Toronto Zoo Toronto Zoo History and Past #2

On my trip to the zoo yesterday, I bought the zoo adventure DVD which I thought was great. There was one part where it showed a pangolin in the health centre. Does anyone have any information about this animal? What species was it? Was it ever on exhibit? How long did it live at the zoo?

Also, it said that Tasmanian devils were in the edge of night area, but I always thought they were in the current marsupial/monotreme exhibit. Did the DVD make a mistake or me?
 
I dont remember them being in edge of the night but I didnt have an opportunity to go to the zoo while I was in university so the later years of the devils I know nothing about.

I recently watched some old VHS movies from the zoo I bought when I was a kid. Zoo babies, Toronto zoo something, Zoo secrets and Tandi and Kowla the white lions. I remember watching them all the time when I was a kid.
 
There were two pangolins at the zoo in the 80's/90's (no idea as to if they were ever on exhibit). Their names were "Phillip" and "Penny". One was a black-bellied, whilst the other was a white-bellied

The devils lived in several exhibits throughout their years at Toronto Zoo. From what I can recall, their homes included the current tree kangaroo exhibit, an exhibit in "The Edge of Night"... and in their most well-known exhibit across from the komodo dragons.

All three of the zoo movies are from around 1990 (From what I can tell, the filming was from the late 80's until 1994 or so). They contain quite a treasure trove of good material!
 
Zoogoer2000 said:
There were two pangolins at the zoo in the 80's/90's (no idea as to if they were ever on exhibit). Their names were "Phillip" and "Penny". One was a black-bellied, whilst the other was a white-bellied

The devils lived in several exhibits throughout their years at Toronto Zoo. From what I can recall, their homes included the current tree kangaroo exhibit, an exhibit in "The Edge of Night"... and in their most well-known exhibit across from the komodo dragons.

All three of the zoo movies are from around 1990 (From what I can tell, the filming was from the late 80's until 1994 or so). They contain quite a treasure trove of good material!
Click to expand...

The zoo had two species of pangolin!:eek::eek::eek: I wonder if they were ever on exhibit. I didn't realize that the devils were moved around so much. I thought that they only lived across from the dragons.

I now own zoo adventure and zoo secrets and I think they're amazing! I love seeing all of the animals and exhibits that used to be at the zoo.

Also, thanks for all of the helpful information!
 

Enjoy!
 
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Since I don't want to post unrelated comments in the births, deaths, arrivals, and departures thread, I'm asking some questions about TZFan's posts here.

Apparently there used to be bobcats and ocelots at the zoo. Were they ever on exhibit and if the answer is yes, where?

I also learned that there was at least one chimpanzee at the zoo. Were there more than the one mentioned in the other thread? Did it ever go on exhibit? Why did it stay at the zoo for such a short period of time?

I know I asked a lot of questions, but I'm really interested in animal species that are no longer kept at the zoo. Any answers are appreciated.
 
I have no idea if the bobcats or ocelots were on exhibit. For the ocelots one of the entries said we got it from RCMP... I didnt bother to look it up but I assumed it might have been seized as part of the illegal pet trade. Not sure.

I couldnt find any other reference to another chimp. Just the one. Since it was wild born I wonder if we had hoped to build a troop but just couldnt secure the animals or ran out of money to build them a proper exhibit and decided to get rid of her.

Im interested in it too. I think the person most likely to have answers for us is Ungulate. They are a huge source of information about the zoo both today and in the past.
 
I believe our bobcat was an Outreach and Discovery (O&D) program animal... but he may have lived in the Kids Zoo.
 
I think at one point, there were Rheas in the old Mara, now empty, exhibit near the temple. And if the ocelot and bobcat were on display, one probably would've been in Americas, in one of the pavilion's large entrance exhibits, and the other probably in Canadian Domain, where the lynx, cougar, or raccoon now are. If not, they might have been both in the Kid's Zoo or behind scenes.
 
There were greater rheas at the zoo in its first couple of years. I dont know from experience just what I saw in the studbook. I believe I have heard they lived with the mara somewhere else on here too. We just had 2.
 
Thanks for the clarification, TZFan! I'v never seen them myself, but I remember hearing a friend with some old family pictures taken at the TZ. I also remember he had pictures of King Penguins. Were those at the zoo? Or were the penguins back then just like the African Penguins we have now?
 
Those were the african black-footed penguins as well. When the zoo opened, the plan was for the penguins to live with the fur seals in what is now the current penguin exhibit. However, the penguins never left their shelters out of fear of the seals, and were moved out after a very short period of time. From there, they lived in the African Rainforest Pavilion until 1994 or so. The exhibit has been reconfigured and changed, but it was essentially where Dottie the nile soft-shelled turtle lives now.
 
Our history with Hamadryas Baboon is quiet long. Now I counted them out one by one and the zoo has housed roughly (and I say that because I could have slipped up), 170 baboons. Lots of babied who were born didn’t survive though. A LOT!!!! Also I noticed that on Mar 5 1985 6 of baboons (5 young males and a young female) died at the zoo. Does anyone know the cause? Was it a cull? Adult aggression? There seems to have been a ton of transfers just after that. Just really stood out to me that so many baboons die on the same day and actually a large number of infants there after. Take a look for yourself in the Names thread.
 
I was reading the article posted below about Patrick, a male gorilla, who grew up here in Toronto with our troop after being rejected by his mom at the Bronx zoo in 1990. In Dallas hes apparently been very anti social, especially after Jabari was shot by the police. Does anyone remember if he was this way when we had him? Was he unliked by Charles and company? I feel for the poor guy. Hes not had an easy time of it but I'd like to know a little more about him.

Dallas Zoo gorilla to get therapy for sexist attitude - The Globe and Mail
 
Just something for all of you.

My prof worked for the OSPCA for awhile and was responsible for seizing a hawksbill sea turtle from a man who was keeping it in a little tub that gave it room to turn in a circle, but that's it. Anyways he seized it, named it Ronnie, and he lived at Toronto Zoo for several months, they removed his cysts, and after he was denied a CITES transfer to Florida, they built him a special crate and sent him to live at the Edmonton Mall to live with a sea turtle that already lived there.
 
That is a fun fact. Too bad the zoo doesnt have an oceans pavilion where he could have lived. The nice thing is now that Ripleys is open an animal like Ronnie would have a very nice new home if they could or would take him in.
 
That's a pretty cool story. I wish the zoo was able to keep sea turtles in the Great Barrier Reef area. It's too bad that the main tank isn't large enough to hold one.
 
It really is a pity that when edge of the night was converted to the reef that it wasnt expanded. The nature of the reef definitely demands a much bigger area. There should be rays, sea turtles and maybe a few small species of shark.
 
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