Toronto Zoo Toronto Zoo Births, Deaths and Transfers 2022

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TZFan

TZFan

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New year time to start a new thread. Here are some of the animal expectations for 2022.

Confirmed Pregnancies
Orang - Sekali due late Mar - Apr 2022 and possibly Ramai by the end of the year.
Giraffe - Mstari due Mar-Apr 2022
Bison - 4 females are due June and July 2022 with possibly more from an embryo transfer
Przewalski’s horse - Winnie due Summer 2022

Highly Likely Babies
Cheetah - Emarah and Laini have been bred but nothing official for either yet.
Red Panda - Paprika and Suva are a new breeding pair with proven sire and unproven dam.
Bactrian Camel - Tilly, Suria and Jozy were all with Zip last summer
Kangaroo - Tori could have one in the pouch again already based on the spacing between Mr Partington and Melbourne.
Penguin - 3 potential pairs
Kudu- Rosalita and Ruby if Maynard was healthy enough in the summer to get the job done.
Scarlet Ibis - 2 hugely valuable pairs
Golden Lion Tamarin
Saki - Cora is now fully mature
Southern Ground Hornbill
Green Naped Pheasant Pigeon
Victoria Crowned Pigeon
Vancouver Island Marmot
Eastern Loggerhead Shrike
Massasauga Rattlesnake
Black Footed Ferret
Blanding's Turtle
Painted Terrapin
Snow Goose
Trumpeter Swans

Possible Babies
White Rhino - Sabi or Zohari - the zoo says no but breeding has taken place and Theo could have left for a reason.
Pygmy hippo - moves to highly likely the sooner the zoo confirms a shipping date for Penelope. Probably a late 2022 baby if not 2023.
Przewalski’s horse - Winona just had a foal in 2021 but could have been bred again.
African Spoonbill
Sacred Ibis
Spider Tortoises
Leaf Turtle - they did get eggs to incubate
Crested Wood Partridge

Low Likelihood Babies
Gorillas - Charles has permission to breed with Ngozi but I doubt the zoo will do it given his age.
Otter - the zoo refuses to follow recommendations to separate them most of the year to increase breeding potential. Talise is no longer prime breeding candidate age.
Flamingos - we have 7 recommended to breed
Marabou Stork - recommended but nothing happening for years now.
Wombat - I’m losing hope
Bennett’s Wallaby - given the ages likelihood is lower but possible.
Chuckwalla - they are elderly but genetically valuable

Only If Transfers Happen
Komodo - female arrives
Kookaburra - female swap
Snow Leopard - if a female is sent and they don't care when the cubs are born. More likely 2023.

Even if we only get the confirmed babies and a couple of possible babies it will be a stellar year.

Upcoming transfer plans...

Expected Arrivals (covid dependent)
Turquoise Tanager - Male from Winnipeg
Giraffe - Zoey from Cincinnati (maybe not)
Caracal - female from Little Rock
Kookaburra - female from Palm Beach
Spoonbill - male from Cameron Park
Penguin - 6 males from WEM and all of Vancouver's
Chuckwalla - 3 from Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
4 Black Footed Ferret- 1.3 from the National Black-Footed Ferret Conservation Center on breeding loan.
Komodo Dragon - female from Disney's Animal Kingdom
Jaguar - Lua or Estrela from Granby
River Otter - Montello (M) from Henry Vilas Zoo and Sunshine from Little Rock
Greater Kudu - a new male was previously offered knowing Maynard is old and not doing well. All Toronto had to do is confirm they needed a male and one would be selected. Pretty possible a new one will arrive.

Cancelled Transfers
Sumatran Tiger - Nisha from Jacksonville
Spotted otter - female from Little Rock
Walrus - Lakina (Most likely)
Sumatran Tiger - Kemala to Montgomery
Black Tree Monitor - one male to Winnipeg because he died

