Toronto Zoo Toronto Zoo Future Developments 2013

I can concur that everything adams7 has mentioned is true, the only this I am not sure of is the addition of more admission booths, however, that is entirely possible.
 
@Quartz92 I am not comparing wages within the zoo. I’m talking about zoo wages vs non-unionized companies. You’ve assumed I’m talking about student positions and employees who have only been there for a short period of time.

In terms of tours – I’ve posted this before. I spoke with senior members of the zoo about ways the zoo can make people like me part with my money. The zoo virtually only focuses on families. I am single with no children. I have disposable income and love doing tours when I visits zoos, museums etc. Families will always come to the zoo. Activities should be developed for them to keep them coming. But they should not be the sole focus. The complete failure by the zoo to have tours for people without kids is ridiculous. So I asked senior members why it was the case and I used the tours I have done at San Diego as an example. I was told that the zoo looked at starting tours years ago, but because wages were at least $10 per hour more at our zoo than San Diego our zoo could not do it. I asked why the tours could not be led by volunteers, which is sometimes the case at San Diego. I was told that having volunteers in that capacity would violate the collective agreement.

The Zookeeper for a Day was a great tour/program option for adults. But that has now stopped. I don’t know why it stopped, but when I did it, I was told that the keepers plan it on their own time and have to still do all of their keeper responsibilities notwithstanding our presence. I was grateful they would give me so much of their time but felt bad for them. I was also told that the money from this did not go to the zoo (half went to a conservation project of the keepers choice and the other half I cannot recall now – but not to the zoo). In fact I was told that all of the money generated by the zoo from anything, whether it be from increased ticket sales, kids programs etc went back to the City. The keepers who told me this expressed extreme frustration because no matter what they did to try to generate more money the zoo didn't benefit. There is no incentive for anyone to be creative and to come up with ways to make people like me part with my money. So long as the zoo is owned and operated by the City and remains unionized it will never have to be creative and self-sustaining. Instead it will continue to remain fairly stagnant in its revenue generating choices, be satisfied with half thought out exhibits and massive delays in updating anything.

And it’s not just my money I’m trying to part with, it’s my company’s money too! The zoo has hosted our family summer parties and each time I try to have special tours/animal visits/private viewings etc that we would pay for, but no go. The zoo’s policies are so rigid because management always knows where their next cheque is coming from … it’s coming from the City. Again, absolutely no need to act like a private company trying to compete for business. Since it is unlikely that the zoo will be put in the hands of a third party conservatory and be forced to be self-sustaining, our next best hope for affecting change will be Ripley’s Aquarium. If the Toronto Aquarium is anything like Ripley’s other locations, then it will be stiff competition for the zoo all year round.
 
I can confirm that at least 1 or 2 admission booths have been added in the place that the old exit was in and the new exit is farther to the side. Also, there was construction going on behind the sand dig in the kid's zoo. It looked like it would be a new place for either pony or camel rides. Does anyone know exactly what it is?
 
kknudsen said:
@Quartz92 I am not comparing wages within the zoo. I’m talking about zoo wages vs non-unionized companies. You’ve assumed I’m talking about student positions and employees who have only been there for a short period of time.

In terms of tours – I’ve posted this before. I spoke with senior members of the zoo about ways the zoo can make people like me part with my money. The zoo virtually only focuses on families. I am single with no children. I have disposable income and love doing tours when I visits zoos, museums etc. Families will always come to the zoo. Activities should be developed for them to keep them coming. But they should not be the sole focus. The complete failure by the zoo to have tours for people without kids is ridiculous. So I asked senior members why it was the case and I used the tours I have done at San Diego as an example. I was told that the zoo looked at starting tours years ago, but because wages were at least $10 per hour more at our zoo than San Diego our zoo could not do it. I asked why the tours could not be led by volunteers, which is sometimes the case at San Diego. I was told that having volunteers in that capacity would violate the collective agreement.

The Zookeeper for a Day was a great tour/program option for adults. But that has now stopped. I don’t know why it stopped, but when I did it, I was told that the keepers plan it on their own time and have to still do all of their keeper responsibilities notwithstanding our presence. I was grateful they would give me so much of their time but felt bad for them. I was also told that the money from this did not go to the zoo (half went to a conservation project of the keepers choice and the other half I cannot recall now – but not to the zoo). In fact I was told that all of the money generated by the zoo from anything, whether it be from increased ticket sales, kids programs etc went back to the City. The keepers who told me this expressed extreme frustration because no matter what they did to try to generate more money the zoo didn't benefit. There is no incentive for anyone to be creative and to come up with ways to make people like me part with my money. So long as the zoo is owned and operated by the City and remains unionized it will never have to be creative and self-sustaining. Instead it will continue to remain fairly stagnant in its revenue generating choices, be satisfied with half thought out exhibits and massive delays in updating anything.

