Toronto Zoo Toronto Zoo Births, Deaths and Transfers 2022

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@ProjectGames, Ramai is not pregnant to the best of my knowledge but with a 8ish month pregnancy if she got pregnant between Jan and the end of March there was a chance the baby would arrive by the end of 2022. At this point it feels very unlikely Ramai will have a baby before 2023 arrives. Probably should have organized that better.
 
Another update on Indian rhino Asha, unfortunately her health has not shown much improvement since her last procedure and the staff are yet to come to a firm diagnosis for what's causing her issues. To solve this issue today she will be undergoing a procedure involving taking a sample of her small intestine via surgical incision. This is a risky procedure for a rhino due to the amount of time she'll be under anesthesia, so the zoo has called in a team of external experts to help with the procedure.
 
Ooo round three of anesthesia, poor girl. Fingers crossed that this can sort out the issue and she can be on the mend.
 
Dolf posted on his instagram that a clutch of Eastern Massassauga rattlesnakes have hatched on display. From the photos and video looks like at least 4 babies. I dont know if these are the first to hatch on display, if not then its been awhile. Wonder if the parents are Dolf and DeJong.
 
Absolutely horrible news on Asha's passing but given how long they have been struggling to figure out what was wrong I really was beginning to think this would be the outcome. My heart goes out to her keepers. I got to do a behind the scenes with her and Kiran in 2019 and it was clear how much they adored her. They and the vet staff have fought so hard to save her and they must be devastated right now.

Her passing will likely convince the SSP to get Nandu and/or Kiran back to the US for breeding. Asha was very highly ranked and Vishnu is just about as valuable meaning the boys are will now become hugely important to the health of the population. Nandu is more likely as he is older and ready to go where as Kiran will still need a few more years.
 
A horrifying loss to the Zoo but also not surprising. We all know that she's been dealing with health issues and we crossed our fingers hoping she would be okay. I didn't know Asha that much but from what I saw on other peoples' opinions, it sounded like she was an amazing animal here at the zoo.

RIP Asha
 
I kinda figured this was inevitable when the last update came through and they still didn't know what was wrong with her but this still hurts unbelievably hard. Asha was one of the faces of the TZ, she was the first animal people saw on many visits and you could always tell she was a keeper favourite. She will be sorely missed.

I wonder what's gonna happen to the GOHRs going forward now, Asha was supposed to go to Rum Creek before all this happened but now she's gone ahead of schedule and we're left with two high value males I'm sure other zoos would love to get their hands on. I can't imagine we'll get a new female since we're phasing the species out. Maybe they'll start work on Tigerline sooner than expected?
 
Can't say I'm shocked by the news, but it surely is disappointment. With her passing, I makes me wonder what will happen to our remaining males. Will we see an speed up in sending our Indian Rhinos away, or will the process slow down? It'll be interesting to see for sure.

Also nice to hear the genders of the Cheetah cubs and that they're healthy.
 
Even though I knew this was a possibility, it has absolutely devastated my weekend. I first saw Asha in Buffalo in 2004 when she was a small calf! It was to my extreme excitement that we acquired her a couple years later to be our breeding female after the passing of Indira, another fantastic animal! Via zoo camp and later zoo school, I was able to feed and interact with Asha on a number of occasions, and I can honestly tell you she was one of the sweetest animals I’ve ever met. We watched her become a two time mom, and a great one at that! And she was always there to greet visitors upon entering the zoo. This loss hurts more than I can remember when it comes to losing a TZ animal. Old age is one thing. Death in infancy is another. But a middle aged, endangered species, breeding female with a human personality stings a different type of way. We will miss you Asha. Thank you for the memories! RIP
 
cypher said:
Can't say I'm shocked by the news, but it surely is disappointment. With her passing, I makes me wonder what will happen to our remaining males. Will we see an speed up in sending our Indian Rhinos away, or will the process slow down? It'll be interesting to see for sure.

