Toronto Zoo Toronto Zoo Future Developments 2014

I've been gone for a while on vacation, and I'm coming back to hear some disappointing news with Eurasia. It's cool that you got to see how it was going so far, but an October opening is annoying. I wondering what caused such a long delay?
 
I have heard a number of reasons for delay. The crappy winter itself. The damage it caused elsewhere in the zoo that needed attention. Delays in getting materials. Construction problems. I dont know how correct those things are but as with all construction its never done when you think it could or should be done. I just hope the zoo doesnt have to play for the delays but it probably does.

By the way cypher, I hope you had a good vacation.
 
Thanks TZFan my vacation was great. Had lots of fun.

I do remember hearing that this winter caused a lot of damage unseen by the public. So that could be a reason.
 
Here's some videos put up by Lennox heating and cooling at the zoo. Probably some partnership deal. Whoever the videographer is needs to do their commercials. These could be great adds. Makes the zoo look incredible. I always thought of the Malayan Woods as well just ok but they make it look fantastic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5YtB3zmJjg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAYIUfjYcGE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNRghqrKjEE

These would be great adds for both the zoo and Lennox if they would put them on TV... maybe they will be on TV. I actually would love to see more of them.
 
Looks like you can meet some Penguins this weekend around 1:00 after the Keeper Talk. It'll happen just outside the Penguin enclosure, weather permitting of course. I remember this was talking about a while back.
 
So the schedule is up for the next Board meeting. The 2015-2024 Capital Works Program is up for those interested. You can check it out here:

TMMIS - Committees
 
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Boy lots of boring blah blah blah til the good stuff.

Only two projects are firm. The health center which makes sense since they should be breaking ground sometime very soon.

The other is the orang outdoor which has already raised a million towards the project... Way to go fundraising team! Two million more to go... which could be done with that massive donation. While it would be nice if the orangs got their outdoor exhibit now its nice to see that in 2016 they will draw up designs and start building in 2017. Sounds like they could have an outdoor home in 2018 or 2019 as we all know projects run over time. 5 years away isnt great but its way better then 10 years. Hopefully Puppe will live to see it.

The rest of their plans are just place holders until the master plan is completed in mid 2015... sadly 9 or so more months of waiting.

What they have listed right now in order...

2019-2022 Hippos, Everything
2023-2024 Gorilla outdoor
2023-2024 Breeding center
2015 might see the replacement of the front gate aviary
Various other general maintenance and technological upgrades.

Externally funded plans which would require getting the money to do the work...

2017-2018 Front gates, guest services there and restaurant.
2018-2020 Canadian Wilderness
2020-2022 Tropical Americas
2023-2024 Centre for Sustainable Life & Learning
2024-2025 Safari Jeep Tour

Will any of these things happen on schedule? Highly unlikely since these are placeholder ideas for the master plan but it shows what they are thinking about doing and perhaps the order in which they might be done.

Its interesting to see they are trying to by the carousel. Makes sense because they can then keep 100% of the profits to reinvest in other projects once they have collected enough to cover the initial expense. Little people like it. Why not.

Work that will be done shortly...
Australasia has a heating issue in one of the mammal exhibits to be dealt with
Jaguars are getting a new cave with heat.
Macaws are getting a shade sail
Snow goose exhibit refurbishment
Hippos are getting more shade

And lastly the Watusi who arrived will be held in the old wisent holding while their exhibit is being worked on over the fall. They probably wont be in their exhibit then until spring.
 
A few other things I found in the Project Update and Capital Variance report (http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2014/zb/bgrd/backgroundfile-73225.pdf):
- Eurasia is likely to be opened on Thanksgiving weekend. (bottom of p. 1)
- A new exit turnstile will be installed this Fall (p. 4)
- A second species is confirmed for the giraffe exhibit, but no mention of the species (p. 4)
- 3 watusi have arrived and as TZFan mentioned, will be held in the old wisent holding
 
I haven't had time to read the documents so thank you TZFan and adams7 for sharing some of the highlights.

I am glad that the two firm projects are the orangutans an health centre. Those are the two sections of the zoo that need a lot of work done to them. Even though I want the other projects to happen, they can wait for the first two to finish.

It would be awesome if Eurasia opens by Thanksgiving, but there is still a lot of work that has to be done. I wish the zoo would at least start promoting the exhibit and it would be great to have a definite species list. The ones I know for sure will be the tur, snow leopards, red pandas, sea eagles and probably the camels. I don't know if the dholes, barbary apes and wild horses will only be visible from the zoomobile, and if the barbary sheep and/or chamois will be on exhibit. In terms of new species, the only ones I've heard other than the eagles are owls and possibly some kind of pheasant in the memorial garden.

I also can't wait to see a new species mixed in with the giraffes. Hopefully it will be more exciting than the Watusi.
 
