Toronto Zoo Toronto Zoo Discussion thread 2021

Good point about the signs being down Kalvin. I couldnt picture what they had there but if its just the generic green signs taking them down isnt a guaranteed bad sign. They could just have taken it down and when a new mob arrives get some of that nicer new signage.

I also agree there is no reason to worry about not seeing prehensile tailed porc, Nicole. Shes almost always in the nest because shes a nocturnal animal in a very bright exhibit. I would only worry if the signs are down and her boxes are removed.

The marmosets are on phase out so, Sam will not be replaced with more common marmosets. I really hope they are looking for another marmoset or tamarin but nothing has been said to my knowledge. I would be thrilled with emperor tamarins. Love those little mustaches. That's just a personal hope. I have a gut feeling they will just remove the glass wall and make it all one exhibit while maybe still leaving the saki exhibit alone so they can be separated when there are new babies.

Interesting if they are separating the snappers from the beavers since they have gotten along for so long but maybe thats in preparation for a new beaver pair who could breed. Maybe they arent as comfortable with the snappers in with beaver kits? Just getting the work done while they are already there doing other major work. Definitely an interesting development.

My money is on giraffe, Amani, leaving for Calgary this fall or spring. She's more than old enough.

By the way just want to thank everyone for posting their observations since the zoo opened. Since I'm far away and not willing to go near Toronto yet I love living vicariously through you guys! Its very much appreciated.
 
Dropped by for a quick visit today, not much new to report but here's a few things

I finally saw Puzzle with my own eyes so yeah she's still here

According to a friendly volunteer at the hyenas Kanzi isn't going on exhibit at the moment because she was apparently getting too overexcited at visitors being back and they're doing some training with her behind the scenes to get her calmed down.

One of the peahens had three chicks with her, not exactly huge news but it was nice to see

The warthogs were out, I've never seen them out in the morning before. No zebras today tho, that was weird

This is my second time seeing Sabi and Zohari since reopening and both times Theo hasn't been with them. Is he on his own now?
 
I do believe Theo is on his own now. He and Indian rhino Kiran are both more than old enough to live alone. They are probably leaving Kiran with Asha only to save on space, kinda like pygmy hippo Penelope.
 
hyena142 said:
Dropped by for a quick visit today, not much new to report but here's a few things

I finally saw Puzzle with my own eyes so yeah she's still here

According to a friendly volunteer at the hyenas Kanzi isn't going on exhibit at the moment because she was apparently getting too overexcited at visitors being back and they're doing some training with her behind the scenes to get her calmed down.

One of the peahens had three chicks with her, not exactly huge news but it was nice to see

The warthogs were out, I've never seen them out in the morning before. No zebras today tho, that was weird

This is my second time seeing Sabi and Zohari since reopening and both times Theo hasn't been with them. Is he on his own now?
Click to expand...
Any news on the white rhino mating? BTW: whites are herd animals, so the natural way is bull in with the females.

Will they rebreed the pygmy hippo?

Female Asha will go once her bull calf Kiran has left.
 
no official news on the rhinos yet so all we can do right now is cross our fingers and hope for the best

they're working on the pygmy hippos right now, Penelope is getting transferred to Houston in the near future and I wouldn't be surprised if they were already pairing up Harvey and Kindia in hopes that something'll happen
 
They have already started intros with the pygmy hippos. The really big ticket animals that are to watch out for are the Orangutans. As stated in the FB live yesterday they are putting Budi the male with the females Ramai and Sekali.
 
@Kifaru Bwana, there is not great news on the white rhino front. While there was suspicion Zohari might be pregnant last fall in their most recent Facebook Live just a week or two ago they said there were no plans to breed Zohari now that Theo is independent. They claimed there isn't space for 5 rhinos which is garbage because Theo made five when he was born and Tony was still with us. Theo is considered surplus to the population so the SSP isn't really trying hard to place him and suggested the zoo look outside of the SSP for a home. That really just leaves Toronto with Safari Niagara who has a male or Parc Safari who is holding Tony for us. Thats the most logical choice if they think he could live with Tony (who is a very dominant and assertive male who stopped playing nice with his brother KC at Granby) or if they have space for the boys to rotate. That whole conversation was only about breeding Zohari so they may have given up hope on Sabi.