Also nice to hear the genders of the Cheetah cubs and that they're healthy.
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Same here, I was not optimistic after the first news of her health issues and it is a huge loss for the program an TZ with a genetically valuable mid age breeding cow gone. I expect it will not be long before the breeding bull Nandu might depart over the southern border. The best TZ can do now is hold on to Kiran for some time.
 
Such terrible news! :(
I was really hoping the vets would be able to save her. My heart goes out to Asha’s caretakers, and I hope she rests in peace.

Perhaps, with her passing, the zoo will decide to bring in Asha’s younger full sister Clover from African Lion Safari. She’s been there for numerous years with a bull but the pair has failed to produce a calf so maybe a change of bulls will get Clover to finally fall pregnant. I know Asha had some difficulties conceiving and carrying a calf to term so I wonder if that’s the case with Clover as well.
 
What a shame, I was hoping to see her one last time when I come home to see the folks. :(

I hope they can figure out fully what caused her ailments and thus help the next rhino who presents similar symptoms. Gut health is such a tricky thing. Rest in peace Asha.
 
IndianRhino said:
Such terrible news! :(
I was really hoping the vets would be able to save her. My heart goes out to Asha’s caretakers, and I hope she rests in peace.

Perhaps, with her passing, the zoo will decide to bring in Asha’s younger full sister Clover from African Lion Safari. She’s been there for numerous years with a bull but the pair has failed to produce a calf so maybe a change of bulls will get Clover to finally fall pregnant. I know Asha had some difficulties conceiving and carrying a calf to term so I wonder if that’s the case with Clover as well.
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That could be an alternative option and probably good for the interim term.

However, it seems their decision to phase out had been pretty definite and not likely to change.
 
Terrible news regarding Asha...

IndianRhino said:
Such terrible news! :(
I was really hoping the vets would be able to save her. My heart goes out to Asha’s caretakers, and I hope she rests in peace.

Perhaps, with her passing, the zoo will decide to bring in Asha’s younger full sister Clover from African Lion Safari. She’s been there for numerous years with a bull but the pair has failed to produce a calf so maybe a change of bulls will get Clover to finally fall pregnant. I know Asha had some difficulties conceiving and carrying a calf to term so I wonder if that’s the case with Clover as well.
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I think that this would be a great move but clearly the staff and management do not. The Tiger plans are much later in the timeline, First they complete the Orangutan Exhibit, Then the entrance, and later the Canadian area, so at least 5 years or more, the zoo could have at least 2 calves from Clover if the carefully and precisely plan her future. But this is not likely going to happen.

Knowing our Toronto Zoo we will take our sweet ol' time waiting for Kiran to mature. Only to send him elsewhere. Vishnu is also being heavily wasted like a piece of Trash he can clearly get the job done, so either use him or put him to good use somewhere else.

So my plans would be we get Clover or Just dump everyone now and let's make it a babirusa haven with tapirs and others. Having 2 genetically valuable males is a waste and I would rather contribute to the population when we can. But the barn would need some renovations but that wouldn't be too costly as the barn has a nice viewing but it's the holding stalls that need a makeover.

Anyways hope Asha is resting in peace after a long fight.
 
I dont know that Asha's passing will accelerate any plans on phase out. Remember the plan was already to send Asha to Rum Creek likely this spring or fall. Her passing likely means Nandu will be recalled from Safari Niagara so he can breed in the US. Kiran still needs a few more years until he's a breeding bull. And the current plan was for Vishnu to be wasted without a female for the next while.

As has been pointed out the master plan calls for quite a few projects before any work on the Tigerline begins and even then the first phase doesn't even call for the rhinos to go. We could be looking at 10 plus years before the zoo needs the empty exhibit. There is no rush to get rid of the rhinos. If the SSP and the zoo want to breed Vishnu they could bring in a female suitable for him and keep the program going until its time to phase out.
 
In good news, the zoo has announced the clutch of Massassauga rattlesnakes helped boost the population by 14! Most of the recent clutches have been much lower numbers so this is a good one. However the babies have been moved behind scenes so anyone who saw them in the Americas pavilion exhibit the other day were pretty darn lucky. Another big win for local conservation programs.
 
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