Toronto Zoo Toronto Zoo - Canada's Largest Zoo

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do you happen to know what the names are of the cougar and brown bears and what years they were born.Also,did'nt the zoo used to house black bears in the cougar enclosure
 
Do you know if the zoo going to breed the lions again?
Where are the babirusa located?
 
the bab's arrived?really!?!Ungulate said in a past post that if they did arrive thyey'd live with the gibbons but i may be wrong?
 
i don't know if they arrived i just assumed, cause when i asked what the new animals were he said the babs
 
Oh.Hey, does anyone know the names of the red pandas?I thought one was Chao-Nao.Have they ever had babies at toronto zoo?
 
Hi everyone.
A few notes on the pictures Meaghan linked to:

The OLD lion enclosure is, in fact, also the NEW lion enclosure! i.e., they originally lived in the "tunnel" exhibit, then were moved to across the giraffes (with hyenas taking their place in the tunnel exhibit), then back again when the savannah was redone.

Zebras: yes, those are Damara zebra, in the expansive mixed species paddock that was the centrepiece of the old Africa Paddocks (also in the exhibit were white rhinos, greater kudu, and ostrich).

Answers to other questions:
The cougars are Bailey (born 2006) and Felicia(2002), the grizzlies are Samson (1998) and Shintay (1999). The cougar exhibit has always held cougars so far as I know.

The current red pandas are Sweet Pea (she'll be the one on the ground) and Ferrous (he's usually up a tree). ChaoNao used to live at the zoo, but passed away several years ago. We did breed the fulgens pandas once in 1996 (in the current dhole exhibit - the offspring were Phanta and Tingri); the styani pandas had two babies the same year, but they did not survive.

No, the lions will not be bred in the future. Period. Rowdy's origins are unknown, and Nokanda has been spayed.

There are no babirusa at the zoo ... yet. I'm not even sure if the permits are done.

I'm still thinking on your question, Meaghan!
 
sorry about another question ite but do you know the names of the snow cubs and what the plans are there?
 
The snow leopard cubs are Kazi (male) and Maya (female). I do not know what is in store for them ...
 
Do yuo know how many moose the zoo,is Jabba still at the zoo (mandrill) and why is there a long piece of glass on the top of the wall leading to there roof in the seal enclosure?
 
What is going on the with seals? I was there today and they weren't out again?

o and by the way, the water looks green and has a fowl smell.
 
The seals weren't out probably becuase on the site it states that they are only on exhibit from 1:30 on or they may have been eating,sleeping,having a training session or may have just decided to stay inside?Oh ya,is the new viewing time due to Winnie's passing because that thing started in February as I recall?
 
Moose: 1.1 "Elliot" and "Ashley"

Yes, Jabba the mandrill is still at the zoo; he is part of the group on display in the African Rainforest Pavilion

Seals: There is a vertical piece of plexiglass on the sloping concrete wall to keep the seals from climbing it - and risking them either falling or getting trapped on the roof of the seal house.

ZooGoer is correct, Quartz. There is a sign at the exhibit saying "seals will not be on display until 1:00", although we usually have them out by 12:30. Today Timo was out from 12:30 until 3:00, and Rosi out from 3:00 to 6:45.

During the morning, they are kept off exhibit and given salt water pools to try and help their eyes. One is usually out in the "Middle pool" (the black one off to the side of the exhibit) while the other has a salt pool inside. Occasionally we have issues with seals not wanting to go out to the exhibit, in which case there is usually a sign on the beach indicating that they are off exhibit. The new viewing hours are indirectly linked to Winnie's death. We are trying to see if reducing their exhibit time will help with their eyes (the main pool is chlorinated fresh water). Because of this, we rotate Timo and Rosi on exhibit for a couple hours each. Since we only have two seals now, it is hard for us to have a seal out all the time while trying to minimize their time out.

Yes, we know the pool is green and gross - it was scheduled for cleaning this past Friday, but it did not get done. It is being cleaned tomorrow morning. This year, with the seals being out less, we have had problems with geese swimming in (and pooping in) the pool.
 