Good catches Adams7 on the things I apparently missed.

When it comes to promoting Eurasia's opening it might be wise to wait and not because of construction. If most people dont know its open they can push it next spring as new. Maybe the goal will be a soft opening in the fall and all the fanfare for spring. Though I agree it would be nice to know what will be accessible and how.

Im glad there decision to have a giraffe mix hasnt changed. I would love to see more than just one species be added. Although I would rather see more giraffes arrive first but only so if something were to happen to Twiga or Mstari (given age Twiga is more likely) that the survivor wouldnt be alone. That's not about to happen right now though so I will take another species first.

In other news the zoo posted a video of the penguins swimming underwater. Its interesting to watch them investigating the camera. Now I want a penguin underwater webcam. Not going to get it but want it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbJoAeZ5Uhk
 
So that's some great news in terms of future developments.

A Thanksgiving opening of the Eurasia Wilds, whether its a soft opening or not, is a plus. A lot of other attractions close around Thanksgiving, giving people a reason to head to the Zoo. It can get pretty slow during the fall and especially during the winter.

Glad to see the Orangutans outdoor development cemented with a timeslot that's not too far in the future.

Really curious to find out what the second species is that will be with the Giraffe. Maybe I'll try asking a Keeper, see what they will divulge.

3 Watsui seems alright. I wondering if there will be breeding among them. That can be somewhat entertaining.
 
It seems odd to me that an exhibit that used to house 3 giraffes is only going to be home to 3 watusi, which are much smaller than giraffes. I'm guessing the reason why more aren't being brought in is because the barn is too small. Does anyone know if the zoo will still be building a new barn for the Watusi? I know that was the plan, but I haven't heard anything about it recently.
 
Its possible that the three watusi are just the start of a herd. They were available so the zoo took them. It might be a space issue at the moment too. The wisent exhibit might only be able to hold 3, I personally dont remember at all what the exhibit looks like. Perhaps when the new barn is built and they move to the old giraffe exhibit the zoo will try to get more. There could any number of other explanations. It's probably just a wait and see thing.
 
I guess it is possible that more Watusi will arrive once their exhibit is ready. I also hope that the zoo isn't getting too many so if they have the chance to get a more exciting species, there will be enough room to mix them.
 
That's a very fair point as well Arcticwolf. They could want a smaller herd so there can be a mix down the line when the zoo can get other species more easily.
 
I read the report on the carousel purchase, and it seems like the zoo had other animals in mind to replace the Giraffes. The money being used to possibly purchase the carousel is coming from money that was allocated to make extensive improvements to the housing of the new species the zoo had in mind. The Watusi are less expensive in terms of enclosure and holding changes, so they had extra money to move to grounds improvement and possibly buying the carousel.

I wonder if this was a reason for getting the Watusi. They are cheaper to maintain, allowing for approved money to be allocated to other things the zoo had in mind.
 
Went to the zoo today. It was Seniors Day so it was surprisingly filled with people, the majority of them being seniors.

Since it was Seniors Day the Zoomobile was active, which I was happy to ride. Commentator was on point for the entire ride. No terribly wrong information like the last time I took a ride. He mentioned that the Barbary Apes are no longer Blue, Rocky, and Leah. Pinky and Shannon are now on exhibit. He also mentioned Zsa Zsa being possibly the oldest Barbary Ape in captivity. The Mouflon were pretty active, almost as if they are getting use to the Zoomobile driving by. Summer Ray came pretty close to the Zoomobile, and in the afternoon both Gemini and Summer Ray were running around the second drive thru yard playing with each other. Great to see.

During the Keeper talk at the White Rhinos, the Keeper mentioned that Tom has indeed bred with both Zohair and Sabi. They plan on leaving him with the girls until the winter, or if the girls start bullying him, which is possible. They are excited and hoping for Rhino calves in the future. Only time will tell.

Canadian Domain is still off limits, but I met someone I see on most of my visits to the zoo and we got to talking. He said he was speaking with some of the construction guys at the zoo in the Canadian Domain (Apparently he didn’t know the Domain was off limits). They told him that they are planning to finish Eurasia for Thanksgiving, for at least a soft opening, as everything my not be complete. The construction guy also told him that there have been talks about possibly not proceeding with the Canadian Wilderness project and possibly fixing the Domain exhibits instead. Not exactly sure what to make of that, but fixing the Domain seems farfetched at this point.

During the Cheetah talk, the Keeper mentioned that there has been breeding, but no pregnancies, so no cubs this year. She also mentioned that some of the Cheetah got sick and are receiving treatments. The sickness is nothing big nor serious at the moment.

At the Lion talk I got a chance to ask about the Keeper about Gopa at Jungle Cat World. She has no idea of the Zoo owning any other white lions besides the ones at the zoo. It was complete news to her. She did mention that it was possible that multiple white lion were sent to Canada, but they went to their respective zoos. As far as she knew, Gopa doesn’t belong to the Toronto Zoo.

