Toronto Zoo Toronto Zoo Births, Deaths and Transfers 2018

TZFan

TZFan

Well-Known Member
10+ year member
New year so time for a new thread.

Lots to look forward to this year.

Expected births...
Greater one horned rhino - any time in the next two months
Gorilla - late spring or early summer

Possible births and hatchings...
Very possible - orang (possibly 2), pygmy hippo, giraffe, white rhino, zebra, marabou stork, penguin, lynx, saki, river otter, wolf, tree kangaroo, wombat, camel.
Less likely but maybe - babirusa, clouded leopard, Sumatran tiger (tiny chance), dwarf croc, African otter (likely no chance), wattled crane, kudu, cheetah (only shot is Tika), hyena (only if Pinduli and Moja go), ostrich, golden lion tamarin, sloth, komodo dragon, sea eagle.

Possible Arrivals
Meerkats to create a breeding group
male snow leopard
male and female cheetah
female kudu
male warthog (or a female if they keep one of the boys)
male moose
female capybara

Possible Departures
Clouded leopard cubs
Cheetah cubs
Unlikely but clouded leopard cubs
Any of the warthogs
Meerkats
Gorillas - Sadiki and Nassir to Granby
Kudu - Ruby and Rosalita
Zebra - Leia and Rey
Hyena - Moja and Pinduli
Eagle owl - Sheldon
Polar bears - Hudson and Humphrey

Lots of changes are possible.
 
Crossing my fingers for a Pygmy Hippo birth. Also, it's astounding that Nandu is already almost 2 years old! It seems like he was born yesterday.
 
I forgot Nandu is leaving.

I think the odds of a pygmy hippo are good just need Kindia to recovery from the last pregnancy and time to get pregnant again. I think we'll see one in 2018.

A hyena cub would be a long shot. Unless Pinduli and Moja leave there isn't space for Echo and Kanzi to breed. They are just wasting time for two such valuable breeders. Parc Safari can have them. I know they have two females but give them to a facility that wants to breed and let them have the non breeders. Or let anyone else take them.
 
This is very informative; thanks or sharing! I do not see hyenas at other facilities in the Toronto/Greater Horseshoe area so it's interesting to find out where they can go/leave from.
 
Toronto and Parc Safari are the only two zoos in Canada that I know of that have spotted hyena. Jungle Cat World has Striped hyena. If Pinduli and Moja were to leave for anyone other than Parc Safari then they are likely US bound. Pinduli was to go south two years ago after she was spayed but that never happened and now Toronto is stuck with a non breeding female, an over represented male, the most genetically valuable male and a highly valuable female. Unfortunately the hyena house is too small to house anything more than the 4 adults and even then space is tight. The zoo needs to send at least Pinduli away and they could create a clan with Kanzi and the boys and allow breeding. It would probably be better though to send Pinduli and Moja away as a pair and then allow breeding. I don't know of any plans to mix things up and send any away but while they wait for a solution valuable breeding time is being lost for Kanzi and Echo. If Kanzi and Echo breed their cub will be the first hyena born at the zoo and likely all of Canada.
 
So assuming kindia gets pregnant again after due time, when would you expect a 2018 baby?
 
The possible pygmy hippo pregnancy would absolutely depend on when the zoo attempts breeding again. Once paired it didn't take Harvey and Kindia to get pregnant the first time. I think they only tried breeding for a month or two before. Harvey knows his job and is good at getting it done. The real question had been Kindia. She was an unproven breeder and had never even been around a male before arriving at the zoo. I would guess once they start trying it will be just a matter of 6-7 months before the calf arrives. It could be as early as July if they start right away. I feel like it will be fall again but that's just a gut feeling not due to any actual knowledge about when they might try again. Kindia and Harvey are the most genetically valuable pygmy hippo pair in North America. Both are European imports totally unrelated to the rest of the North American population so their calves will be extremely desirable. It's not an if but a when.
 
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Thanks for the awesome rely, TZfan!

Now one other question for you, spurred on by the recent rhino calf. What is the history behind the zoos current 4 white rhinos? I've always been under the impression they were imports from South Africa, but
I'm not sure how true that actually is, lol.
 
Kifaru Bwana is quite right all are captive born. Let me take that a step further... why? Because I cannot resist. I have knowledge and can never hold back.

Tony, the eldest male, was born at White Oaks. Tony's parents were both wild born. His father had had 13 calves while his mom had just three, as far as I know.

Tom, the calf's father, was born at Disney's Wild Animal Kingdom. Tom's father and mother, Kendi, were captive born but his grandparents were all wild born. Though Tony came from more recently imported stock Tom's family is less genetically represented and he is the more valuable male.

Zohari, the calf's mother, was born at Busch Gardens. Zohari and Sabi's dad, Tambo was wild born and hes sired at least 8 calves. Kisiri, Zohari's mom, is wild born as well and has had just three calves all with Tambo.

Sabi, Zohari's half sister, was also born at Busch Gardens. Mlaleni, Sabi's mom, is wild born and has had four calves all with Tambo.

On to other news... Hate to break it to you all but its all bad news.

Przewalski's horse, Alicia, was put down.

A grey ratsnake died as well as a white lipped python.

Prehensile tailed porcupine, Paco, died.

Kudu, Owen, was put down.

Warthog, Ru, was put down.

One step closer to no lion tailed macaque, Screamer, was put down due to age related problems.

Hard end to 2017 for the zoo.

Most of the penguin colony was sick in December. No word on their current status. They have had a chance to let it run its course so hopefully all is well now.
 
Sad news with the deaths. Was't Owen the big fella with the huge horns? He was so handsome :( Glad to hear about the second baby Rhino!
 
So what happened to Nandu? Has he been separated from Asha and the new calf.
 
Owen was indeed the big fellow with the lovely twisted horns. Such a striking figure. Hope a replacement is found for him. Options in Canada are non existent if its an SSP Greater Kudu. And as we all know bringing hoofstock up from the US is hard.

Nandu is still at the zoo best I know. My guess is separation is complete. It's too cold likely to ship him off to Parc Safari until spring.
 
Palorchestes said:
Is there still an adult male Indian rhino at the zoo?
Click to expand...
What makes you doubt that he is not (not observed, space limitations, .... other)?

As TZFan wrote Toronto Zoo is planning to move the last offspring on to Parc Safari some time this year. Other than that they have not mentioned anything beyond that, so by all accounts the breeding male stays put where he is. Aside: the current pairing is a genetically very good one.

What does concern me, but in more general terms: The AZA needs to sort out with the local CAZA how it wishes to proceed with current hindrances in cross border transfers / animal exchanges (which are blocking sound ex situ species management advice from going forward)! Any ideas, musings or thoughts with ZC forumsters is most welcome!
 
Kifaru Bwana is right Vishnu is going nowhere. The SSP tends not to break up breeding pair until they have had a number of calves. Two is hardly the tipping point. Even if the SSP wants to mix up the breeding since Vishnu is property of Toronto it's more likely Asha would go.

Cross border transfers has long been an issue. What the AZA tries to do is get a healthy population going in Canada, usually located at Toronto, Calgary, Granby, Vancouver, Edmonton and Winnipeg. They then let the population breeding until its time to bring in new blood. Any offspring that can be sent south is as soon as possible but they keep a couple up here for breeding. The other CAZA zoos are good in that they can hold surplus until the AZA needs them for breeding in the US. Plus CAZA zoos can also apply as non member participants to SSP programs and a number of them do participate in a few. The border doesn't pose much of a problem for many species but hoofstock and primates are always a problem.
 
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