The plan for the Indian rhinos is deeply disappointing. Kiran is going nowhere nor is Vishnu. That being said Asha will be on the move to Rum Creek eventually for breeding. There is no plan for a replacement. We are just going to keep the boys. Moving her wasn't something I expected for a long time. Vishnu and Asha are a well matched pair and we could have held them for life and breed when needed. Really makes me think phase out is coming 20 years sooner than I hope for.

I think when it comes to pygmy hippo Penelope's departure it might come this fall, spring at the latest unless we have a border issue pop back up with a vengeance. It will be a cooler transport time in the fall so she's less likely to overheat during a fall or spring move and no need to worry about cold from a winter transport. The fact they have paired Harvey and Kindia already does indicate that they should be moving her soon and don't think she will be a problem in 6-7 months when a calf would drop. Lets face it Harvey is very good at his job. Penelope might be his only surviving calf but he has no trouble siring calves, his problem is having a mate that can get them to survive.
 
Last edited:
TZFan said:
there is not great news on the white rhino front. While there was suspicion Zohari might be pregnant last fall in their most recent Facebook Live just a week or two ago they said there were no plans to breed Zohari now that Theo is independent.
Click to expand...

Noooooooo!! Ah man that's a complete shame, I was really hoping we'd get another one. I guess they're worried that if Baby #2 was a male there would be nowhere to put him just like there's nowhere to put Theo, and 5 adult rhinos just wouldn't fit in their current holdings. Then again you're right about Tony, I dunno if there were already plans to move him by the time Theo showed up but if there wasn't their excuse is bogus

also I have no doubts that Harvey will do his job just as well as he always does, just look at this face. that's the face of a man who knows the ladies love him
 
Last edited:
I don't believe there were any firm plans to move Tony until after Theo was born. They probably wanted to move him but no where had been found as of Theo's birth. I mean lets look at the facts. Firstly it has always taken a number of attempts before Tom gets the job done and they have to wait awhile before they know if they were successful or not. They also have a limited breeding because they will only put them together outside (understandably). So who knows when we would get a pregnancy's in the first place. Lets pretend it happened today. The calf wont be born for at least 16 months, possibly up to 18 months. Even then its going to be in the same stall as mom and not taking up much room for at least the first year. Only once baby is getting really big do we need Theo to be gone. The zoo would have at least 2 and a half years to place Theo before it became and issue but if we are realistic probably longer. With the clock winding down on Sabi's chances to become a mother you would think they would at least roll the dice with her. They can wait on Zohari but I think the risks are low with Sabi.

I wish Theo were more valuable. He is the grandson of 4 imported rhinos. Problem is his grandparents have been fairly prolific. He's not at the bottom of the pile or there would be no recommendation for Tom to breed with the girls. There are worse genetics out there. With so many grandparents, aunts and uncles of breeding age he's just not necessary. If he was a girl he would probably have left for a new home. We are cursed with 3 bull of the 3 rhinos we have had recently.

I wonder if there is a program they could get him in to work on reintroductions to the wild like Parc Safari did with the cheetah brothers last year. It would be a public relations gem for the zoo. We know he was chosen because he's overrepresented. To the regular guest he would be special.

Harvey is a lover that's for sure! He does his part quite well. And the health of Penelope just proved what I had long wondered, that Abou was the issue. I don't know if it was poor mothering or bad genetics but she had horrendous luck at two institutions so I would say her over care. And yes Kindia lost their first little boy but that was due to an accident from a first time mom who didn't know you can't lay on your baby. Just bad luck not bad health.
 
