Toronto Zoo Toronto Zoo- Births, Deaths, Arrivals and Departures 2014

- I noticed that they covered the walkway to the kangaroos, behind the panda gift shop, with grass, not allowing anyone to cross through there. Found the decision quite odd, as now the only way to the Kangaroos is to either walk passed the Australasia pavilion or go over to the Kangaroos after exiting the pavilion.

- Mouflon were back on the zoomobile drive-thru. Looked like a mix of Males and females.

I also forgot to mention that the Camel station was being taken apart. From what I saw, they completely removed the stairs leading up to the Camels.

The camel ride has been moved from next to the main giftshop to the area behind the panda giftshop by the kangaroos (the area you saw covered in grass).

The mouflon are all males.
 
The camel ride has been moved from next to the main giftshop to the area behind the panda giftshop by the kangaroos (the area you saw covered in grass).

The mouflon are all males.

Have you (or anyone else) heard what will be going in the old camel ride area? It's in a location that almost everyone who visits the zoo passes, so they probably don't want to leave it empty.
 
There was talk of moving the pony rides from the Kids Zoo to the camel rides area after the Camel rides were moved to Eurasia area which would free up a nice chunk of land from the Kid Zoo for other endeavors.
 
There was talk of moving the pony rides from the Kids Zoo to the camel rides area after the Camel rides were moved to Eurasia area which would free up a nice chunk of land from the Kid Zoo for other endeavors.

That would be interesting.
 
Anyone here have info on a Tina, lowland gorilla, from Riverdale? She came up to TZ but never made it on exhibit, was moved to Hawaii in 1975.
 
Zoose I have the whole list of the gorillas at Toronto. There is no Tina. However I think you're likely thinking of Katrina as she went to Hawaii and maybe she was referred to as Trina which is close to Tina. She was born in the wild in 1964 and arrived at Bomanville Zoo that same year. I have her arriving at Toronto Zoo July 22 1974. I dont have her at Riverdale ever but the studbook could have just combined the two around then. I believe she was brought in to serve as a mother figure for youngsters Charles, Josephine, Samantha, Juila, Barney, Amanda and Caroline who were all under 4 years old. Clearly for some reason that didnt work out, perhaps because Katrina had never had a mother herself. She went to Honolulu September 23 1974 where she would die after ingesting a toxic substance on August 16 1978.
 
That sounds like a pretty sad story to be honest. Then again in the 70's zoo weren't as great and professional as they are now.
 
Thank you for that info TZFan. After talking with a couple people Tina is Katrina. Mixed info as to where she came from Riverdale vs Bowmanville but all state she moved on to Hawaii. Wonder when exactly she got to NA from Africa, usually they arrive young (2 and under), and how old she was when brought to TZ. Learned of Joseph too, making the original 7 actually 8, (not counting Katrina that is), Joseph died almost immediately upon arrival. Just a bit of a history buff here!! Found Leonard and Cocomo on a web search, Gorilla and chimpanzee respectively from Riverdale Zoo years ago.
 
You're right about it being sad, especially since in the 60s and 70s getting young gorillas from the wild often meant the massacre of their families just to get them. Its always saddened me that the zoo says Charles was found clinging to his mothers body. At least with the exception of Katrina they were all able to have their own families to replace the ones they lost.

Charles has 8 suvivors, Jomo, Johari, Sekani, Subira, Shalia, Sadiki, Nassir and Nneka. Plus 3 surviving grandchildren and 2 more due this summer. Theres Bakari and the 2 unborn (Jomo), Mosi and Adelina (Sekani).

Samantha has 4 suvivors, Sekani, Subira, Shalia and Sadiki. And 2 grandchildren Mosi and Adelina (Sekani).

Josephine has 2 suriviors Jomo and Johari. She has 3 suriving grandchildren and 2 on the way. Mbundi and Zwalani (Natasha) and Bakari and the unborn 2 (Jomo).

Amanda has 3, Ngozi, Calaya and Belle. Nassir and Nneka are her only grandchildren.

Julia has 3 survivors, Ntondo, Jawara and Bakari. No grandchildren.

Caroline has only 1, Catherine who is sterilize due to a medical condition so her line is basically dead.

Barney has 7 survivors, Catherine, Oliver, Paki, Patrick, Husani, Asha and Zuri. He has 5 surviving grandchildren, Kamoli (Oliver), Pendika (Paki), Tumani and Dembe (Asha) and Yewande (Zuri). He will likely be the first great grandparent since grandson Pendika is already 16, far older than the others.
 
I had access to the stubdooks there is zero record of a Joseph at Toronto. I dont even remember an unnamed 8th baby and if there had been one I would have found it incredibly interesting so it would have stuck in my mind. I highly doubt there was an 8th since I was using the studbook and he would have been recorded even if he didnt live long. Using gorillas galore (a free gorilla database) doesnt list any Joseph but unfortunately no listings for Riverdale. Even checked by studbook number 100 animals before and after the 7 for unnamed animals at Riverdale and nothing.

Leonard on the other hand I could find. He was born at the National Zoo in Washington to father Nikumba and mother Moka on October 10 1964. He was moved to Riverdale sometime between 1964 and 1968. On June 27 1968 he died of poisoning.

If you're interested in the history of the animals at Toronto Zoo I have lists of all the vital stats of every individual animal for 55 different species... mostly mammals, some birds and komodos. If you would be interested in anything send me a PM with a list of what you would like and Ill see what I can do.