Expected Departures (covid dependent)
Kookaburra - Karee to Palm Beach
Indian Rhino - Asha to rum creek
Tree Kangaroo - Puzzle to Roger Williams
Bettong - 2 bettong completing phase out
River Hippo - Perky and Petal (currently available for placement)
Arctic Wolves -Nuna and Inneq (possibly the two already moved to Magnetic Hill but cant be certain)
Hyena - Echo to Turtle Back Zoo
Wrinkled Hornbill - Henry to Europe
Southern Ground Hornbill - Tyrion to Des Moines and Bran probably to somewhere else now that he's been physically separated from mom and dad.
Grevy's Zebra - Rey to Bronx, Obi to Fossil Rim and Poe to be placed.
Grey Kangaroo - Gosia to Busch Gardens
Spider Monkeys - Lucas to Granby and the girls to Central Florida Zoological Park
Orang - Jingga to Louisville
Giraffe - Amani to Calgary possibly
Penguin - all of the young males are going to West Edmonton Mall.
Red Billed Blue Magpie - Juliette to somewhere.
Crested Wood Partridge - 2 females to Atlanta
Clouded leopards - Mingma and Pavarti are available for placement
Red Panda - Adira to Edmonton
Pygmy Hippo - Penelope to Houston
Golden Lion Tarmarin - Dave to another Canadian zoo not in the AZA, Kat will go to another zoo with a male from Topeka.
Amur Tiger - Mila to Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (definitely not til fall at the earliest)
2 Luzon Bleeding Heart Dove - male to Saint louis, female to Miami
Most Black Footed Ferret kits of 2022 - the National Black-Footed Ferret Conservation Center
Most Vancouver Island Marmots pups of 2022 - Mount Washington
Many Blanding's Turtle head start babies - release
Almost all Loggerhead Shrikes - release

Some of these transfers are carry overs from 2020 or 2021 thanks to good old covid but there are plenty of little updates in there for you to find. Wonder what ones you guys will be jumping on. Guess Ill find out in the next few hours.
 
I didn't know that Cora wasn't mature. Makes sense that she and Madeira have never bred then. I've noticed they've been a lot cozier this year so hopefully that means we'll have baby sakis soon!

Any reason the Steller's Sea Eagles don't make an appearance on the list? It seems they're getting closer to successful breeding and hatching each year.

I'm curious about our zebras. Even without the news of our 'foal' transfers, January is typically the time of year Tori gives birth. I haven't heard anything about potential breeding but I don't think we've had a year without a baby in a while, and moving the young zebras seems to set us up for more. And hey, maybe we can look forward to seeing Rey on TV if she's headed to the Bronx!

Maybe this is my cat person showing but I'd love to see a caracal and a new jag. I do hope they make some upgrades to the old porcupine exhibit if that is going to be where they put the caracal. I know they're a smaller species but that exhibit really hasn't got a lot going on in terms of space or enrichment. I don't know what the holding looks like but now that Huckleberry the Grey-necked crane spends his summers with the lemurs, that outdoor space next to the rainforest entrance could be repurposed for the caracal. Or even the wattled crane exhibit at the savanna outlook.

Speaking of renovations, is our receiving a jag not also dependent on the expansion of the existing habitat? And that is also contingent on transferring out our spider monkeys. Just seems like a lot of hurdles to get over.

With Juliette and the Clouded Leopards set to go, they'll likely move Flesh the gourami and Philip the Palawan Peacock Pheasant out of the woods and it'll officially have been emptied out.

If Mila goes, I'd presume we have plans to bring in another breeding female since Mazy has aged out? Even if we don't have a name and a place it should be in the cards, right? Or are we set to have no cubs for the foreseeable future :( ? If we wait for Mazy to pass since I doubt we would move her again, wouldn't Vasili be getting up there in age too?

I'd also be very interested in what completing phase out of certain species means for replacements or future renovations. With the river hippos gone, I know they'd mentioned making a mixed hog/hippo exhibit. Shifting animals around different enclosures or having some vacant ones presents a prime opportunity for bringing in new species!
 
@TZFan, I personally wouldn't lose hope in the wombats this might be the year. But what would a Toronto fan know about hope and the whole "This might be the year" After all look at Toronto's hockey team. LOL, But back to the wombats, the keepers apparently observed a lot of breeding this past year, and even during the face book live they had been showing signs of mating.

@Kalvin I had also noticed Cora and Madeira were really close on my visits so fingers crossed.
 
Saki Cora just reached full maturity in the last year. There was some speculation in the spring she might be pregnant but clearly that didnt pan out. The latest the infant could have been born to match up with what I heard was October. She's the number one female and he is a top ten male so fingers crossed for our first saki infant ever in 2022!

Yes the sea eagles are not on the list because I am a bone head. They should probably be in the possible list. They are hard to breed and there hasnt been a ton of success but we now have a mature pair and there has been infertile eggs so ours are comfortable enough to breed so fingers crossed. If it was an easier species to breed they would be probable.

The zoo has said they are at capacity for the zebras with 6 of them so after Poe was born the zoo hasn't introduced Jake to Tori again. If we could get the trio to the this spring it would be huge and we could breed again. Might even be possible we pick up Edmonton's foal born last spring. She isn't related to Jake or Tori so she would be a great asset to the zoo. Rey may be on TV for sure just as Leia was on TV when she had her little girl. Wish they hadn't changed Obi's destination. He was slated for Disney so he probably would have shown up on Disney Plus too, plus one of them needs to go to Disney with their Star Wars names.

