Toronto Zoo Toronto Zoo Births, Deaths and Transfers 2020

TZFan said:
We have 9 female caribou but I know its a mix of mothers and daughters so some may be too old.
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It would definitely be advisable to scale up the Porcupine caribou herd and also bring in several males.

To put it more bluntly: caribou are endangered and populations are diminishing and areas of distribution - particularly in the Mid West - is receding northward. The woodland caribou is in dire straits (much like the Eurasian forest reindeer). It should be a North American ex situ priority for zoos over domesticated reindeer!
 
Since the zoo has just begun working on caribou breeding I don't know that anything has been firmly decided. They may do natural breeding. They may do AI. Possibly a combination of both. I do believe we will find out more about the zoo's plans in the coming year or two. They seem very interested in the project so it may be one they really share a lot more about.

I do agree that it would be worthwhile for AZA zoos to decide on at least one caribou population and focus on housing them over domesticated reindeer.
 
The Facebook live stated that a large number of our current Caribou are older and all female so we'll probably need to get some more before we can start a successful breeding program.
All I know about where they got them from is somewhere in Dryden, Ontario and all I could find about Caribou in Dryden was a past reintroduction program.
Not sure if we got the current herd with breeding in mind or just for display to replace the Reindeer.
I also wonder if we got these as a trial run to see how well they could manage them, Reindeer and Caribou are notorious for mass die offs in captivity I remember St Felicien's herd was decimated a few years back.
It makes me wonder if they got older animals as test rather then move younger breeding Reindeer into a potentially stressful untested situation.
 
Funny we are all talking about the caribou right now because the zoo has announced that they will host a Facebook live lecture with a caribou reproductive specialist on Dec 8 at 1pm EST. It will be an interesting one to watch hopefully. They rarely announce what the live will be ahead of time so this one could really be informative because the focus is on reproduction not just general species info.

Kifaru Bwana I know you're not in Canada and I'm not sure if you visit their Facebook age but if you can't catch it live they leave it up to view later.
 
@Kifaru Bwana the video should be there on Dec 10 just like all of their other live streams. I highly doubt there is any need to worry about missing it. Good luck on the test!
 
The zebra foal is a male. There is a video up of his birth on the zoo's Facebook page for those interested.

There is also a post about gorilla, Josephine. She and Johari are currently separated from the family because Josephine is showing a lot of stiffness in her neck and they want to minimize risk and stress. They can still see the rest of the family. Her pain meds have been increased and muscle relaxers added in too. If she doesn't improve soon they will do more to diagnose what's ailing her. She's had increasing mentions of her condition in the last year or so. The zoo is obviously trying to prepare us for the end and they think hers will come before Charles because there is never any mention of his health. Hopefully its minor and they are back with the troop like last time.
 
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I have horrible news to share. Though we all hoped our beloved gorilla, Josephine, would pull through her latest bout of illness like she has countless other times she passed away Dec 6. It is a dark day for the zoo. They haven't officially announced it yet but a friend who is a dear friend of gorilla keepers has heard the news. This will be devastating for keepers. She has been such a fixture at the zoo. She was such a good mother once she was allowed to have her infants back and she will be dearly missed by Johari who has never been without her mother. She is survived by son Jomo and obviously daughter Johari, grandkids MBundi, Zwalani, Bakari, Mondika, and Elle, and great grandkids, Kruger, Burchfield and an new infant. Now we are down to two opening day animals, gorilla Charles and orang Puppe.
 
I have no words for how much this hurts.
All I can say is I'm glad the last time I saw her that she was playing with baby Charlie, I know how much she loved babies, and that the keeper was also throwing out snacks a good day for her.
I don't know how Johari will take this but Charles will be devastated, he didn't handle Samantha's passing well at all.
 
@kingoffreaks I am sorry for your pain. This will be a rough one for us all. I am not sure there is a person out there without fond memories of Josephine. She was a special lady. I'm glad you have a nice last memory of her. My last visit I foolishly didn't wait for keepers to put out lunch for the family to see her what would have been one last time. Never really entered my mind she would be the first of the 3 apes to go. I always thought she would be the last and it would be either Charles or Puppe first.

I feel horrible for the keepers past and present. The gorilla keepers have a next level sort of bond with the gorillas. They aren't just the animals they love but they are family. They must be just devastated. Charles, Samantha and Josephine were always the ones that were going to cause the most pain for keepers. Now they are down to just Charles. He is officially the last of the original 8 babies with Josephine and Amanda having already past this year and the rest in the years before.

I think given Johari's age and the fact she has Nneka to spend time with she will be ok after an initial period of adjustment. It will definitely be hard on Charles. I don't know how much gorillas know about their relationships over the long term but she has been in his life since he arrived at the zoo 46 years ago. The possible good thing is Ngozi is his favorite female so it might not be as impactful.

2020 has been a cruel year in too many ways. 24 more days and we can put this rotten year behind us.
 
@TZFan Thank you, I just saw an article that said the family was given the opportunity to see her body though it didn't state anything about there reactions.
Also saw on Dolf Dejong's instagram that they have lowered the zoo flags to half mast.
 
@kingoffreaks zoos rarely say how family groups react to viewing bodies. The nice thing is with the zoo closed they can mourn and adjust in peace. If it had to happen this year it happened at one of the two best times for it to happen for the gorillas and keepers sake. Unfortunately it makes it harder for her adoring fans to mourn her the way they probably would like to. I like that she is getting that level of respect to see the flags lowered to half mast. She was a zoo icon. I would like to see the zoo get a statue that honours Josephine, Samantha and Charles. They have been such massive parts of our lives.
 
I fully support the idea of a statue! Speaking of statues does anyone know who the male orangutan is supposed to be?
 
Here is an emotional tribute to gorilla, Josephine, by her 25 year keeper Heidi. There is archival footage which is always cool to see but it is just done very tastefully and is a fitting goodbye for such an integral animal at the zoo. You can see the pain the keepers are going through and the sorrow the other gorillas are experiencing. Fair warning though there is a photo of Josephine dead towards the end. Little Charlie is trying to figure out why Josephine isn't getting up to play with her. It's not graphic. They have her laying on her side and peacefully positioned so she just appears to be sleeping. It's touching and sad but seeing a dead animal can be upsetting for some so I want to provide a heads up for those who need it. I am often one who needs it.

https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1829...0R2gugs5RaNBsW9-O4A8BJ-AZtPII8LaxHxOqNTq4K4gk
 
Thanks for sharing this article @TZFan ! Amazing to see what the old exhibit looked like! If I’m not mistaken that is their current dayroom before the renovation? I’ve always wanted to see more photos/footage of the old pavillion exhibits and inhabitants, like Patas Monkeys, the old African Penguin exhibit, Congo Buffalo and bongo.
 
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