PS. Katrina arrived in 1964 which her estimated birth year as well making her a very young infant upon arrival in the country. I had access to all transfers so her arrival at Bowmanville is likely her arrival in the country. Given her arrival date to Toronto Zoo she would have been roughly 10. Still a little young for motherhood even for a mother reared gorilla, much less one with as rough a start as Katrinas.
 
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So I wasn't quite sure where to post this information but I think here is as good as any since it's in regards to the tiger breeding. I know that the zoo wanted to breed hari with the new female (her name is escaping my mind currently) but it doesn't look like we'll be blessed with any tiger cubs any time soon. I spoke with one of the keepers who helps look after the tigers and he said tests have revealed that efforts made at her previous zoo to prevent her from getting pregnant and inbreeding may have left her permentantly infertile. He said they were trying to come up with a solution to see if they can reverse the damage of her previous zoo. I really hope they manage to reverse this as it would be a huge blow to the zoo and the Sumatran tiger population.
 
That sucks for the Sumatran Tiger population and the zoo.

I went to the zoo yesterday, and although there wasn't anything significant, I did find out couple things.

- The Camel ride is now located behind the Panda Gift Shop, although I'm not sure if it is fully operational yet.

- The Zipline route is now confirmed, as construction is now underway. It looks like one end will start near the Caribou Café, and you'll travel over the path between the Arctic Wolf and Arctic Fox until you reach the other end located in the open area before you get to the Mayan Temple Ruins.

- Sumatran Tiger exhibit connected to the Indomalaya Pavilion is still under construction. Den is sill taken apart and small Cat Loader was in the exhibit.

- Hippo exhibit was oddly being flooded by the pool water. It was constantly running, leading to the water to cover the ground of over 80% of the exhibit. Water ran nearly all the way to the opposite end of the exhibit. Looked like someone may have forgotten to turn off the water.

- Not sure why, but River Otters in the Americas Pavilion were being kept apart. One inside and one outside.

- Jaguars, Spider Monkeys, and Flamingos were off exhibit for exhibit cleaning. Although the Spider-Monkeys were later on exhibit, when I was on the zoomobile.

- No Arctic Foxes were on exhibit, while I was there.

- On the Zoomoible the baby yak was on Exhibit, with keepers also on exhibit watching. Not sure what gender yak is, but it's been named Gemini after its Zodiac Sign. Mouflon were also on exhibit.
 
It's a pity about Kemala (that's the name that escaped you Cloudedleopard). If the damage cannot be reversed there is still a decent chance we will get another female. There are a number of zoos who would be content to exhibit Kemala if shes a non breeder because they may have a surplus male or just room for a tiger or two but no breeding. It's unfortunate for her and the population but she has siblings who can and will carry on the genes. A new female for Hari could be found since the SSP clearly wants him breeding. So even if we have to wait awhile there is still hope one way or another. Its been 5 years since any tiger cubs have been born at the zoo but maybe we will get lucky next spring and see lion, cheetah, snow leopard or, if they ever arrive, Clouded Leopard cubs. And there is always the hope for panda and polar bear cubs to round out the need for cute cubs. 2015 could still be a great cub year even if we are in for a wait with tigers.

I bet the hippos enjoyed a flooded exhibit... unless they werent allowed out. If they were it would have been an interesting, unexpected new experience for them. Hopefully it was just that someone forgot to turn the water off and there isnt a massive problem that would see the hippos off exhibit for awhile while crews go in to fix things. Sure the zoo has the pygmy hippos who are so adorable in a very hippo way but they just dont impress the way the river hippos do. Their huge size is what people love.

With the otters they could be seperated because of social issues. Reading their care manual, River Otter females tend not to like each other. A female grouping is actually not recommended unless they are siblings and non breeding. Our girls are a huge exception considering they are not siblings and Maria is significantly older than Talise. However Maria's age could be the reason too. Shes 14 (give or take based on my memory). She might be getting some alone time due to health concerns, ensuring shes getting meds or just to give her a break from her 3 year old buddy.
 
I believe the issue with the hippo exhibit has been on going. I saw a post on either twitter or Instagram about it days ago and they said the hippos loved the extra water!
 
- Hippo exhibit was oddly being flooded by the pool water. It was constantly running, leading to the water to cover the ground of over 80% of the exhibit. Water ran nearly all the way to the opposite end of the exhibit. Looked like someone may have forgotten to turn off the water.

Someone definitely forgot to turn off the tap. I've seen the exhibit flooded a few times and the hippos always love it. The pool is drained and cleaned nightly and then re-filled in the morning. The tap to turn the water on/off is located somewhere on the backside of the exhibit (I think close to where the picnic table/water fountain is), not in the hippo house. Since it takes a while to fill the pool, keepers will often go look after other animals before returning to turn off the water, but things can happen and sometimes the tap is forgotten.
 
Hippos didn't really seem to care about the flood. They both went to hang out at the back door leading inside.
 
Also, I forgot to mention that an Ostrich egg is visible from the viewing shack between the lions and Olive Baboons. If you look to the far right, against the wall, you can see is. the Female was pretty protective of the area, when lots of children started to gather around.
 
Cypher you forgot to mention one of the coolest things! Ostrich chicks would be a great addition this summer. I would have thought Miss Ellie was too old. I dont think I have ever seen ostrich chicks. Not that they may not have been around. We will just have to wait and see if Orville and Miss Ellie will be successful with their clutch. I know the zoo usually doesnt help the ostriches and emus until the chicks hatch as part of their population control so if Orville and Miss Ellie havent chosen a good nest site or arent caring for the eggs properly then they wont hatch. Something else for people to keep their eyes peeled for this summer.
 
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