Toronto Zoo Toronto Zoo Developments 2023

Great! Thanks! From a purely selfish perspective I was frustrated I got to listen into the health and safety presentation and then only managed to hear from Dolf for 3 minutes. Put the exciting stuff first people!
 
Yes, Dolf said the launch of the Orangutan outdoor exhibit is scheduled for the last week of June.

Couple more updates from the meeting.

- All buildings should now be equipped with Wi-Fi for guests.
- There will be a new zoo app coming in the spring.
 
A new zoo app would be interesting - but I'm not overly hopeful considering the discussion the other day on how out of date the website is.

I wonder if they could manage to link the information so it was refreshed more timely in both (I know - it's a pipe dream to ask two different systems, of different ages, to talk to each other).

Gold standard would be something to identify which animal was on exhibit at a time (the tech version of the whiteboard at the orang habitat), but I'm not going to hold my breath.
 
Last week of June is later than I was expecting for the outdoor orangs, I figured they'd try to have it ready for Victoria Day. I guess they're making sure they really take their time to let the orangs get used to being outside and everything that comes with that. Good news is that means it'll be open for all of summer vacation
 
The reason they might be waiting is to give the orangs ample time to get used to outside. We need to remember none of them have been outside of the pavilion while awake other than maybe Puppe when she arrived and that was nearly 50 years ago. Plus one of them is super little. They probably want to play it super safe. By the end of June it will be hot out. Little chance of them getting too cold. They dont know what cold is. They have never been rained on. They have never felt wind on their faces and grass under their feet. Oh by the way they probably want to give the grass and plants a few weeks or even a couple of months to take root. I can see them waiting until Canada Day weekend. I agree with you @hyena142, Victoria Day sounds like the smarter choice if we just think about getting it open as early into the busy season as possible. They will loose out on the school group buzz if they would just open a month sooner. But we also dont know what else needs to be done and how they want to introduce the orangs.
 
Looks like it's coming along nicely. I'm surprised at how fast this is moving, but I guess it has to to make their end of March deadline.
 
Its looking good. And if they finish on time, hire that team again to do whatever they plan to do to replace the Indo boardwalk! Dont let a crew that can finish things on time get away!!!
 
Yes, Toronto is already known for construction moving at a snail's pace. I'd rather not see that at the zoo too. Finishing a construction project on time is almost unheard of these days, so if this does finish on time, build a lasting relationship with this company.
 
Some updates from Dolf's insta. Looks like the new boardwalk is opening on Friday, just in time for March Break.
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The Winter Zoomobiles have also gotten a nice paint job to make them look less bland
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TZFan said:
@Aelita the domain is to be fully replaced by Wilderness North. It has long been recognized that putting the domain down that hill was a mistake. Even the previous master plan called for it to be moved. Without the monorail the domain has been under appreciated and kinda neglected. The domain is untapped potential though. Once the Canadian stock is moved to Wilderness North they could easily use former exhibit spaces as room for breeding facilities. It would afford the zoo more flexibility when it comes to hoofstock or to help provide quiet breeding space for native species and allow the offsprings to grow up as wild as possible for potential release. That though is just the most logical use of the space in my mind. Untapped potential could mean many things including setting up guest facilities down there to enjoy a sort of camping experience within the city, or just do nature trails ect. Whether the maglev is actually built probably will impact what they ultimately decide to do. If its there then they can do whatever they want with it because there will be accessible transport down there. Without the maglev then the zoo would be best to put zoo facilities down there and not allow guests so they dont have to spend a fortune making it accessible.
Click to expand...
Is this the construction that is happening now?
 
@Zoo member, Wilderness North is not one of the projects currently underway. Current projects include but are not limited to, the orang outdoor exhibit, the new boardwalk from the Americas to Africa (done to make it more accessible), the splash pad bathrooms, the Americas aviary (might be done by now), something is going on in the Americas primate wing but no one is certain just what right now, the long forgot Australasia outdoor aviary is under construction, soon enough an expansion of the wildebeest barn... I think those are the bigger projects underway. The current CEO Dolf Dejong is also on a mission to give facelifts to various exhibits so improvements could happen anywhere at any time. Slowly but surely all signage is being replaced and updated. And the bathrooms is part of an overall plan to upgrade them starting with Tundra Treks, then the rainforests, and now the Splash pads. Last year he focused on new shade structures in Africa for the animals and fixing up the penguin, tamarin, saki, beaver and otter exhibits to name some of the bigger ones. Oh the wombats just got a bit of refurb to help with enriching them and to encourage breeding. As you can see Dolf's into a mix of bigger and smaller projects so things are constantly being done.

@hyena142, FINALLY!!! The zoomos needed something more. Good call. I mean it does seem underwhelming but much better than before. Feels weird that they chose blues when the zoos colours are green and white but I wont complain because blue is my favourite colour.
 
Boardwalk to be finished by Friday? Nice!! Right on time for the March Break rush. I'm surprised how fast this was completed. Really Impressive.

I'm pretty sure some of the winter zoomobiles have a green coloured design on them.
 
I didn't know the zoomobiles operated in the winter! Hoping to finally ride it when I visit in April again. I am running around without the family, so I can get away with doing what I want this time :D
 
For those interested, the zoo put up a RFP for CONSTRUCTION MANAGER for CONSERVATION CENTRE.

Basically, their looking for a team to manage the construction of the Conservation Centre (New entrance) which they plan on starting at the end of this year.

There are pages upon pages of plans and documents you can browse through, so have fun if you like that sort of thing.


Bids and Tenders - Toronto Zoo
 
On twitter, the Zoo mentioned that they plan on open the Canadian Domain for the March break, although the Grizzly Bear will still be off exhibit, as they're still hibernating.
 
@cypher, Facebook said they were planning to open it but because the grizzlies are still asleep they are keeping it closed and will notify people when it opens. I think you misread.
 
The new Africa to Americas ramp is officially opening tomorrow, here's a look at the finished product from Dolf
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Very nice. I'm still shocked that they finished this so fast. Can't wait to visit again without having to backtrack to visit the other side of the zoo.
 
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