Toronto Zoo Toronto Zoo Discussion thread 2022

I'm in full agreement with you there @Kifaru Bwana. Mixed species exhibits would be better overall, especially for the Great Apes. Hopefully, It's something that can be implemented in the future.
 
TZFan said:
@ProjectGames, the gorilla plans all depend on Charles. They are at a stand still until he passes. The most likely contender for silverback is Jawara of Granby. He can breed all of our girls. If they send Johari away then his brother Zwalani would be a contender as well (hes Johari's nephew). Nneka is not that far off breeding age. At 8 she is coming up on the time the SSP could consider sending her away. She probably wouldnt be allowed to breed until 10 but some girls go younger. As to order of breeding the girls it kinda depends on what they think might happen. They may want to breed Ngozi first to model for the younger first timers. They also may want to keep Ngozi in reserve for a surrogate option should Johari or Nneka reject a baby. Johari would probably go before Nneka because she is older and more mature and more valuable. If Johari rejected it would give them Ngozi, Nneka and maybe even Charlie as possible surrogates. Then Johari could be bred again faster which given her value would be more desirable then one from the other girls. It will be complex.
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If Nneka is 10 and will be able to breed, then I'd assume that Charles already passed away. If we'll get a silverback like Jawara that can breed all the girls, then all the breeding options would be set. If I were the SSP I wouldn't consider sending Nneka nor Johari away. I also wouldn't send our youngest gorilla Charlie away because she would also be a valuable option for breeding for a few more years, I guess. I'll also go along with the plan where Ngozi would be the one who is bred first. But maybe Ngozi could stay and be a good surrogate option, but it depends on whether Johari or Nneka reject their babies.
 
Kifaru Bwana said:
I think given the space that is too bad. It would be nice if orang utan / great ape exhibits were designed with more species on exhibit in the same enclosures as them.

I can think of a few other megavertebrate species where this would apply!
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But just looking at the pictures of the outdoor exhibit, I definitely think that the exhibit would fit more species in it, since it has more room and that I think they would fit with the great apes. There also also multiple species that could possibly fit in with the orangs, but its too bad the exhibit is only set for orangs.
 
We've just heard the news out of the Cincinnati Zoo that Jomo, the former gorilla at the zoo died. I'm not a real expert or anything, but should the zoo consider sending Sadiki or Nassir to Cincinnati to replace Jomo as the silverback leader?
 
ProjectGames said:
We've just heard the news out of the Cincinnati Zoo that Jomo, the former gorilla at the zoo died. I'm not a real expert or anything, but should the zoo consider sending Sadiki or Nassir to Cincinnati to replace Jomo as the silverback leader?
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Definitely not, as Sadiki and Nassir are related to Elle and Mona and Elle and Mona are coming up to breeding age. So not only would Cincinnati Zoo have 2 breeding females soon but the if they got their uncles, they would be wasted. Also Sadiki and Nassir are still young and the last gorilla to become a silverback at that age was Jomo I believe and it took him time to figure it out, so its probably better the SSP finds a male in his 20's to lead the Cincinnati troop.

Also Charlie or Nneka should be sent away as that is a waste of having a double of the similar genetic material. If we do get Jawara then why would we want to have a Jawara and Nneka birth with a Jawara and Charlie birth if both Charlie and Nneka share the same parents. The genetics would be being wasted. the best combo would probably be Johari, Ngozi and Charlie or Nneka.
 
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Not Jomo! I love Jomo! Not surprising though given his deteriorating condition. Absolutely tragic though to lose him so young. However his death will up Johari's value and importance. Friends we need to prepare for Johari leaving. They wont be able to sit back and let her waste any more valuable years. The clock will be ticking on her departure.

@Akula is correct, Sadiki and Nassir are not contenders at all as Mona and Elle's uncles. Their group though is primed for a new silverback. It also as Gladys who is slightly older and is either Elle or Mona's aunt (dont remember which one), and an older female MLyndzi who probably would stay on to help anchor the girls under the new silverback. Elle is super valuable, more so then Johari so they will get a high quality silverback.

@ProjectGames there is no way at all Sadiki and Nassir will be called up as silverbacks. Nassir is far too young to become a silverback. They wont consider him until he is at least 16. Before then most are far too immature to lead a family. They are moody teens and because they are so much larger and stronger than females if they dont have the appropriate self control they could hurt the females or infants so they let the boys mellow before being given the responsibility of a group. Due to Nassir's age they cannot use Sadiki either. Sadiki could now be a silverback but he is serving as Nassir's companion until both are ready to be fathers. They don't like any gorilla to live as a lone animal long if it can be helped and in this case it can be helped. You just wait on Nassir for a few more years then hopefully there will be troops ready for the boys in the US. I didnt consider Calgary as a choice because they have a young silverback in Jasiri.
 
