Toronto Zoo Toronto Zoo Memories

[TZFan]

Talking in another post about the opening of the African Savannah at the Toronto Zoo got me thinking about my favourite memories of the zoo growing up. I thought it might be fun for us to share our memories of the zoo with each other.

I remember how much I loved the old monorail. I miss the monorail still. It was such a great way to get around the zoo fast and comfortably and some of the views were amazing. My family was at the zoo the last day the monorail ran. We just missed the accident down in the Canadian Domain by an hour. That was always our last thing we did at the zoo before going home and by the time we got home the accident was on the news.

I also remember the special members openings of exhibits. My favourite ones were when the koalas arrived and the white lions. Man I loved the first time the white lions came. I still have the VHS produced by Philidelpia Zoo about the cubs birth. Another animals arrival I remember was the Tasmanian devils. They were fun to watch. I hope we can get them back now that Australia is thinking about rebuilding the North American population to serve as a last chance haven for the devils should the facial tumor cancer wipe out the wild population.

I think I remember going to the zoo when the pandas were last here but Im not sure if those are real memories or manufactured ones. I would have been 2 at the time so im not so sure I did see them and if I did how that memory would have survived. Where they in the Dhole exhibit then? Because thats where my memory wants me to believe they were. Could have been archival footage I saw when I was older and it stuck.

Another fond memory for me was a zoo camp I attended with my brother. We got to go behind the scenes in the Australian pavillion and visit with the emus and tree kangaroos. We also got to to see the bug and reptile guys but it was the emus and tree kangaroos that really stuck with me.

So friends what are some of your fond memories?

 

[Zoogoer2000]

Re. panda location

Yes, the giant pandas which visited in 1985 did indeed live in the current dhole exhibit (which was purposely built for the giant pandas, there is still some chinese calligraphic writing in the holding area that was used for the chinese keepers that accompanied them).

The exhibit then became home to the red pandas (our fulgens, the styani were in the current red panda exhibit/ex-chinese leopard exhibit), and then the dhole in 1995.

 

[arcticwolf]

Some of my favourite memories are of past animals and exhibits. I remember going into the Edge of Night (current Great Barrier Reef) exhibit in the Australasia area. It was my first time ever going into a nocturnal exhibit and I thought it was amazing. The Edge of Night was probably my favourite area of the zoo and I was so sad to see it go. Another exhibit that I really enjoyed going to was the fur seal exhibit. As much as I like penguins, I don't think I'll ever like them more than the seals. Some other animals I remember are the Dall's sheep in front of the polar bears and the Patagonian maras in the Mayan Temple. The maras were were one of my favourite species at the zoo and I think they should be brought back. Their old exhibit is still there, it's just empty.

 

[TZFan]

Acrticwolf maybe you will get lucky and they will return when the zoo eventually reinvents the south american exhibits.

I enjoyed the fur seals too. Timo was really impressive. I wish they had included seals, sea lions or my personal choice walruses in Tundra Trek. They are great to watch and kids love them.

Edge of the Night was really cool too. It always felt like you could just reach out and touch the animals.

I forgot one of my fondest memories the other day. When I was pretty young Charles came up to the glass during a keeper talk and put his hand on it close to where mine was. The impressive size difference always astounded me. I got my parents to ask his name and I always made sure every visit after that I'd go by to see Charles. It will be a sad day for me when he goes. Lots of good memories watching him as I grew.

 

[arcticwolf]

Acrticwolf maybe you will get lucky and they will return when the zoo eventually reinvents the south american exhibits.

I enjoyed the fur seals too. Timo was really impressive. I wish they had included seals, sea lions or my personal choice walruses in Tundra Trek. They are great to watch and kids love them.

Edge of the Night was really cool too. It always felt like you could just reach out and touch the animals.

I forgot one of my fondest memories the other day. When I was pretty young Charles came up to the glass during a keeper talk and put his hand on it close to where mine was. The impressive size difference always astounded me. I got my parents to ask his name and I always made sure every visit after that I'd go by to see Charles. It will be a sad day for me when he goes. Lots of good memories watching him as I grew.

I agree about Charles. He has always been one of my favourite zoo animals. Most of the animals I used to always go see have sadly passed away like Tatiana the tiger, Patsy the elephant, Rowdy the lion, and now Stripes the giraffe. I remember when I was at I was at zoo camp, my counsellors would take us to the giraffes and Stripes would always be the first one to greet us. I also remember making a paper mache giraffe filled with horse meat to feed to Tatiana the year before she died.

 

[TZFan]

Thats one amazing memory, getting to make a tasty treat for a tiger. Wish I'd have gotten to do a zoo camp that cool when I was younger. Your amazingly lucky.

 

[arcticwolf]

Thanks! I also got to do similar activities for the fruit bats, hornbills, and the raccoons. The bats got sticks with fruit attached to it (kind of like a fruit kabob) and the hornbills and raccoons got a box filled with food hung on a tree. Both the hornbills and raccoons weren't very interested in what we made them, but it was still fun to do.