look in the conservatory, perenties and other monitors can be seen.

Thank you, understood. It sounds to me like the Conservatory and Promedica's vast collection with supplant the Reptile House being closed for the most part.

To confirm, the tuatara, tortoises and crocodilians are all off-display and none of these were moved?

 

[Toledo Zoo Guide]

Thank you, understood. It sounds to me like the Conservatory and Promedica's vast collection with supplant the Reptile House being closed for the most part.

To confirm, the tuatara, tortoises and crocodilians are all off-display and none of these were moved?

While I can’t confirm I would highly doubt that (Baru) the Saltwater Crocodile or the Tuataras were moved. With them being a rarity and news of that scale would definitely be out by now.

As for the tortoises I assume you mean the Galapagos tortoises and they can usually be found in the Galapagos Garden.

 

[StoppableSan]

While I can’t confirm I would highly doubt that (Baru) the Saltwater Crocodile or the Tuataras were moved. With them being a rarity and news of that scale would definitely be out by now.

As for the tortoises I assume you mean the Galapagos tortoises and they can usually be found in the Galapagos Garden.

Baru was moved behind the scenes, Toledo Zoo posted a video of his move to temporary quarters a while ago on their Instagram.

 

[EagleScout610]

Baru was moved behind the scenes, Toledo Zoo posted a video of his move to temporary quarters a while ago on their Instagram.

The Toledo Zoo on Instagram: "Baru’s on the move! Get a behind-the-scenes look at how our Saltwater crocodile, Baru, was moved into his new holding facility as renovations continue in the Reptile House. Repairs and updates will preserve the integrity of this historic WPA building while creating new experiences for guests, like underwater viewing of the 17 ft. long crocodile. The project’s completion is currently projected for mid-to-late 2026. #toledozoo #toledoohio #zooanimals #crocodile #saltwatercrocodile" Here's the video of Baru's move

 

[USZOOfan42]

While I can’t confirm I would highly doubt that (Baru) the Saltwater Crocodile or the Tuataras were moved. With them being a rarity and news of that scale would definitely be out by now.

Baru has been moved to Fort Worth temporarily. Tuataras are in the conservatory bts.

 

[Toledo Zoo Guide]

Baru has been moved to Fort Worth temporarily. Tuataras are in the conservatory bts.

Scratch that, I’m wrong lol

 

[PercideRolo]

Baru has been moved to Fort Worth temporarily. Tuataras are in the conservatory bts.

quite the move! I wonder if Salty knows there’s a bigger crocodylian on site. Is Baru really the longest? Primitive Predators has Ragnarok

 

[JVM]

While I can’t confirm I would highly doubt that (Baru) the Saltwater Crocodile or the Tuataras were moved. With them being a rarity and news of that scale would definitely be out by now.

As for the tortoises I assume you mean the Galapagos tortoises and they can usually be found in the Galapagos Garden.

Thank you and everyone else for the clarification, I appreciate it. I'm disappointed to miss Baru and the tuatara but I expected it when the trip was moved up and there's more than enough to still have a great experience. More reason to come back again in a year or two.

I've missed a species before by not being aware of temporary holdings during construction so always good to check.

 

[wild boar]

Bitter sweet moment and sad that one of only 2 male Chelonoidis darwini in US zoos has passed away at the Toledo Zoo.

The wild population of this species on Santiago has been severely impacted and currently only numbers 500-1,700 (mean 800) with recruitment, yet alas low given that due to collection historically the proportion of females in the population has been significantly reduced.

In captivity, this species has only been identified in the US (2 individuals) as well as Europe (1 individual) and all are males....

I didn't know there was another Galápagos tortoise of the Santiago species in the United States. Do you know where he is located?

 

[Kifaru Bwana]

I didn't know there was another Galápagos tortoise of the Santiago species in the United States. Do you know where he is located?

The only C. darwini globally left outside Ecuador is the Townsend Expedition origins male Augustus at San Diego Zoo.

The other day the other C. darwini male here in Rotterdam passed away too. The individual was only 70+ years of age ..., way too young for a Galapagos giant! TBH: conventional zoos by and large still do a lousy job of maintaining their Galapagos giants healthy.....

 

[EagleScout610]

The Toledo Zoo
The zoo has announced that two (1.1) Slender horn gazelle were born on May 16th

 

[EagleScout610]

1.6K views · 130 reactions | New tortoises at Toledo Zoo | Say shell-o to our newest residents! We’ve welcomed five Aldabra giant tortoises to the Toledo Zoo: Cecil Howard Junebug Claire Pepper... | By The Toledo Zoo | Facebook The zoo has welcomed 5 (2.3) Aldabra tortoises.

• Cecil
• Howard
• Junebug
• Claire
• Pepper

 

[Kifaru Bwana]

1.6K views · 130 reactions | New tortoises at Toledo Zoo | Say shell-o to our newest residents! We’ve welcomed five Aldabra giant tortoises to the Toledo Zoo: Cecil Howard Junebug Claire Pepper... | By The Toledo Zoo | Facebook The zoo has welcomed 5 (2.3) Aldabra tortoises.

• Cecil
• Howard
• Junebug
• Claire
• Pepper

Nice one ..., always happy to see more giant tortoises!

It was mentioned the oldest - Cecil - was 17 years old by the attentant zoo keeper.
Any idea where they came in from?

 

[JVM]

Neat to know about the tortoises, I noticed none were out on my visit Thursday. It was kind of an awful day to be at such a lovely zoo, with the off-and-on rain. Thank God for late hours - being at the zoo until 7pm was a godsend for me, and while the food options were compromised, the animals were not! Saw a lot of cute baby animals!

The bears were nowhere to be seen and another guest suggested they had been off-display all day. I also missed the Tasmanian devils from both the bridge viewing and the behind the flamingo viewing - did they lose their Tembo Trail space? I also didn't see any gibbon signage or individual in Primate Forest - just two kinds of lemur, red-tailed guenons and colobus. Promedica's upper view of the Tropics gallery was closed, though I did the walk - anything in there but the dart frogs? Is it closed often?

 

[Toledo Zoo Guide]

First visit to the Toledo Zoo in 2025

Can confirm White Cheeked Gibbons are still on display.


Reptile house construction is well underway and there are more renderings placed outside.

 

[USZOOfan42]

First visit to the Toledo Zoo in 2025

Can confirm White Cheeked Gibbons are still on display.


Reptile house construction is well underway and there are more renderings placed outside.

Looks amazing, did not know the reptile house was expanding! Why would the gibbons not be on display?

 

[Toledo Zoo Guide]

All the zoos primates are on a rotation so not all of them can be in an exhibit at once.

Looks amazing, did not know the reptile house was expanding! Why would the gibbons not be on display?