That plexiglass idea is a very good onWhy did they do this, did it once happen or something.Aslo, was'nt the last pup at the zoo Desman?My mom says he was Rosi's and could you tell me the father.Also, how many pups did Winnie and Rosi have?
 
indo review

Im going to start doing rexiews of each area in the zoo.The first being Indo-Malaya.

Lion-tailed macaque-this exhibit seems very nice except that i wish they had real foliage and got rid of the mesh,or... they should cover the places with mesh with tall hedges and then where they want viewing they should put tall plexiglass panels that you could walk right up to.It would be nice if they covered the house with tall hedgedign as well except for parts that need open spaces.Either than that i love this enclosure.What is the holding setup inside of there holding building look like?

indian rhino/malayan tapir-this is usually where I visit next and I absolutely love the indoor area except that i with they would replace the floor with something more natural and add plants to the ground.The outdoors i think should be expanded a bit and where the walls and some of the fecnes are i think they should add a hedge to hide the cement andin the pair side maybe even change the holding yard wall to strong wood because it looks less outdated.to both yards i think they should add a bit more foliage to the ground.I still like this enclosure. Oh ya, maybe add a huge dose of febreze to the indoor viewing.lol.Plus, once they recieve Tanuck's new mate will they breed them & are there any plans on breeding Vish and Asha?What does the holding look like for the rhinos and tapirs

malayan woods-this is usually the 3rd stop.This is probably one of the best pavilions in the zoo in my eyes.The butterfly setup is fannominal and i don't think i'd change anything here.Although, i hope they acquire another jumbo gourami like Owen (R.I.P. little/big buddy).The snakes are cool and the clouded leopard enclosure is probably the most natural cat enclosure in the zoo but i think its kind of small and it would be nice if they had a little out-door enclosure on the hillside right next door.They could just have a little flap to get out there and you could see them from the bridge.Again this is probably one of the best pavilions.What does the holding look like for the leopards and were they born at the zoo?

sumatran tiger exhibits-these tigers have always been my favorites. The enclosures are good but they look kind of funny with all just mesh and a bit of glass.it would be nice if the replaced the mesh with rock work and have a little clas on top so you could still have the nice bridge view.What does the holding look like inside(sorry about holdings,i just always liek to know about twhat they look like)

indomalya pavilion-this is also a great indoor pavilion but it would be even better if they remodeled it like they did the african pavilion abck in 2001.The orangs have a great enclosure except for the climing structure, i think it would look better if they chose a more natural material (maybe even trees!). i'd also love if they had an outdoor exhibit that would let them be arboreal!The hill behind the indoor would be a great area and they could let them be there during the summer and in the indoor during winter.The gibbons have anoter great enclosure except i think it would be even cooler if they added asian small clawed otters and babirusa to the mix (both mixes have been done at other zoos and the 2 latter animals could be roatated on and off or they could all live together if possible),they could also replace the climbing structres with more natural materials and mix the gibbons some times outdoors with the orangutans.They could also add a glass viewing to the exhibit for clsoe up encouthers.this is a great pavilion.what doe the holding setups look like for the gibbons and orangutans.Plus,what are the gibbons names and what are the genders.

gaur-this exhibit is fine in my books.The area is nice and the gaurs seem to like the place.i've noticed muntjacs around, are they always here because i see them with the rhinos to. i was wonderign if the gaur house is accessable and if so, could you take a few pics to show me what it looks like, i've never seen it.What does the holding setup look lik here and what are the names of the adults and the 2008 baby?

tahr-i was just wondering why the thar exhibit isn't visible and if it ever has been, if so, what does it look like?

