Toronto Zoo Toronto Zoo Developments 2015

This summer has been odd for the zoo. What big new thing did they open up or push in the media? Right nothing. They could have pushed a summer of hoofstock with the watusi, wildebeest and Kiko joining the zoo... maybe pushed to bring in the eland. But no. They should have pushed the opening of the Eurasian Wilds but again nothing. They open that augmented reality and didn't advertise it. Sadly there were no big births to announce this year pushing babies. Heck they have totally failed at getting the only moderately interesting baby, the lynx, on display. Other then seeing that panda farting commercial on tv a handful of times I didn't even see ads this summer on tv. No wonder visits are down. I know the zoo's advertising company pulled out just before spring kicked off and they were in a pinch but I think it really, really hurt them this summer.

Hopefully things will turn around next year, especially if a panda cub is born. Next spring could be very big in terms of babies. A panda cub would help huge but Indian Rhino Asha's calf will be a huge draw too. If polar bear cubs arrive this winter that will help too. And now that Budi and Sekali are being paired for breeding there is a decent shot at a 2016 orang baby. If just those babies are born the zoo will be nuts, even without the panda cub. Forget the other baby possibilities from all over the zoo.
 
The zoo really dropped the ball with advertising. The Eurasian Wilds have been open since December 1 of last year, and I have not seen one bit of advertising for it. At the same time, I've heard that a lot of people are overly disappointed in the newly open exhibit. Many people were hoping to see the Horses.

As for next year they seem to be placing a lot of hope in a panda cub, which is by any means a guarantee. I hope they're looking at how they can better showcase other animals, babies or otherwise. With all the focus on the Pandas, many people that go to the zoo don't realize they have white lions. The zoo needs to showcase the diversity of animals it has.
 
I agree with the dropped ball on Eurasia. I think a good chunk of that is that their ad firm bailed on them right when they would have been kicking off the summer campaign. There were a number of good things to push this year but without an ad firm it makes it a little hard to put out new commercials and ads. And without those ads how on earth did they hope to attract as many Pan Am visitors as possible? Just horrible timing to lose such an essential partner.

I must agree the wilds has been a bit of a let down. The Eurasian animals can be viewed year round yet 3 species are in exhibits only accessible during the summer via the zoomobile. Keeping a pathway along there might have been a good idea.

I would like to share in the zoo's optimism about a panda cub but I just don't think we will be the ones to see the first panda cub in Canada. I think it will be Calgary and it will happen the very first year they have them. I have thought that since I heard they were coming. Call me a pessimist.

I do think the zoo is starting to turn a corner in how they present themselves. They have really been pushing the conservation efforts in the news. Their new ad campaign about why they are there is brilliant... I was disappointed that wonderful video wasn't used as a summer ad. It could have worked very well and really helped to repair the zoo's reputation after all of the damage the elephant situation caused. They have been doing well with the videos they have posted on facebook, youtube and twitter. Whoever is leading that campaign is doing a brilliant job. Its all great stuff. If they start using that sort of self promotion on a larger scale the zoo will really start to kick things off in a major way for next year. Push the diversity. Push the conservation. Push the dedicated keepers (giraffe keeper Andy is fantastic). Push the new and exciting. They can do so much and I hope they keep up the good work they have been slowly building towards over the summer.
 
Toronto Zoo Animal Updates & Observations

I hope you guys don't mind, but I figured I'd start a new thread where we can share random animal updates and observations from our personal visits to the zoo...

I caught a keeper talk at the gorilla exhibit today, and discovered that there's been a bit of drama and upheaval within the troop lately. For the first time ever, Sadiki (10 years old) has been separated and isolated away from the troop.

Apparently, Charles has recently had a flare-up of his herpes virus and has been feeling under the weather lately. That, in combination with his advancing age, has led to Sadiki getting braver with him. From what I gathered, Sadiki was posturing at Charles (almost challenging him)...and the females sided with him! (I think I heard something about all of them having gone indoors while Charles stayed outside.) As a result, Sadiki is now in isolation until Charles gets better. (This might likely take about a week.)

With Sadiki missing (the poor guy has been crying a lot, suddenly finding himself all by his lonesome) and Charles feeling so miserable with the blisters, the entire group seems to be in a bit of disarray. The change in dynamic has caused a bit of confusion around mealtimes, which (from what I understand) are taking a tad longer than usual, as things get sorted out.

For me, while this news may not be entirely unexpected (it's the natural way of life), it's still quite sad to see. I suppose we should continue to expect episodes like this as Charles gets up there in age...
 
I merged your thread into one of the main Toronto threads. No need to extra clutter.
 
jbnbsn99 said:
I merged your thread into one of the main Toronto threads. No need to extra clutter.
Click to expand...

That's cool...Sorry for the clutter!

I was also hoping to be able to share just random observations on animal behaviors I might see on any given day. For example...Like the discovery of how much Johari seems to love the rain. Not long ago, I was at the zoo on a rainy day, and was amazed and surprised to see Johari (who's usually sitting on the ground by herself, along the perimeter of the enclosure) up on the very top platform, clapping her hands and beating her chest! All of the younger gorillas seemed to be enjoying the rain...but Johari, especially!

For random things like that, is this the thread I should be using to share it? Or is there another thread that would be better suited to post on?
 
That's pretty interesting to hear SimplySlothful. Given that news I wouldn't be surprised if the zoo is looking to send off Sadiki and possibly Nassir to another zoo.

I managed to visit the zoo last week and got a look at Kiko with the girls. It's pretty nice to see that they're all getting along. It's actually pretty easy to tell them all apart if anyone if wondering how. Twiga is easy to pick out from the fade of her skin, and she's the tallest. Kiko has a tag in his right ear and his Ossicones are clearly larger than Mstari and possible Twiga's. Plus Kiko is taller than Mstari.

I also notice that three Orangutans were on exhibit, which is a bit unusual. Puppe was out with the boys Budi and Kembali. Budi seemed comfortable with her, whereas Kembali kept his distance, despite playing around her earlier.
 
I would say, it would most likely be near the outdoor orang exhibit, or at least thats what was rumoured a while back...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top