TZFan said:
Not Jomo! I love Jomo! Not surprising though given his deteriorating condition. Absolutely tragic though to lose him so young. However his death will up Johari's value and importance. Friends we need to prepare for Johari leaving. They wont be able to sit back and let her waste any more valuable years. The clock will be ticking on her departure.

@Akula is correct, Sadiki and Nassir are not contenders at all as Mona and Elle's uncles. Their group though is primed for a new silverback. It also as Gladys who is slightly older and is either Elle or Mona's aunt (dont remember which one), and an older female MLyndzi who probably would stay on to help anchor the girls under the new silverback. Elle is super valuable, more so then Johari so they will get a high quality silverback.

@ProjectGames there is no way at all Sadiki and Nassir will be called up as silverbacks. Nassir is far too young to become a silverback. They wont consider him until he is at least 16. Before then most are far too immature to lead a family. They are moody teens and because they are so much larger and stronger than females if they dont have the appropriate self control they could hurt the females or infants so they let the boys mellow before being given the responsibility of a group. Due to Nassir's age they cannot use Sadiki either. Sadiki could now be a silverback but he is serving as Nassir's companion until both are ready to be fathers. They don't like any gorilla to live as a lone animal long if it can be helped and in this case it can be helped. You just wait on Nassir for a few more years then hopefully there will be troops ready for the boys in the US. I didnt consider Calgary as a choice because they have a young silverback in Jasiri.
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I definitely agree with both of you now. Nassir is too young for a silverback at the age of 12, and him and Sadiki are companions for each other. Definitely agree.

Its sad hearing that Johari could be gone any soon, because he was always one of my favorite gorillas and entertaining to watch her. I guess it makes sense now because at her age its a valuable time for her to breed and get her first babies.

Although I've never seen Jomo in-person before, I'll assume he is a great guy to watch. Its sad that he passed away yesterday.
 
Just watching a Facebook Live from today and found out our alligator gar is 45 years old! He might well be another original from opening day.
 
@Kalvin, the keeper only mentioned the one gar and only one looked like it was in the exhibit so the other one passing is a distinct possibility.
 
On a sample size of one day - it sounds like the zoo is getting a good volume of traffic through the doors while the kids are out of school for the week.

My wife tried to take the kids today and the line ups were into the parking lot.
 
Yeah I figured everyone was gonna try to go today, March Break plus one of the first nice days in months is just asking for bonkers crowds. At least they'll get lots of ticket sales out of it lol
 
They actually announced around 1pm that they are no longer taking walk ups, just pre schedule tickets. I am not sure if they are still at a limited capacity by government regulation or by choice.
Regardless their choice to keep with the vaccine passport to protect the vulnerable animals doesn't seem to have a major impact on guest numbers (I imagine most of the hateful emails are coming from people who haven't been to the zoo in years and aren't planning on it, just looking to spread their anger).

And we can forget that baby giraffe Matumaini will certainly be a big draw. We are thinking of going to see him, but want to avoid the March Break Crowds
 
From the comments the parking lots were full, and the police were there to direct traffic - so I have no basis to know for sure, but that doesn't sound like "self-imposed" restrictions. That sounds like fire marshal and capacity restrictions.
 
I was so happy to hear TZ hit capacity today! Amazing to see people out enjoying this glorious day at our Zoo!

I'm hoping to go next week and see Matu!
 
Wow Dolf just posted on his Instagram account photos of yesterday and it looked insanely busy! I don't think I have ever seen it that busy at the zoo, granted I cant go as often as the rest of you. I wouldn't be shocked if they hit normal capacity and not just a reduced covid capacity. For the zoo's sake I hope the rest of the week stays as nice and they can hit capacity for several more days. They could use some big days.
 
It makes sense that so many people are at the zoo, since its March Break and it was a nice day to be out. In all my days of going to the zoo, I've never seen anything this busy going on at the zoo.
 
Just got the great news, when I come home to visit, we will be spending a day at Toronto Zoo! It has been many many years since I have been. Any tips or tricks I should know about? Any recommendations? We are going Easter weekend so I am expecting large crowds.

I know my mother very much wants to see the baby giraffe, so I am trying to get it into my family's heads that we should go for opening, but you know how it is with family....:rolleyes::p
 
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