Toronto Zoo Southside African Rainforest Pavilion Renovation now underway!

That sucks, I could really see a state of the art facility for pygmy hippos, a new exhibit for water birds, red river hogs, and a new tank for the cichlids would be good as well. I really think the zoo should invest money into projects so what they have planned actually happens.
 
I'll have to read that mesage (Unless your talking about the Mya pregnancy?)

So some of those enclosures south of the Health Centre are actually the cheetah breeding center?
 
Yes Zoogoer that is correct. I remeber a couple episodes on Zoo Diaries where the cheetahs were in large crassy fields, and I said those don't look very familar.
 
Pavilion update

The preparation work for the renovation is going along gangbusters! This week, the gardeners removed the majority of the vegetation from the south side of the pavilion, leaving it looking VERY desolate and bare. (The elephants -and many other animals around the zoo - have benefited from all of the browse!)

As it stands now, here's what is happening:
Meerkats are staying the same
In the large garden across from the meerkats/behind the Lake Malawi bench, a new chameleon exhibit and holding are going to be built
The fish carousel may get a "spruce up", but no major changes
The pygmy hippo/ibis loop will remain unchanged
After the Nile monitor exhibit, the pathway will be regraded to remove the steep slope. The pathway will curve between the existing red river hog and mandrill indoor exhibits (requiring a few changes to the red river hog enclosure) to the far side of the building, where it will then proceed to the existing exit doors at the end. Two new snake exhibits will be added by the doors for Gaboon viper and another species (possibly ball python).
The mandrill exhibit will have the moat/pool removed and the land area altered. A few gunnite trees are planned for permanent furniture.
 
Sounds really neat. It really is to bad that the pygmy hippo exhibit isn't being changed. Do you know a time period when the Pavilion will re-open? Maybe in 2 or 3 years?
 
The construction timeline is eight or nine months, I believe, so the pavilion should be reopened by spring 2011.
 
It sounds like a very good plan, to bad the pygmy hippos are not going to get a renoavtion as I think they need one the most (At the very least, a small pool/mud wallow in the otudoor rr hog area would be nice so they could use it aswell)

Wow, I can't imagine what the pavilion would look like without plants as im so used to looking throught the thick vegetation and not being able to see the glass behind it (Thats why it is sometimes hard to gauge the size of the pavilion from the inside)

Thanks very much for that update Ungulate
 
It is unfortunate that the pygmy hippos aren't getting a new enclosure, seeing as they are a breeding pair; I would think they would new exhibit if they are tending to babies.
 
Harvey and Abou (the pygmy hippos) have bred in the past, but never successfully reared any calves

They also started having agression issues in quarantine so they are often seperated
 
Update

A quick update on the pavilion reno:
The removal of plants continues ... there are no plants left around the mandrill + red river hog exhibits (save for one very pruned banana tree), and today the gardeners began bringing down the very large fiddle-leaf fig tree in the middle of the pygmy hippo exhibit.

The animals are slowly moving out ... Pumba the warthog is now living in one of the Savannah holding buildings; the Egyptian geese are also there. Work continues on temporary housing for red river hogs and pygmy hippos; they will be moving as soon as the holdings are ready. Most of the affected reptiles are in the Health Unit reptile holdings.

The contractors are currently building a MASSIVE wall to block the construction zone (and related noise and dust) from the occupied half of the pavilion. It goes from the ground right up to the peak of the roof just after the Lake Malawi tank.
 
Wow, sounds like a busy time! Wonder what the gorilla's are thinking when they hear the construction noises :p!

I had always though that Pumba was on exhibit in the Savannah Warthog exhibit but I could be wrong (There are quite a few warthogs, so its hard to keep track!)

Thanks for that update Ungulate, very exciting times at the zoo!
 
Ungulate, is the Malawi tank not getting renovated?
 
ZooGoer: You're right that Pumba (was) in the warthog exhibit in the Savannah (between elephants and hippos) - but although it LOOKS/FEELS like it is part of the savannah, in actual fact the warthogs live in the pavilion and are therefore under their jurisdiction. Ditto for the secretary bird.

Quartz: I don;t think Lake Malawi is being touched. Earlier this year (or was it last year?) they were doing some preparation work on the roof of the pavilion (for when they replace the glass in the future) - the thatching over that stretch of the visitor pathway was removed because it was a potential fire hazard. But I don't think anything is being done to the tank itself.
 
Thanks for the clarification, I thaugt I read somewhere possibly on the Toronto City site that they were renovating the Malawi tank? Weird I will look into it!
 
Ungulate said:
ZooGoer: You're right that Pumba (was) in the warthog exhibit in the Savannah (between elephants and hippos) - but although it LOOKS/FEELS like it is part of the savannah, in actual fact the warthogs live in the pavilion and are therefore under their jurisdiction. Ditto for the secretary bird.

Quartz: I don;t think Lake Malawi is being touched. Earlier this year (or was it last year?) they were doing some preparation work on the roof of the pavilion (for when they replace the glass in the future) - the thatching over that stretch of the visitor pathway was removed because it was a potential fire hazard. But I don't think anything is being done to the tank itself.
Click to expand...

Oh thats right, isn't the holding within the African Rainforest building (Or at least attached) as I remember you mentioning that this was used as the penguin holdign at one point (or that might be the chameleon holding im thinking of)

Thanks for that clarification!

Also, this fish carousel you have mentioned, I always thought you had meant the Malawi Tank
 
Sorry - "carousel" is the term used for the series of small tanks at the top of the ramp down to the pygmy hippo and other exhibits.
 
Ah, Thank you for that clarification, I fully know what your talking about now
 
The red river hogs and pygmy hippos have both "left the building". Only the mandrills and ibis remain, and they should be moving out tomorrow. Construction is slated to begin on Monday!
 
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