I'll being doing 1 zone per week,thanks for the idea Ungulate!Also, i'd love to hear other people in cluding Ungulates reviews of the zones
 
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Very informative review Zoogoer2000! It seems that while you really love the Toronto Zoo, you also have many suggestions for improvements to the animal exhibits. For someone who is 12 years old you have many cool ideas for creating meaningful zoo habitats, and it seems as if there is a lack of foliage in many of the enclosures that you described. One of the problems with the massive Toronto Zoo is that the winter season can be particularly hard on many of the animals that are naturally found in a warmer climate. With heavy snowfall that means many of the species aren't allowed into their outdoor exhibits for days at a time, and so large indoor habitats should be mandatory for all of the captive wildlife.
 
ya i've noticed that might be a problem.I think that the pavilions are very smart becuase they are energy smart (the roofs are usually full glass) so they create lighting thus not wasting energy plus they are very nice because when you look up you can see a ncie sky or the back ground, not a cement ceiling.Than k you for the comment snowleopard, i hope you have lots of fun on your zoo voyage.If your going to Toronto Zoo, feel free to ask one of us toronto zoo fans about tips(all of us have proably been tons of times, i myself have lost count, at least 20 and for someone whos only 12 I can manage to find my way around better than my mom sometimes,lol).

Zoogoer2000
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IndoMalaya outdoor exhibits

Great review, Zoogoer!
Here are some of my thoughts (and answers) on the first half of the exhibits you reviewed. I'll try and get to the Indo Pavilion proper soon.

I have not been in the macaque holding for some time (and never actually worked with the monkeys) ... my main impression was that the animal holding space didn't use much of the building! There are three indoor areas for the exhibit group, and then another set of enclosures for the off-exhibit group (there is an off-exhibit outdoor mesh yard behind and to the right of the main exhibit). I find the outdoor exhibit a bit unusual, in that half of it is covered (almost "indoors"), while the other half is fully exposed to the elements via the mesh. It does allow for the macaques to be outside all year round, though.

The rhino house always feels big and a bit cavernous to me, although the Mandarin ducks do help fill it out. Having natural substrate (like in the pygmy hippo exhibits in Africa) would probably be good for the rhinos, but the smell would be even stronger! :-) I think the current trend is to increase the variety of surfaces available, and there is now some soft flooring in the holding stalls in the back. Having plants grow inside is almost impossible when you have heavy animals like rhinos walking around ... it is hard enough to get grass to establish in the outdoor exhibits! I would like to see the garden between the rhino and tapir get more attention - it kind of gets lost behind the walls instead of bursting forth. In the back, there are three large rhino stalls which run longways along the building (you can see the three doors into the pens at the back of the rhino exhibit). There are two tapir stalls, which run "into" the building, i.e., perpendicular to the rhino pens. The first one has the door leading to the outdoor exhibit. The hope is to be able to breed both the rhinos and tapirs ... we just have to wait for the rhinos to be old enough, and for Tanuck's girlfriend to arrive!

The tahr exhibit used to be fully accessible - the pathway ran all the way around the rhino exhibit. It was blocked when the new zoomobile route was established, to try and keep the public separated from the vehicles. You can still see the exhibit while riding the zoomobile - it is a large, long exhibit which is mostly a grassy hillside. A the far end of the exhibit is a fake mountain (which you can see from the TTC bus loop).

Malayan Woods is my favourite pavilion as well - it is the only fully immersion indoor exhibit at the zoo, and as a result it feels very different from the other buildings. There is a young jumbo gourami in the "welcome" tank, but he is not white and thus blends in a bit more (his name - I think it's a him - is "Glen", after one of the zoo's plumbers). I like the free flight central portion of the pavilion, which usually houses roulrouls and Japanese white-eyes, as well as all of the butterflies. There have been some problems with keeping people on the path, though. I dislike the enclosed aviaries as you round the corner of the pavilion towards the butterfly table ... the viewing is minimal and there aren't any signs!

As I wrote before, the clouded leopards are sisters - they were born and handraised at the Buffalo Zoo, and came to Toronto when they were about a year old in 1994. There are actually two off-exhibit holding spaces for the leopards, one on either side of the exhibit. I haven't spent much time in there, but the holding on the left (away from the exit) does have an off-exhibit outside yard.
 
thank sfor the awnsers to the questions and the next section is next monday, Africa!
 
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