Toronto Zoo Question about Toronto Zoo in the 90s

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MisterSG1

New Member
I've been getting into a debate with someone about this.....I specifically remember penguins, not sure of the species being in a pavilion (I think the African Rainforest Pavilion), but was this actually the case or am I dreaming this?

Also, before the Barrier Reef in the Australasia Pavilion, was this once an area for nocturnal species? I explicitly remember one pavilion being dark inside.

I was just wondering if anyone here knows the answer.
 
Hello, welcome to the forums!

I am not 100% sure about either answer, but I think yes to both. Hoping someone with some deeper knowledge can help you. However, I did do a quick browse through some of the older threads here. This family tree post has a ton of info and it looks like there was a group of penguins in the 90s that died/transferred out by 1995. The next penguin arrived with the opening of the current penguin exhibit in 2010 (former fur seal exhibit).
Family Trees of Toronto Zoo Animals [Toronto Zoo]

(For the above thread on page 9 there is a summary and list of al the animals included so you can find them easily, some just have a history as family tree info was too scarce to find)

As for the nocturnal exhibit, I feel like I recall that what was what was there, but my first trip to the zoo was when the pandas were there, so I don't know for sure. Again reading through the above forum on some of the animal history sections on page 6, sounds like there was a section called "The Edge of Night", so I think that is what you are referring too. The brush-tailed bettongs were in there, at one point Tasmanian devils. I am sure there were others I don't know.

I will point out a few older threads you may find interesting while waiting for someone with a bit more knowledge to come through haha

These threads alone can consume you for hours.

Toronto Zoo History and Past (2008 and before) [Toronto Zoo]
Toronto Zoo History and Past #2 [Toronto Zoo]
 
Yes to both, the penguins were in the Africa Pavilion and the nocturnal species exhibits were just inside the lower entrance to the Africa Pavilion at the top end of the boardwalk. That goes way back to late 1970's when the zoo first opened. The nocturnal exhibit was dark, smelled bad and was poorly laid out so not very popular with the public, most just passed it by. The building before the start of the boardwalk was originally called Village Edge and it went on to become the butterfly exhibit in later years. I helped to plant that building the night before the zoo officially opened.
 
Welcome! @MisterSG1

You’ve already gotten your yes for the penguins, and you’re getting another yes for the Edge of Night nocturnal exhibit in Australasia.

The current (and much less exciting) Great Barrier Reef exhibit was formerly home to Southern Hairy-Nosed Wombat, Short-Beaked Echidna, Brush-Tailed Bettong, Leadbeater’s Possum, Sugar Glider and Feathertail Glider during my years of visiting the zoo, and held additional species before that. For context I started visiting the zoo in the late 1990s when I was a kid.

@Jefferson you were close, but the Devils were actually in the current Wombat exhibit - never in the Edge of Night.

For those wondering why the Edge of Night closed, it was due to the cost of keeping the lights on during the night, which was a) unaffordable and b) unsustainable. It is one of the old zoo exhibits I truly miss.
 
MisterSG1 said:
I've been getting into a debate with someone about this.....I specifically remember penguins, not sure of the species being in a pavilion (I think the African Rainforest Pavilion), but was this actually the case or am I dreaming this?

Also, before the Barrier Reef in the Australasia Pavilion, was this once an area for nocturnal species? I explicitly remember one pavilion being dark inside.

I was just wondering if anyone here knows the answer.
Click to expand...
Welcome to Canada ZooChat. There is plenty of things to sources to search information for Toronto Zoo. There is an entire family tree thread. I was so amazed about Toronto's past so I read all the family threads, it takes some time but it is worth it. There are a lot of fun facts. I am not an expert of TZ information, I am still learning. Also, there are lots of people who could help.
 
animalman0341 said:
Welcome! @MisterSG1

You’ve already gotten your yes for the penguins, and you’re getting another yes for the Edge of Night nocturnal exhibit in Australasia.

The current (and much less exciting) Great Barrier Reef exhibit was formerly home to Southern Hairy-Nosed Wombat, Short-Beaked Echidna, Brush-Tailed Bettong, Leadbeater’s Possum, Sugar Glider and Feathertail Glider during my years of visiting the zoo, and held additional species before that. For context I started visiting the zoo in the late 1990s when I was a kid.

@Jefferson you were close, but the Devils were actually in the current Wombat exhibit - never in the Edge of Night.

For those wondering why the Edge of Night closed, it was due to the cost of keeping the lights on during the night, which was a) unaffordable and b) unsustainable. It is one of the old zoo exhibits I truly miss.
Click to expand...

I would have loved to see that, while it is no doubt that the Great Barrier Reef is a great area of conservation interest and species diversity, I feel with the Ripley's Aquarium downtown now, the area just doesn't stand up. A nocturnal area would be something very special.
 
Jefferson said:
I would have loved to see that, while it is no doubt that the Great Barrier Reef is a great area of conservation interest and species diversity, I feel with the Ripley's Aquarium downtown now, the area just doesn't stand up. A nocturnal area would be something very special.
Click to expand...
Original Zoo plans included a proposed aquarium with a walk-through exhibit very similar to the awesome Ripley's facility, I remember seeing the plans and sketches, If Ripley's is a financial success then in hind-sight the MTZ probably should have gone for it.
A well designed and financed Nocturnal exhibit area would be awesome if the finances can handle it. Local Bat populations in my area have declined drastically in recent years, likely from disease which is another serious consideration with Bat care and display in captivity.

Re the cost of lighting on a nocturnal exhibit, if cost of night lights is a problem imagine how much it costs to power the waterfall.
 
I'm so glad you posted this, because I've just gotten back from a trip to the zoo, and we somehow missed the bat area. I'd last been visiting the zoo in the 2012-2016 timeframe, and there was indeed a small building with just night animals in it, and I remembered it being somewhere along some wooden stairs which led to the African Pavillion. The pathways have a changed some since we used to go regularly, so I thought maybe I had just failed to find it, but it wasn't on my map either. I was having a hard time using Google to find out any information about it; I'd started thinking I'd imagined the whole thing until I found this post, so thanks. I actually thought it was a great exhibit. I loved seeing the bats up close.
 
Okay, so the building I was thinking of was the "Burrows and Caves of Africa", which apparently has been converted to a prayer area, which I also didn't see. Anyway, I don't think it's the same as the older "Edge of Night" exhibit.
 
Sabina said:
Okay, so the building I was thinking of was the "Burrows and Caves of Africa", which apparently has been converted to a prayer area, which I also didn't see. Anyway, I don't think it's the same as the older "Edge of Night" exhibit.
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The Multi-faith Prayer Room can be found between the Red River Hogs and Aldabra Tortoises just outside the rainforest Pavillion. It's pretty easy to miss now that the Indo boardwalk doesn't lead directly there anymore.

Edge of Night was in the Australasian Pavilion, and like others have said was converted to a Great Barrier Reef exhibit ~15 years ago.
 
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