TZFan said:
He is the grandson of 4 imported rhinos
Click to expand...
Actually his grandmother Kendi (Tom's mom) was captive born at DAK, though her parents were both wild born I believe. Her mother Edith was very prolific and has many descendants spread across the US, Kendi herself has also been quite prolific with several calves and grand-calves. So yea, Theo is not really that valuable thanks to Tom but Zohari is a lot more valuable since both her parents were wild born and only one or two of her sisters/half-sisters have reproduced (I don't think she has any brothers/half brothers).
 
Oh my bad. It's been a long time since I went up the family tree for the white rhinos. Sometimes it doesnt help to go from memory alone especially after doing the family tree thread where I have so much random stuff about so many species roaming around my mind. I should refer to notes all of the time.

I went back and looked Tom's dad is also captive born to wild born parents. His dad was born at Palm Beach. His dad sired 5 calves, one was exported and another died at birth so he really only has 3. Kendi is a mom of 7 only one of which died. Zohari and Sabi's dad Tambo definitely a wild born import (along with their moms) but he has sired 9 calves. Zohari's mom, Kisiri, has 4 calves with Zohari being first. Sabi's mom, Mlaleni, also has 4 calves with Sabi being third. I could track their nieces and nephews but... well I am just not that interested.

It is surprising to see Theo is actually surplus to the population. He is actually the zoo's most valuable rhino. Theo is 29th giver or take for males while Tom is 34th of 96 breedable males. On the girls side Zohari is 73rd while Sabi is 75th our of 164 breedable females.
 
Interesting thing posted on Dolf DeJong's instagram page today. Apparently the zoo is working with researchers at the University of Saskatchewan on techniques to sort and store sex wood bison semen in order to increase the number of females being produced. Cool groundbreaking work which could have amazing implications for not just bison but possibly all species where they can prefect AI. I wish the zoo would share more about this kind of research. It seems fascinating.
 
Honestly a little shocked that Since they are from Saskatchewan they would've gone to the Calgary Zoo but whatever works and Its so great that Toronto once again gets to practice their techniques and perfect them, all in good hopes towards saving such a magnificent species.
 
Oh Akula they could be working with Calgary too. I don't know. The post only mentioned Toronto, the University and a researcher. My guess is Calgary would participate too if possible.
 
I know this conversation started on another thread but it didn't really seem relevant so I'll ask here.
I was looking at my Barbary ape photos and I'm wondering how useful their facial markings are at telling them apart. I have seen them twice this year and they could be separate individuals, if the difference in markings isn't just due to a bad hair day. If they're separate, then it would confirm we still have both of them.
 
Last edited:
@Kalvin, I admire your determination to figure out which Barbary ape you saw or if you have seen both. I'd love to help you but couldn't with the apes if my life depended on it. Try posting the photos. I would guess they are like the gorillas, orangs and gibbons where you can tell them apart by look. Differences might be more tricky to pick up on but I bet if someone knows them well enough they could tell you.
 
do any of you guys know where the Zoomobile is stopping right now? last I checked they were just doing Africa and Tundra but I'm wondering if the other stations have reopened
 
Female ostrich, Zednick, has had a longer road to recovery for her broken wing than hoped for. After the first surgery to repair it staff realized she had rebroken it and after examination they decided amputation was the best option. She also developed an antibiotic resistant soft tissue or bone infection but they seem to be getting that under control and are hoping to get her back out on exhibit in a few weeks. The zoo is cautiously optimistic about her chances. Poor thing has had a really rough summer.
 
This is interesting, I did Eurasia today and at the sea eagles there was this really loud squawking sound coming from behind their exhibit. It definitely wasn't either of the eagles, they were both on exhibit and they looked as confused by the noise as I was. Closest thing I can compare it to is the noise the macaws at the Temple Ruin make. Anyone have any idea what that was?

Also I saw the chamois on exhibit again, man it's looking ancient. Still only one out from what I could see
 
Last edited:
@hyena142, I noticed the same squawking you're mentioning behind the Steller's Sea Eagle exhibit. I'm also curious as to what the animal it could be. There is an off chance that it's wild animal given all the trees in that area.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top