And it’s not just my money I’m trying to part with, it’s my company’s money too! The zoo has hosted our family summer parties and each time I try to have special tours/animal visits/private viewings etc that we would pay for, but no go. The zoo’s policies are so rigid because management always knows where their next cheque is coming from … it’s coming from the City. Again, absolutely no need to act like a private company trying to compete for business. Since it is unlikely that the zoo will be put in the hands of a third party conservatory and be forced to be self-sustaining, our next best hope for affecting change will be Ripley’s Aquarium. If the Toronto Aquarium is anything like Ripley’s other locations, then it will be stiff competition for the zoo all year round.
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kknudsen,

Unfortunately, I have to disagree with some of what you said.

Tours
I don't think that the primary reason why the zoo does not offer Behind-the-Scenes tours (I'm assuming this is what you mean by tours) is due to staff wages. Yes the wildlife care staff make more at the Toronto Zoo than at non-unionized zoos, but the big issues are how much time staff have available and allowing people into animal-related areas (which the zoo dislikes doing). Most behind-the-scenes requests are for educational purposes, zoo camp or obtaining large donations/sponserships. For each request, a volunteer or education staff member + a keeper must be present (the staff are already at work for the day, so there shouldn't be an issue with covering wages). If you actually meant offering guided tours of the Zoo, they tried this recently for free with volunteers leading. During the fall/winter, a guided tour of the Tundra Trek was developed and offered once daily. From what I heard, there was very little interest in the tour. I don't think it is still being offered. A short guided tour of the Malaysian Woods Pavilion is still be offered some days I think.

Zookeeper for a Day
This program is not cancelled and has 1 or 2 dates available every month until the end of October for multiple areas of the zoo (Toronto Zoo | The American Association of Zoo Keepers (AAZK)). The webpage also states that 100% of the proceeds goes towards conservation projects and the professional development of the wildlife care staff.

Money
Revenue that the Zoo generates does not go back to the City. It is spent of Zoo-related expenses. The issue that the keepers were probably referring to is that since the City of Toronto provides about $12 million to the Zoo each year, that if the zoo were too increase their revenue substainally, they would probably recieve less money from the city. As a result, the budget would remain the same.

Your Family Summer Party
Have you tried going through the animal outreach program (Toronto Zoo | Toronto Zoo Animal Outreach) or group events (Toronto Zoo | Toronto Special Event Venues | Unique Outdoor Venues in Toronto | Toronto Zoo). Both of these departments seem to offer exculsive opportunities to meet animals.

Ownership
The zoo is trying to change their governance structure in order to make it independent from the City. I don't know what the timetable is for this change, but I think that both sides would like to see it happen.

Unions
It is pretty clear that you are completely against unions (which is your right), but at this moment, I don't think that the zoo would be much different if it were not unionized. Most of the issues stem from city-ownership and not the presence of a union.

Ripley's
I personally cannot see how the aquarium will challenge the zoo. The admission prices (based on the US locations) will be similar, but instead of a chance to spend an entire day wandering the zoo and enjoy thousands of animals, you will spend probably a maximum of 2 hours inside the aquarium. How many people are going to make multiple trips to the aquarium in a one-year period? The 2 attractions are also in different areas of the city and the species exhibited are completely different.
 
The go, no go decision on the elephants leaving this spring will be made by the RCAF in a week or two. If they RCAF says they cant transport them before July then they will stay until the fall when its cooler than the blazing summer.

At this point I want them gone sooner rather than later so the zoo can just move on from this ugly mess. I'll miss seeing them and still think city council is full of ****** who should have left well enough alone but I want the zoo to be able to be in the press for all of the right reasons again.

Summer weather could delay Toronto Zoo elephant transfer | Toronto Star
 
I was at the zoo on Monday, some things for all of you from my visit;
-looks like the mass majority of Eurasia is done from what I have seen (pictures to follow) but the entry area may not be ready in time, the panda gate is almost done (picture to follow) but the sea of lines I could not see
-Buildings for the new panda plaza are complete
-Got a bit of a shock in Africa, one of girls (elephants) had two chain bracelets on her front feet, trying to figure out what they are for, any help would be appreciated (picture to follow)
-The attempted mating I reported between the hyenas on my last trip in February resulted in the posting of a sign about the wound (see gallery)
-Snow Gesse are back out
-Only one of the Pied Cormorants are out, any idea what's going on with them? They haven't really been around on my last two visits
-Wombat out and about using both indoor and outdoor area
-Giraffes were isolated to their yards
-Observed a very sexually excited male pygmy hippo showing off for his girl in the other exhibit, and she was responding
 
Sealife357 said:
I was at the zoo on Monday, some things for all of you from my visit;

-Got a bit of a shock in Africa, one of girls (elephants) had two chain bracelets on her front feet, trying to figure out what they are for, any help would be appreciated (picture to follow)
Click to expand...