At the time the caracal was selected the plan was to go in the old porc exhibit. Its why they moved them to the meerkat exhibit. But reality is that transfer was recommended in 2019. Covid may have killed that transfer. They could get a different caracal or switch species completely. Time will tell with that one. I'd rather a smaller species like sand cats or fennec foxes in there. It is too small for the caracals like you said.

The new jaguar female is not contingent on anything as far as I know. If she gets along with Luca I assume they will be put in together. He's neutered. We will want this female badly. She is extremely high ranking. Her mother is an import and her father was high ranking until he unfortunately had to be neutered, I think he had testicular cancer. She only has an older brother Zooka and sister Zia (neither of which have bred yet) and her twin. Her genetics will set the zoo up well for future breeding as long as she gets a mate worthy of her. At 2 years old we can wait on Luca awhile.

I do think the spider monkeys will go just as soon as the paperwork on the girls is done. No idea what the hold up was with Lucas since they were clearly crate training over the summer. Hes the one who will be breeding when he gets to his new home.

Umm the Amur tiger plan doesnt make sense to me but supposedly Mazy is to be bred again. I dont think there is any chance they will actually try with a 16 year old tiger. The zoo can absolutely wait Mazy out. Vasili is so overrepresented the only reason he is being allowed to breed is he was paired with Mazy. No one will care if Vasili ever breeds again. His brother is being bred in Calgary so his value will drop again. And his great uncle Jack is to be bred again in Granby so another knock against him. I think it is entirely possible we will wait out Mazy so could be another 10 years before we see another cub. An expansion might change things so they could house 3 adults and cubs. Mila is unlikely to move though until late fall at the absolute earliest. Its totally possible she will be kept until 2023.

@Akula, hard to have hope in the wombats when Arthur is nearly 10 and Matilba is 9? The have been together for most of that time and nothing. I used to have high hopes.
 
Is there any backstory to the possible Komodo dragon transfer in?

I searched in the forums but all I could find was was from @TZFan from 2020:

A new female komodo dragon is expected to arrive from Disney's Animal Kingdom once the covid 19 concerns die down enough to allow transport. Hopefully the new female cycles and likes Kilat better than Kiki did. Komodo keeper Nigel announced it during his facebook live session.

Was Kiki regularly in the exhibit with Kilat? I thought Komodo dragons tended to be solitary animals.
 
Lots and lots of potential this year. Entering 2022 with confirmed giraffe and orang babies (barring something going wrong of course but we won't think about that) is unbelievably massive, having not one but two big species babies always makes for a busy summer, plus the addition of the new outdoor orang exhibit can only help.

I'd love to see the sakis finally happen, like @Kalvin I wasn't aware Cora wasn't mature. Maybe this is the year?

I have my doubts that anything's happening at the pygmys this year since Penelope's still around, if we were gonna get a baby pygmy I think it'd be very late in the year if not 2023. Not holding my breath on them just yet.

I know they said they haven't bred the white rhinos yet but I believe!!!

A gorilla baby would be a huge surprise but I seriously doubt it, there's just too many moving parts to be considered. I think Charles might be ready to bow out of the breeding game and just chill out for the rest of his (hopefully many) days. Plus with the orang and the giraffe babies it's not like management is gonna ask for a big-ticket baby and make them breed against the better judgement of the keepers. I think we're still a few years off our next gorilla baby.

Oh man jaguars please please please. I know we still have quite a few humps to get over before babies are officially reasonable (waiting out Luca, transferring the monkeys, the exhibit expansion and finding a suitable male) but seeing the process beginning is super exciting.

Hopefully Kita makes a return to breed with Pemba at the snow leopards, she's the closest thing in the world to Ena's genes and I believe I heard somewhere she isn't even in a breeding pair at her new home yet, so it'd be perfect to get her back.

I'd be more than happy with the caracal coming back but I agree with @TZFan that I'd prefer fennec foxes. With omicron it's important to remember that pretty much all these transfers are completely up in the air and for all we know the hornbill bros will spend another summer housesitting in that exhibit. According to the list of last year's transfers they never left.

Man lots of sad departures this year, but that being said I recognize a lot of these names from last year's list so who knows, literally all these animals might still be here to welcome 2023. Thanks covid for bringing everything to a halt, you're the beeeeest.

I'm definitely gonna make it a point to try and see Puzzle and the spider monkeys as much as possible on my visits this year because I've got a feeling that this could be it for them. The clouded leopards probably are gonna leave this year as well since they're up for placement and the Woods aren't reopening.