At the Giraffe talk I found out a couple things. Firstly, the Giraffes are restricted to the first yard, because the Keepers would like the grass in the second yard to take better root. Since the second yard was entirely new sob brought in, it’s taking longer for it to root properly into the ground. The Giraffes can possibly slip and fall if they’re allowed into the yard too early. Secondly, the zoo does want to bring in more Giraffes but they have to wait to see what the SSP says. Lastly, they mentioned that by next year they want the Giraffes to be a mix exhibit with Giraffes and Eland. I’m guessing that Elands are the mixed species in the reports that recently came out.
 
Thanks for the informative update cypher.

I really hope the rhino breeding went well. I've never seen a baby rhino before.

It seems like Eurasia actually will open this year. I wonder what parts the public will actually be allowed in though. I'm guessing the snow leopard and eagle exhibits will not be ready for Thanksgiving.

The news about the Canadian Domain sounds very odd to me. I thought the whole reason why the zoo is moving the snow leopard exhibit and phasing out some of the Eurasian animals is to make room for the Canadian Wilderness. I think if the zoo ever wants to make the Domain a popular exhibit area, they will need to create a new form of transportation going down there.

I think eland are a good species to mix with the giraffe. They shouldn't be too hard to get and are interesting because they're one of the largest species of antelope. This news makes me much happier than the Watusi.
 
You certainly had an interesting visit.

Barbary apes Blue, Rocky and Leah were the ones transferred. So all that makes sense. Zsa Zsa is seperated I have heard because she isnt terribly social, advanced age could have something to do with that.

Waiting to find out if there will be the pitter patter of tiny (well relatively speaking) rhino hooves. Given a 16-18 month pregnancy that means we would be looking at a December 2015 - March 2016 birth window depending on the conception date. Not an ideal birth window. Baby couldnt be on display its first and arguably cutest months. But its all three rhinos first breeding attempts so who knows if we would get lucky on the first crack... just look at Indian Rhinos Vishnu and Asha... been together 8 years (I think) and all they have to show for all that breeding is one premature stillbirth. We could be in for a wait.

Given the limited genetic diversity of the cheetahs on site right now no cubs isnt terrible, unless the breeding attempts were done via AI with a sample from the only unrepresented male Zeke. With so many cheetahs in North America related to Mya and Rafiki right now more arent a good thing (at least 11 grandcubs were born to the pair in the last year via their youngest litter).

Interesting about white lion Gopa. I wonder if you were talking to a seasonal keeper or one of the regulars. Its possible they just didnt know about him because they werent here when they were imported, or he was sent directly to Parc Safari, or something else. Jungle Cat World would know who Gopa belongs to because that zoo would get ownership of at least some of the cubs Gopa would sire if a female was sourced.

The grass issue in the giraffe yard makes sense. In the last two years the SSP has offered the zoo two different males. Miles from Houston and Joey from Brevard. Both were offered after the death of Stripes and Joey after Ginetta's death. On both accounts it is very likely the zoos rejected Toronto due to its non AZA status. If the zoo could get back in getting new males wont be an issue. It the females that could prove tricky as they are short young females at the moment to meet the needs of all of the zoos. I would guess in a perfect world where the zoo was part of the AZA, Toronto would be high on the list for at least one or two new females because of Twiga's age. She realistically is in her final years. Mstari will need other females to keep her company. Although with only 3 Masai giraffe in Canada (our two and Calgary male Crosby), maybe we would be wiser to wait for Twiga's passing and send Mstari away then switch to Reticulated/Rosthchild mixes so we can swap within Canada. Not that the zoo would have a choice if Mstari belongs to Cleveland (Stripe's owner).

Since you talked to a keeper who admitted Eland are the future exhibit mates of the giraffes I can confirm this is the plan. I have heard Eland from three different people. A much more exciting addition than watusi but still not the most amazing. I have heard there could be a third species in the future but I dont know what that will be. It might be something where the will need to be in the AZA again to get the species so why talk about a remote possibility at this point. I will just be content with the Eland for now... and still hold out hope the ostriches will move. Cant tell you why but I really want to see ostriches with giraffes. Just like the match.

Oh and the Domain issue... I think if anything they might be willing to invest in some temporary patch work. Just necessary tweaks. I cant see why they wouldnt move them up to the table land in time. Just look at the space its been slated to go in. If they left it down there forever there would be 5 empty exhibits that used to be part of Eurasia. The abandoned wisent exhibit and now one of the ape exhibits. Soon the old snow leopard exhibit. And given time and nature taking its course (probably the next 5 years) the other ape exhibit and dhole exhibits which are subject to natural attrition. Thats a ton of empty space.
 
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