It looks like a training/preparation for the transport. While in a transport container, an elephant is chained by at least 2 feet.
 
that's what I was figuring, some of my friends were with me and I had no explanation, thanks Jana
 
Sealife357 said:
I was at the zoo on Monday, some things for all of you from my visit;
-looks like the mass majority of Eurasia is done from what I have seen (pictures to follow) but the entry area may not be ready in time, the panda gate is almost done (picture to follow) but the sea of lines I could not see
-Buildings for the new panda plaza are complete
-Got a bit of a shock in Africa, one of girls (elephants) had two chain bracelets on her front feet, trying to figure out what they are for, any help would be appreciated (picture to follow)
-The attempted mating I reported between the hyenas on my last trip in February resulted in the posting of a sign about the wound (see gallery)
-Snow Gesse are back out
-Only one of the Pied Cormorants are out, any idea what's going on with them? They haven't really been around on my last two visits
-Wombat out and about using both indoor and outdoor area
-Giraffes were isolated to their yards
-Observed a very sexually excited male pygmy hippo showing off for his girl in the other exhibit, and she was responding
Click to expand...

In addition to the hyena, there were signs about the snowy owl and clouded leopard's health problems. I was also wondering about the pied cormorants. Hopefully the zoo still has more than one. It's nice that you got to see two pygmy hippos because on my last visit, I only saw one.

Does anyone know if the zoo actually acquired a giant salamander for the giant panda centre? If no one knows, I guess I'll find out tomorrow at the panda preview.
 
I'd like to know if they got the salamander too. I guess since the sea eagles exhibit wont be ready until next spring, they must not have recieved them yet. I was really looking forward to seeing them.

I know whats wrong with the hyena and clouded leopard but what about the snowy owl. Whats wrong with it?

Has anyone seen any new babies? I havent heard of many yet and there were so many last year during the summer of cuteness. So far all I know is that we have the Zebra and kudu born last fall, the 5-7 penguin chicks who arrived between december and january and the lemur twins (which Im really looking forward to seeing). Pandas are great but I love babies, especially the fuzzy ones.
 
The snowy owl has some kind of eye problem. I'll take a picture of the sign tomorrow and post it here.

On my last visit I didn't see any of the babies mentioned which was disappointing. I was looking forward to seeing the zebra and lemurs the most. I saw some young penguins but they were too big to be babies. The babies that I remember seeing were the veiled chameleon and two toed sloth (which wasn't really a baby anymore). I'll look for more tomorrow.
 
Thanks arcticwolf, as always I look forward to your run down. Have fun at the panda opening!
 
Thanks TZFan! I'm sure that I'll have a great time. Lots of pictures will be posted soon.

For anyone who is interested, the zoo posted a picture of the main panda exhibit on Facebook. Other than a few minor changes like adding a bamboo background and making the pool and cave more natural, the exhibit looks the same as when it held tigers. I guess I'll have a better opinion of the exhibit after I see it in person tomorrow.
 
I think the interpretative centre was really well done, imo. I feel like the exhibits are nothing special, however I haven't seen it in person.
 
For those of you who have been to the zoo this weekend, is there a new zoo map available which includes the pandas? Is there a keeper talk time?
 
TZFan said:
For those of you who have been to the zoo this weekend, is there a new zoo map available which includes the pandas? Is there a keeper talk time?
Click to expand...

Yes there was a new map with the pandas. It also says that the next Eurasia phase will now be called Eurasia Wilds. I don't remember seeing anything about keeper talks.

I thought that the panda exhibit overall was pretty good but could have been better. The interpretive centre was great with lots of good signage, but the exhibits weren't anything special. I didn't love the indoor area because it became crowded quickly and the exhibits weren't very natural. The smaller outdoor exhibit could only be viewed through a fence which wasn't great. The main outdoor exhibit was nice and had two climbing areas, a cave, and a pool. For anyone interested there was a giant salamander exhibit in the interpretive centre but it was closed. I'm guessing the zoo hasn't gotten the salamander yet.

Some other small updates from yesterday's visit are:
- the new exit and members only entrance were open
- the pony ride has been removed so I'm guessing the construction behind the kid's zoo is for a new one
- the old yak exhibit was open with a single reindeer in it
- a shingleback skink was living with the bearded dragons
- one of the americas invertebrate exhibits was being filled with water. Does anyone know what species will go in it?
- the octopus wasn't out. Instead a lobster was in its exhibit
- there were lots of baby lubber grasshoppers on exhibit
- I can confirm that there are now 8 pelicans with the penguins, 7 are pink backed and 1 is a great white
- the American elk no longer live with the bison. They are in the old musk ox area
- the zebras were breeding so hopefully we'll see another baby soon
- the wrinkled hornbill is back on exhibit in the malayan woods pavilion. It is living with a fireback pheasant

The echidna was running around its exhibit again and even went in the water this time. I also saw one of the baby lemurs, but no zebra.
 
Judging from the photos the exhibits see very bare. There isn't a lot of vegetation or brush so the pandas can have some privacy and the stark black fencing is an eye sore, not even the bamboo can't even conceal it that well. I was hoping the bamboo fencing would be actually bamboo that would grow even taller to conceal the fencing.
 
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