At this point I wouldn't be surprised if Petal and Perky just lived out their lives at the TZ, no one seems to be interested in taking them.

The fact that we're transferring out Echo instead of sending Pinduli and Moja anywhere and breeding him with Kanzi drives me bananas. We're so close to cubs and yet so far

Man it hurts seeing Asha's name on the departure list, same goes for the walruses on the cancelled list. sigh

Thanks for putting all this together @TZFan, you're the best in the business
 
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Apologies if this was discussed already, but it was confirmed on Facebook that male greater kudu Maynard has passed away. :(
 
@ZoeR, back story on the komodos is complicated. They bought in Kiki to breed with Kilat. At first neither were mature so no worries. As they matured she didn't like Kilat following her around like a puppy in love so they gave her a break. They thought maybe she wasnt cycling because she was fat. After a diet she wasn't cycling and still ran from Kilat. They tried hormones. Nothing. They began to wonder do we even have a female. Off to Guelph for a CAT scan. Female. They tried a few more things and gave up. A new female was picked a Palm Beach. She died before she could be shipped. More waiting. Then they selected the female at Disney and chose a new home for Kiki but she died before she could be shipped. Covid has held up the transfer and Disney has permission to breed her with a male a Brevard while they wait on shipping to become possible. The new female is Kilat's half niece through his sister Lima, her name is Khaleesi. I think its very possible we we loose her. If she's bred to the Brevard male they probably wont want to move her until after shes laid. Kilat turns 18 tomorrow so he's getting up there and we could lose him before we get her. Thank you covid.

@hyena142, saki Cora has been mature technically since her last birthday but as with people reaching a certain age doesnt mean you are there just yet. We got her when she was just over a year old so the zoo did know they would be in for a wait. Maderia has always been into her though so hopefully this will be the year.

You only need 8 months for a pygmy hippo baby so one is possible if the zoo could get a firm transfer set up for Penny. It would definitely be a late in the year baby, and waiting til 2023 is absolutely possible. Can't have all your big ticket babies in a single year.

The white rhinos are hard to say. I feel conflicted. I heard the keeper say no breeding. I also heard the keeper only say no breeding for Zohari and neglected to mention Sabi. Wheels turn in my head. I also know keepers are told to lie at times and others are just clueless. The sudden push to get rid of Theo is also interesting. Why the rush when we know for a fact they can house 4 adults? They did so for years before Theo and a good 6 months after Theo. Plus Dolf hints at other big announcements about births they havent mentioned yet. I mean if its Sabi who is pregnant I could see them saying nothing. First time mom, who has struggled to get pregnant and possible maintain a pregnancy. In a year where talking to a keeper is harder for guests it would be easier to hide a pregnancy than in a usual year. I want the calf but I also think its completely possible I'm just being too hopeful.

I was quite honestly shocked to find out the gorillas had permission to breed again given Charles age. I wouldnt be surprised at all if they ignore the recommendation. They ignore far more reasonable recommendations all the time so why not ignore this kinda nutty one. I would have sent the boys to Granby, split the group so that Charles keeps Ngozi and Charlie as social companions (Ngozi has had 3 babies not a big deal to miss a cycle for her) and give Johari and Nneka to a new silverback (specifically Jawara from Granby). Johari could breed, Nneka could just provide numbers and they could play Russian roulette with Ngozi if they maintained her and Charlie in a fission fusion situation where they had access to both silverbacks and let her breed (Charles or Jawara could be the sire). But no one seems to listen to me when I have these brilliant ideas. Lol.

I dont think the jaguar hurdles are that big. I highly doubt the renos are going to be anything you or I would plan. Probably just rip down a wall and change dressings. That could easily be achieved over a winter. Getting rid of the spider monkeys wouldnt be too hard either. Lucas has an easy home and I bet if the zoo needed to get rid of the girls in a hurry Granby, Safari Niagara, Parc Safari or African Lion Safari could take them even temporarily. The more problematic thing is Luca. I can't help but wonder if something is wrong with him and they know he wont be around much longer. Given his age he could live another 5 years or more. Why ask for a new female? He could live alone just fine. I think that he must have a health concern.

Interesting thing with snow leopard Kita is @BovidBabe has said that Kita was paired in the fall with Arka for breeding and breeding was observed. However I know for a fact that she was sent strictly as a companion animal for him. There was no plan to breed them because he is so low ranking and overrepresented. You know its bad when his mother and brothers were shipped out of the SSP to Vancouver. Loosing 3 leopards at once isnt something the SSP would do lightly. Ena's death could have changed the decision though or Winnipeg could just be doing whatever it wants. They are just recommendations after all. I think snow leopard cubs in 2022 would be an extreme long shot.

