Toronto Zoo Toronto Zoo Developments 2021

Sounds like we got some cool stuff coming our way!

I'm excited to see what they do with the whole Sumatrans area. Obviously that ramp needs replacing and the theming fan inside me loves the idea of a forest path past the tigers. Giving the tigers more room to roam is always a good thing as well. Cool to hear that's coming up soon on the docket. Also lol at the mention of other steep paths in the zoo, wonder what he could possibly be talking about

They seem confident that the orangs will be done by the spring (and by spring I'm assuming mid-to-late May) so for now I'll be cautiously optimistic along with them. Glad to hear they'll have the bare necessities done by the holidays at the very least.

Spoonbill exhibit getting an expansion is potentially very interesting, the Animal Plan says that the spoonbills and ibises are set to take over the spotted-necked otter exhibit when the otters are phased out (and with Lila's recent departure and Fred getting up there in years phase out could happen sooner than we think). I don't wanna start any wild speculation but maybe they're planning on putting something new in there? Or it could just be converted into a winter home for the second lemur group. Either way it's better than that exhibit turning into nothing after the birds make their move.

Hey that's awesome that the outdoor Aussie aviary is finally getting some love! It'd be cool if they converted it into a winter home for the roos but I'd be more than okay with getting the lorikeets back or just letting the pigeons outside in the summer.

Interesting he isn't giving specifics on the otter exhibit considering we're still not sure if it's gonna be an exhibit for new sea otters or if they're just gonna move the river otters to the entrance. Either way late 2022 is a lot sooner for construction to begin than I was expecting. The zoo loves dragging their feet on these things so 2024 is both generous and a bit of a tight squeeze for them to build a brand new otter exhibit, but I think they can pull that off.

Thanks for sharing!
 
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So I went back to watch his other Facebook lives - I cannot believe how ambitious the orangutan's habitat sounds. It was from last March - but will they still have “Habitat 1” and “Habitat 2” (which sounds like a sky walk and relatively open to a lot of unenclosed space).

Even after seeing the site I was just expecting an outdoor version of some of their other pavilions or maybe the tall grasses they have in the London UK gorilla habitat. It sounds way cooler!
 
Yes, the habitat one and two I think is still supposed to happen, as well I too am so excited for the unenclosed space as it really adds to the animals is free to go where ever idea that the Toronto Zoo strives for. I believe the skywalk sort of thing for them is meant to have a chute from the pavilion out to the bridge by the Lemur Summer home, as well apparently they will be able to climb high enough that they will meet the giraffe exhibit when they climb up to maximum height.
 
It appears that a lobster now resides in the former Giant Pacific Octopus tank in Americas. Seems like just a bog standard American Lobster. There are also some shrimp in with the leather sea stars, but I couldn't tell you what species.
 
Well a lobster is kinda boring. I liked watching the octopus. She was fun when she was playing around. Oh well. Can't help it if she passed or needed to be moved because she got too big.
 
I want to know what will happen to the Indian Rhino habitat and I really hope Gaur will eventually make their way back to the zoo!
 
@Sarus Crane At this moment we don't know what's gonna happen to the Indian rhino exhibit or what's gonna be replacing them, though I expect some answers may be in the zoo's new Master Plan that'll probably come next year. I don't think the rhinos will be leaving the zoo anytime soon (Asha has a home picked out but with covid who knows how long that'll take, and I dunno what their plans are for Vishnu and Kiran) so if you wanna catch them before they're gone you've still got time.

My gut tells me that the gaur will be brought back to replace the rhinos but that's kinda a boring pick in my eyes, I'd much rather have Malayan tapirs back or an animal the zoo's never had before.

I've got a new pic from Dolf's insta story you guys can see here, looks like some new plans for the entrance
 
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hyena142 said:
@Sarus Crane At this moment we don't know what's gonna happen to the Indian rhino exhibit or what's gonna be replacing them, though I expect some answers may be in the zoo's new Master Plan that'll probably come next year. I don't think the rhinos will be leaving the zoo anytime soon (Asha has a home picked out but with covid who knows how long that'll take, and I dunno what their plans are for Vishnu and Kiran) so if you wanna catch them before they're gone you've still got time.

My gut tells me that the gaur will be brought back to replace the rhinos but that's kinda a boring pick in my eyes, I'd much rather have Malayan tapirs back or an animal the zoo's never had before.

I've got a new pic from Dolf's insta story you guys can see here, looks like some new plans for the entrance
Click to expand...
I'll take Gaur over Indian Rhino since they are at so many zoos in the US now. Gaur would also make Toronto stand out more and they can handle the cold better than the rhinos.
 
The plan currently for the Indian rhinos is for Asha to head to Rum Creek, covid dependent in the spring. Vishnu and Kiran are to stay on for the foreseeable future. With the front entrance taking up probably the next 4 to 6 years... I know they said 2 years startin in the fall of 2022 but we all know the zoo... I doubt there will be the budget for any master plan level changes to the rhino habitat. I would guess one or both of them will be around another 5 years minimum... mosy likely Kiran as they wait on him to mature since Nandu could be called back to the States to breed any time now that hes mature first. Not that Nandu may ever get to breed. Could choose Kiran for other reasons. Plus any other calves Asha or Vishu may have could mix things up... ok so its all in the air right now.
 
9C77483C-649A-4709-AA2F-7AACEB441555.jpeg 754B8F7A-02AC-4879-88C2-8FB1605418DA.jpeg Some more construction progress from dolf’s IG. The rockwork is looking quite nice. Plus, in the background of the 1st image, it seems they have partially installed one of the o-line poles.
 

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Wow Im honestly shocked the transformations happening this late in the year. I may owe the zoo an apology for thinking they were nuts to think spring 2022. Come on mild winter!
 
That rockwork looks great! I get the feeling that this is gonna be almost unrecognizable from the old gaur exhibit when it's done and I love that. Spring 2022 can't come fast enough
 
Progress looks great. I think we can chalk up this progress to the lack of heavy snowfall and fridge temperatures.
 
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Wow look at this sneak peek from Dolf’s IG!!

Would anyone have any idea what that grey area near the stairs could be, in the left of the image? It looks to me like it could possibly be the otter exhibit they’re planning. It looks like rockwork and water to me. Then again it also looks like it could be some type of other feature, hard to tell…
 

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Wow I'm definitely glad someone caught that before it went away

Whatever this is it looks amazing! Definitely something to do with the entrance. The grey area to the left is almost certainly the otter/penguin/something or other exhibit they're doing, the white awning is above the viewing area.
 
Very neat to see this. The left side definitely looks like an exhibit, which we know will be Otters. I like the open space and shading spots provided by the various awnings, including the animal exhibit.
 
The new entrance looks more impressive then I could have imagined. Why does this scare me? Oh right preconditioned to expect disappointment. If they pull this off I might forgive them for letting me dream of sea otters.
 
I'm really excited to see a final rendering of what they approve for this project. At this point, things can still be added and cut from the overall design. If we can get a final design we will definitely get a better understanding at what to expect, even though cut can still be made at that point.
 
To end off the year, red pandas Paprika and Suva were introduced for the first time today, both sharing the same space in the boardwalk yard. I think the easiest way to tell them apart, is the panda with the more well-defined eyebrows is Paprika.
 
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