Toronto Zoo Toronto Zoo Discussion thread 2023

@Elliot A., first off welcome. Always nice to have a new member to the crew.

The repainting definitely isnt part of the AZA accreditation visit. If it was they would have had it done before the inspection not after. Besides the AZA is focused on far more important things related to animal welfare. A paint job might look nice but its not what they are going to yank accreditation for... not that the zoo is really at any risk of losing it. All that work is simply part of the zoo's new focus on mixing small, medium and big projects in with each other so the zoo is constantly improving. Repaints are just small beautification projects that can be banged out quickly, easily and cheaply while still having a massive visual impact. By the time they finish up on repainting things the zoo is gonna look a ton better even if its several years before we get the next massive project... the new front entrance.
 
@Elliot A., you will love this group. We are a small but passionate group. Everyone is really friendly and loves to share their knowledge and experiences.
 
Was at the zoo yesterday and noticed that the southern ground hornbills were out in the exhibit with the kudus and not in the exhibit next to the lions. Perhaps the zoo is slowly introducing the birds back into the open air exhibits? So peacocks will be free-roaming again and the flamingos back into the mayan temple.
 
@Flixox101 The hornbills in the exhibit next to the lions are bachelor hornbills that've been removed from the family group for breeding reasons, and because at some point they were supposed to be sent somewhere else but that was a long time ago. You probably just missed them yesterday. The Savanna birds being back out is a good sign for avian flu stuff, but I doubt the zoo'll put in the effort to take down the netting in the pavilions, release the peacocks or clean the flamingo pool until they're certain they won't need to undo all that again if another case is reported. Better safe than sorry
 
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Is the avian flu something that the zoo has to deal with every summer? What would be able to ensure the safety of the outside birds during the summer otherwise?
 
And what is the difference between having something like the flamingos in an open-air cage compared to outside of one in the context of avian flu?
 
@Elliot A. Avian flu isn't a regular thing for Toronto, just a bird disease that's been going around since last year. I don't know the full details but I know the disease is spread through bird poo somehow, so birds in cages (like great hornbill Jonah just to use an example) are safe, but birds that might encounter a goose or seagull with avian flu, or the birds in the walkthrough aviaries that might come into contact with it through a guest stepping in contaminated poo and bringing it in, are at risk. The flamingos are in the old spider monkey exhibit instead of in their usual pond since the flamingo exhibit is also frequented by ducks and we definitely don't want a duck with avian flu getting into there and making them all really sick. I'm guessing the general TZ area's gone a bit without a positive case and they've decided to let the Savanna birds out, because that's what happened last year and as soon as there was another case detected at a nearby farm they were immediately brought back in. I'm guessing the TZ will just ride this summer out with the avian flu precautions like the netting in the pavilions in place and then next year we'll see if it's done for good or not.
 
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I think having the netting in the pavilions is fine and will be permanent. I can't imagine the zoo pulling it all down that would be such a waste of money. I assume next year the peacocks free-roaming again and the flamingos in their pond. It would be good to give the lemurs their outdoor exhibit back. I guess the spider monkey exhibit will just left empty once the flamingos move back to their pond.
 
I have a feeling avian flu is here to stay. It will pop up and be a problem, then subside, then pop back up. Its likely going to be a constant eb and flow. The zoo seems to have accepted that fact because if they thought it was a short term thing they never would have invested as much as they did in the aviaries and outdoor penguin space. There wouldnt be need. The netting is probably going to stay around but the bigger outdoor birds will probably be out and in as needed because they just cant enclose all those spaces too. I doubt the peacocks will go free next summer because catching them up is far harder than the savanna birds who are trained to come in and are still in an enclosure.

As for the spider monkey exhibit the zoo did have plans to expand the jags. Thats why the spider monkeys left, to give the jags that space. Just beneficial right now that there is the space available with a water feature they could house the flamingos in more safely for the time being.
 
The peacock/summer lemur home used to be the home for the clouded leopard cubs and before them and the longest term resident was the lion tailed macaques.
 
I also forgot to mention on my trip that the snowy owl exhibit is completely overgrown with vegetation and the exhibit is barely visible with a couple of educational signage. Is this a sign that there is no hope to have snowy owls again?
 
@Flixox101 I did notice that it looks like they've started up a sunflower garden in front of that exhibit on my last visit. I mean if they ever did want to put something in there they could probably have it cleaned up in a day or two but yeah for now I guess it's staying empty. Such a shame that Tundra Trek is so dead these days
 
Most definitely! Fingers crossed we get something in there. It feels like Tundra Trek and the Americas, mainly the Mayan Temple, are really dead. I hope Dolf does something next year to revitalize those areas for the 50th.
 
I was at the zoo today, and I heard from a reliable source that the conservation campus project will break ground this fall! I realise that this is a very early step in the process, but at least it will be started. I'd think that they'd prioritize the front gates and otter exhibit for the 50th anniversary given the fact that those could feasibly be done before the summer celebrations. The main building being built in this step would probably take longer, and probably wouldn't open until at the very least the end of 2024.
 
Excellent news! Last winter was insane in terms of construction projects, they finished the outdoor orangs, the Africa to Americas boardwalk and the Australasia outdoor aviary as well as made good progress on the third Amur tiger exhibit, so I have to hope they're confident that they'll be able to perform the same magic on the conservation campus over the course of this upcoming winter to have at least some of it ready in time for the 50th next summer. In any case I like that Dolf and the team are looking at winter as prime grind time for construction instead of just as the off-season
 
The conservation campus is supposed to be a two year project not a fall through spring project. The odds of them completing any of it that fast is ridiculously small. Dolf can do far more than most other CEOs before him could ever do but reality is the amount of work they are going to do on the north side of the campus is massive. Im sure they wanted to get it done for the 50th but the delays in the orang exhibit which was supposed to open every year for the last what 5 years threw a monkey wrench in the plans.

Big moves for the 50th next summer are probably down to successful breeding of big ticket animals and maybe a flashy new species. There are several decent moves that have happened or if they do happen this fall will help the zoo have a shot at some pretty decent babies. A new species would be big too, Im just not sure what they could get for the limited free spaces available at the zoo. Time will tell what they try to do to wow us for the 50th or if they will just let it go by rather uneventfully. I think it would be a missed opportunity to really drive visits but then again maybe they should have left the orang exhibit close to the public this summer so they would have the wow factor with it next summer when the orangs would go out, instead of the flop it is this summer because the orangs are taking a long time to adapt to outside life. Not that I'm saying its a bad exhibit. Its fantastic from what I have seen in photos and videos. I mean its a flop because we have all this hype around it but no orangs in it. Empty exhibits fail to impress guests.
 
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