There are a lot of repeats on the list for sure. Go back and look at 2019 and some of them would be the same too. Covid has really ground transfers to a halt. Sure we had a few this fall but unless things get better I doubt we will see many if any come spring. We need some of the departures if 2023 is gonna have anything good to offer.

Just because we still dont know where the hippos are going doesnt mean that no one wants them. A new home could be chosen but they are held up in Canada like everyone else.

The hyena situation makes me furious. Best thing that could happen to the zoo at this point is Pinduli dies. I know horrible to say. I dont want her to die to be clear but her passing would benefit the zoo enormously. They could then keep Echo, Moja and Kanzi together. Kazi could breed with either male. Echo would be the preferable sire as a potential founder but Moja is very highly ranked as well and either of his cubs have reproduced or ever will (one dead, one spayed). Unfortunately no other zoo in Canada could take just Pinduli but Ill give up Moja if it frees up things for breeding. I have no idea why Toronto accepted Kanzi knowing full well they didnt have the space to breed her and Echo while keeping Pinduli and Moja. Just a waste of 3 valuable animals.

It pains me as well to see Indian rhino Asha on the list! I have long accepted we need to give up on the walruses. Might be easier to accept because I had never dreamed we could have them, let alone thought we would. I dont want to loose the hippos and the Indian rhinos. I wasnt happy to lose one but both is insult to injury.

@Cowdoy1010, kudu Maynard's passing was mentioned in the 2021 thread. It is a shame he passed but its not a surprise. He had been having leg trouble since the spring and at 9.5 years old he was elderly for a male kudu. They average out at 8 years old. While he only had the one calf here he was a prolific bull in his former homes so he is well represented and did his part. The zoo had been offered the chance to get a new male last spring if they thought Maynard wasnt up to the job so a new male could already be in the works. The zoo would have been nuts not to accept the offer knowing it would likely take a year or two before a new bull could be brought up thanks to covid.
 
I have to admit I got distracted for 3-4 hours last night reading the family trees from earlier in the year - and suddenly am a lot less excited about survival rates (especially with all the attention on the red pandas) than I had been previously. I suppose it's to be expected, but maybe I'll keep my enthusiasm a little more tempered.

That being said - they are a great reference to read through @TZFan
 
@Zooer keep in mind you need to remember survival rates have improved for many species vastly since the zoo opened. Some species there was active culling. Others they let nature take its course as a form of culling (still do that with tur calves to my utter disappointment).

When it comes to red panda cub survival rates the first year survival rate is still just a little better than 50%. If cubs are born and they survive the first day, then week then month their odds keep improving of making it. Its possible to loose the whole litter but its also possible every cub could survive. Any cubs born stand a much better chance then Adira and her sister did because now the keepers have lots of experience in hand rearing and assisted rearing. That experience could prove valuable with the next litter.

Glad you like the trees. They are there to entertain and educate as well as serving as a wonderful reference tool. I had so much fun learning things I never knew thanks to the research.
 
There wont be any Bactrian camel calves in 2022. All three girls did not get pregnant from their summer with Zip. Zuri is being weaned to increase Suria's chances next spring.
 
Real shame... Especially since they had all summer and still nothing, but I guess the sparks just weren't there. Hopefully next spring we can see the routine happen again.
 
@Akula there were sparks. Zip is a lover. Problem is according to Facebook Live they are breeding in the wrong season to ensure they have no more accidents like Tilly's jaw. The zoos policy of breeding when they do seems to be really impacting the odds of pregnancy. They struggled with the old herd and now they are struggling with Jozy and Tilly in particular. I dont think we can say that is the case for Suria as she was still nursing Zuri so that impacted her likelihood to conceive.
 
The 4 bison calves on the way have been sex and it will be 2 boys and 2 girls. If you are down at the exhibit in the spring before the calves arrived any of the girls with short tails are the expectant moms. They have been trimming the tail hair so they know which 4 to keep an eye on.
 
@Jefferson If I recall correctly, as a calf, Tilly managed to get her mouth frozen to the ground. The force required to un-stick her resulted in a fractured jaw and was the injury that led to the way she looks now, with her tongue constantly hanging out of her mouth. I'm sure I'm leaving out some of the details but that's what I remember from the way I heard it
 
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I thought it was an accident with her mother trying to free her from the ice. I might be confusing her with oh... I cant remember her name. The other one who had her tongue out.
 
@TZFan I think you're right that it was her mother that tried to free her from the ice. I couldn't remember for sure whether it was her mom or the staff that had to get her off the ice, just that it caused her jaw to be the way it is now.
 
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