Toronto Zoo Toronto Zoo Developments 2021

I hate to say it, but I completely missed ever seeing an adult male Orangutan at the zoo. So, personally, I's just waiting to see a fully grown, fully developed male once more. I'm with you @TZFan. To much time has been wasted on waiting for Budi. Time is essential for these kind of things and we're wasting it.
 
Lots to unpack here. I messaged the zoo about the Gibbons and siamangs right away. According to the people who responded they would like to mix animals eventually but It is all up to space and what the keepers feel is right. Honestly I have know problem with the Gibbons mixed in. San Diego, is a pro the siamangs have even been spotted rearing and playing with the baby orangutan. And the Orangs have been helping the siamangs out by rearing the baby siamangs.

I am going to go off topic. Assiniboine I believe has a breeding pair of siamangs. They are huge fans of Hudson and Humphrey. I think you can guess where I am going. Just a simple win win trade. But that's just foolish and dreaming.

The empty exhibit will pose an issue. We all know how empty exhibits have an impact on guests. The Elephants. Old Styled enclosure, with few to one animals in it. We've all been through this before. But this time there is an improved space. But the image of empty exhibits is bad.

A few animals that can be mixed in with orangutans according to other zoos. babirusas, they are not super hostile and just need a wallow built since the outdoor exhibit will feature a stream running through it. Gibbons and other small primates can also work. Then Asian Small clawed otters, cute and cuddly, but keep the orang infants away.

In the end the zoo has oppurtunity but is not capitalizing on it.
 
@Akula, I think you're right in the zoo just not capitalizing on doing a mixed species exhibit. We know it works, but it seems the zoo just doesn't want to give it a shot.
 
@ Akula you are incorrect, Assiniboine has a breeding pair of gibbons not siamangs. They also have zero incentive to take Hudson and Humphrey. They have more than enough polar bears plus they are neutering almost all of their boys to prevent breeding. Toronto had a choice when they started to mature. Let them neuter them or take them back. We took them back.

To replace our gibbons when they go it would probably be easier to get siamangs because they have a slightly larger population. I will take any gibbon, siamang or langur species they want to give me.
 
On another note, it's a bummer the exhibit wont be ready until the fall. It's understandable with covid and supply issues, but its still sucks that there may only be a few good months of use this year.

The zoo should just do a "soft opening" this fall and focus on the fanfare next year. with it probably being the 1st normal spring/summer in a few years, it would make sense. Also, the new front entrance may be under construction by then, and it seems there are a bunch of other smaller upgrades happening around the zoo. The zoo could advertise the new orang exhibit along with anything else they're working on to bring in the crowds.
 
@GorillaFan15 I couldn't agree more with you, A soft opening is great plus not many people go in the fall, so it would work perfectly. plus the winter would open up plans on perhaps adding in Ramai into the Budi and Sekali duo.
 
A soft opening is a smart move, but this all depends on when it finishes during the fall season. Obviously there's a point in temperature that they won't let the Orangutans hangout outside. But if it finishes prior to cold weather, what they've done in the past is soft open to members first before opening to the public.

It's all a matter of timing and how much the weather wishes to corporate.
 
Unpopular opinion but I would rather they not open the orang exhibit at all until 2022. History has taught us that if they open a new exhibit in the fall they will fail to capitalize on its new exhibit the following summer. Eurasia anyone? They need to be smarter. The last 18 months have been hard on the zoo and they need that amazing show piece to draw people in when they can at full capacity next year. It's also why I really don't think its a big deal to have any births this year but want a ton next year. We have waited for the orang exhibit this long. What's one more winter if it helps the zoo financially?

Just to be clear though. Once it is done I am happy to have the orangs begin to explore it. I wouldnt deny Puppe nature. They should have a few weeks to get comfortable and test it out anyway. Orangs are incredibly smart and will find ways you would never expect to exploit their environment to their advantage. It's probably wise to let them test it out so you dont have the embarrassment of an escape like the zoo had with the baboons when the savanna was about to open.
 
Honestly, I'm with you on this one @TZFan. I don't think they should open to the public this year. Wait until spring 2022, and then do a grand opening of sorts. Eurasia did the soft opening and people barely noticed, and it didn't become a draw at all.
 
The zoo is looking for a senior vet, probably to replace the new head vet who has moved up.

They are also in search of seasonal keepers and lead keeper of fish and marine life (temporary spot).

For any of you who have a skill set that this might work they also want a new payroll officer.

And funny enough the job we all want but Im assuming none of us are qualified for project manager.

The zoo also has a contract out to develop a game about salmon hatching. Clearly they are thinking about things to add to the app so hopefully thats under development already.
 
The new public bus route to the zoo from Durham will begin running July 10th.
 
That's good to hear. The zoo can definitely use more access to public transport.
 
Additional public transit routes coming into the zoo could be one of the smartest moves it makes. They just opened up a whole new group of people who can now come to the zoo cheaply and easily even if it might take some time. Hopefully this route will prove to Durham its worth it and convince other transit groups it might be worth it too.
 
That's even better news. Hopefully they find the need for it and expand on this. I live about 15 minutes away from the zoo, by bus it's 45+ minutes. And that's using TTC. Imagine the commute for people outside of Toronto.
 
Other thigs I learned today... minor the carousel is back open. I tried to see if the zoomo might be up on the website but when I clicked here for more info I got an error. So... probably not.

The walkabout is closed until further notice. I dont know why.

Much larger news, curator of reptiles Andrew Lentini has retired as of today. He has been with the zoo forever. It will be a big whole in the team but he has likely trained up any number of excellent reptile keepers who can fill his shoes and would be proud to do so. I hope to see an article in the paper about him in the coming days celebrating his work. This is a man who has literally helped to save many human lives through the teams collection of snake venom for antidotes and hoping in the car to hand deliver them to hospitals in need of them. He must be the one they were talking about making a curator emeritus. Hope he enjoys his well deserved retirement.
 
So it looks like some features of the zoo have reopened in Step 2
-As @TZFan mentioned the Carousel is open.
-Zoomobile is open to members only for the time being, as they test things out for operations, also it's a round trip starting and ending at the main station. no other stations are open for pickup and dropoff
-TundraAir zipline is open

I'm assuming these area will be wiped down after each use. Zipline should be easy to wipe down, whereas the zoomobile would take more time. I'm curious if anyone sees them actually wiping these area down. I noticed that during my visits, there was a lack of seeing staff wipe down anything.
 
Nice that the zoomo is back. Even if they are only cleaning it every so many rides if someone is smart and plans ahead they can just bring Clorox wipes and do their own quick wipe down. Ideal? No. What I would do if they hadn't just cleaned it? Yep. It just takes a little planning ahead.

Are they using the old or new zoomos? And old route or the new one they were thinking of inventing?
 
There's no info on which zoomobiles they're using, but I guess anyone visiting can keep an eye out for them. As for the route, no clue on that either. So, if anyone take the zoomobile for a spin, it'd be nice to know which route they took.
 
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