Toronto Zoo Meaghan's Zoo Visits

Had a great day at the zoo today!

Caught a glimpse of the new calf before he hid behind his mama. No luck with getting photos of him this time :p

Inukshuk was being posessive over one his ladies, chasing her sister away; keeper thinks she was in estrus. Fingers crossed for healthy cubs if this is the case!

ToadFest at the zoo today! It was very interesting. A few wild frogs were even showing off for me :)

Barbary Apes were sharing their enclosure with an groundhog :D
 
lol! I've seen that Groundhog in there before as well. Hes always resting on the rocks. The apes really don't seem to mind him/her being there either
 
I was also at the zoo today and am now kicking myself for not going in to the Guar house. I was right there taking a picture of a peacock showing off.

Did you happen to see the 2 baby Common Marmosets? There was a sign saying they were born April 5th. They were adorable.

I left later in the day and didn't have the chance to do the entire zoo, and although I didn't see the b-apes today, I have seen the ground hog in with them several times last summer.
 
I was there today and I didn't get to see the groundhog. I've almost always seen him in the big empty space/field next to the reindeer however (I was looking for him there again today but couldn't find him).

I'll try and post some pictures of the nearly completed Penguin area.

I must say that I was very disappointed with the Lemur exhibit. They have a HUGE space and there's only like 3 little guys in there. They were also hard to see when I was visiting them as they were hanging out on top of the area with the window for people to look into the exhibit so you could just see a tale or two hanging down over the edge occasionally or see a face or arm grabbing to cage over top of the thing if you stood far enough back/were tall enough. I'd have to rate this exhibit as total fail. I kind of expect them to get 10+ lemurs in there or else the viewing will almost always be terrible.

I must say I was surprised by how busy the zoo was today. It was the busiest I've ever seen it without some kind of real big event or something going on/holiday. I usually avoid the middle summer peak travel season so I'm sure it's often this busy around then but for so early in the season it was packed. The zoomobile was almost always full and a couple times I saw or had to wait for the next one to be able to get on since they were at capacity.

The walkabout with the Roos wasn't open yet and the emus weren't out of their winter place yet but apparently the Roos only got to their summer outdoor home 2 days ago and there's 2 joeys. I got to see ones legs sticking out of his mother who was hopping around all over.

That's all I can remember right now, I'll go over my pictures tomorrow and make sure to try and get some of the penguin area to show progress of the construction since I know that's often asked about.
 
Must've had some Lemurs off exhibit because i've counted as many as 6 (as I remember) in the exhibit at one time. Not sure exactly howmany there are at the zoo.
 
There are a total of 5 lemurs on exhibit. That exhibit was actually built for mandrils and that is the reason why it is extremely large. I do think the zoo plans to bring in more lemurs to fill up the rest of the exhibit.
 
I had a lovely visit today, despite the rain. Took some great shots, gonna definately upload them.

I thought the lemurs were off in an off display area when in fact they were all huddled up together :D

Saw the new male Sumatran Tiger today! He has a different look to him. Almost Bengal-y.

Saw the breeding pair of cheetahs together at feeding time.

Wolves and impala/kudu were either off display (I forgot to check the off exhibit sign for the first time in years) or were playing hard to get :P Black Duiker continue to be elusive.

African Crowned Cranes were displaying courtship behaviors? Lots of posturing and strutting about. I think it'd be neat to have chicks.
 
- Impala/kudu have been on and off all summer. I haven't seen impala in a while.
 
Come to think of it, I think the last time I saw them was either in the spring or early fall of 2010. I wonder what they're doing with them?

Oh and I love the penguin/pelican/cormorant/shelduck combination!
 
Went today on my almost annual Christmas eve zoo visit!

Saw the Babirusas for the first time today! They were really active, chasing after the doves and checking everything out. I think they have become a favorite of mine. What a neat animal.

Hyena was very active today. Looked like he was checking out some keeper activity from outside his enclosure.

Had a much better look at Vitali today, he was rubbing his cheek up against the fence and chuffing at me when I was speaking to him. What a beautiful boy.

Arctic Fox exhibit was closed for renovations but spent a good time at the wolf exhibit as they were soaking up what was left of the sunshine :)

Lovely sighting of a Downy Woodpecker at Indonesia. I've never seen them so close before.

Warthogs were very friendly today! They were resting at the back of the enclosure and came trotting up when they saw me coming.
 
I've never been in the winter, so I figured maybe you're the person to ask Meaghan: I'd like to go later this winter to get some photos when there is snow out (The polar bears, wolves etc.) but I'm a little concerned over maintenance of the pathways etc. I've got a knee injury, and slippery surfaces can be a little troublesome... are the pedestrian pathways usually salted or maintained during the winter months, or is it an "at-my-own-risk" kind of thing?

Thanks!
 
The pathways throughout the zoo site are maintained in the winter, including being salted, with the exception of the Canadian Domain IF there is too much snow on site it is the last priority for them to clear, that I would say be the only enter at your own risk thing, although I do believe they completely close it during those times. Eurasia I would be cautions with but it is usually clear. The rest of the zoo site is good! Any other questions feel free to ask, I go at least once a month so I would be happy to answer them if need be.
 
Thanks for the reply!

By the looks of it though, we don't have much winter to worry about. I'm going to try to get there next week depending on the weather -- so long as it's not actively raining I should do fine. I'm going through withdrawl right now. ;)
 
The winter and autumn are my personal favorite times to visit the zoo :)

I had a terrifc trip the other day! Saw the little cub really well, he even tried to pounce me :D

Bald Eagle, Mikisi, was getting down and busy with nest building!

Saw at least five wild Redtail Hawks, very vocal and active. I think it's breeding season for them or something because I've never seen so many before.

Spoke to a very passionate keeper; these animals truly are loved. I never doubted that but I love being meeting like minded people. Turns out I kow her on FB, which is very cool :)

Hyenas were extremely active with lots of social interaction. For the first time, I heard them vocalizing in front of the front viewing window. I hadn't realized just how loud they were; the sound reverberated through me like a lion/tiger roar. This was by far my most memorable sighting of them.

The last impala died on Christmas day; I believe these animals were the originals from the '98 opening of the savannah, so she had a very good life!

Lots of photos here from my visit:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2998679959474.2132179.1036513569&type=1&l=3d84560fd2
 
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