Toronto Zoo Toronto Zoo History and Past (2008 and before)

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Its strange how although the rr hog outdoor exhibit and the indoor one is only used by the rr hogs,The signs still say that the warthogs and rr hogs rotate on and off.
 
LOL,You may want to double check though as this is 2007 info.LOL
 
okapikpr said:
Well then maybe you can help me out...my records show that ALS has a herd of 13. Do you know of which ones have died or transferred out?
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I know this post was made quite a whileback,but I just wanted topost to say that the reason it says 13 is because when the zoo received the loriginal elephants,there were eight...Patsy,Tequila,Toka,Tessa,Iringa,Tara,Juanita and Tantor the only male.Then,in the 80's,four calves were born,two of which survived,bringing the herd to 11 (Toronto lived until 1994).Then the herd jumped back to 10 females when Tantor died in 1989.After that,Juanita was transferred to Cleveland in 1997 and Tessa's calf Toronto died in 1994 bringign the herd to seven femalwes which stayed that way until 2006 when Patsy the matriarch died and then to five when Tequila died in 2008.so over the years we've had 12 elephants in total including Toka's stillborn T.O. and Toronto
 
Zoogoer2000 said:
I know this post was made quite a whileback,but I just wanted topost to say that the reason it says 13 is because when the zoo received the loriginal elephants,there were eight...Patsy,Tequila,Toka,Tessa,Iringa,Tara,Juanita and Tantor the only male.Then,in the 80's,four calves were born,two of which survived,bringing the herd to 11 (Toronto lived until 1994).Then the herd jumped back to 10 females when Tantor died in 1989.After that,Juanita was transferred to Cleveland in 1997 and Tessa's calf Toronto died in 1994 bringign the herd to seven femalwes which stayed that way until 2006 when Patsy the matriarch died and then to five when Tequila died in 2008.so over the years we've had 12 elephants in total including Toka's stillborn T.O. and Toronto
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Hi ZooGoer,
Okapikpr's numbers are actually for African Lion Safari (ALS) ... I'm not sure what their current count is, but they definitely have the largest herd of (Asian) elephants in Canada. Toronto still has the largest group of Africans.

Regarding our Toronto elephants, three of the calves actually survived: Thika, Tumpe, and Toronto. Tumpe (Tequila's second daughter) left in 1986, and after living in several different places is now residing at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Also, Toronto's mother was actually Toka, and Tessa's calf died shortly after birth.

Juanita left Toronto in 1982 ... she too lived in several different places (including a circus) before she settled into Cleveland in 1997.
 
Awesome! Thanks for posting, Meaghan.
I think the camel rides were at Toronto as well (despite the MarineLand tag). I'd never even heard of Marineland's tiger show, either.

(FYI, the elephant in the photo is Toka, and I suspect it it Tara in the background).
 
Actually, the fencelines on this side of the paddock have remained unchanged since 1983 ... however, part of it may be that the photo was taken before the boardwalk/overlook was built. (See how low the perspective is?)
 
Oh, so the zoo hasn't changed the elephant exhibit at all? I thought I herd something about them expanding it and building a new house? This was like 5 years back not the recent issue.
 
Hey,does anyone here know what exact exhibitts or things in the African Pavilion 2001 Renovation were changed or built.Also,were there any species like okapi or bongo that they planned on adding but decided not to?
 
Hang on a sec ... I'm scanning in one of the old plans for the rainforest from the 2000 map.
 
really,wow you have a map from every thing it seems like, lol
 
The zoo's history is something that intrigues me greatly, so I have been doing a lot of collecting!

The image is here: Gorilla Rainforest plan » ZooBeat Photo Gallery

The changes between these plans and the actual exhibit are mostly minor ... a lot of little tanks got cut along the walkway, and the walkthrough aviary was supposed to have a smaller pedestrian space and a larger 'forest' area - I was SO looking forward to duikers coming when I saw this map!
 
They really should add duiker this winter or at best Okapi
 
Neither is particularly likely, especially this winter with the potential construction.

It is doubtful that we will ever get okapi in Canada, at least while the US prohibits the importation of ruminants. It means that we are essentially a black hole for animals (they can come, but never return to the US) - so being part of a breeding program is impossible.
 
I know there has been some strong interest from Canadian zoos for Okapi, some zoos even sending keepers/curators to Okapi meetings.
 
Yes, I know some Calgarians were in Dallas, but it's a very tough call for the SSP - I don't think "interest" is enough to warrant losing animals from the population, since at the moment it is a one-way street.

I am not aware of any interest from Toronto in okapis right now ... nowhere to put them :)
 
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