Toronto Zoo Toronto Zoo New Animals, Departures and Deaths 2011

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There is no new news about the cub yet, I am assuming this because the media hasn't published anything and it seems to be done fairly fast so just pay attention to the news!

On a side note, I am sad to be informed that Rosie, the fur seal recently shipped to the US has died.
 
Did anyone see this article? What U.S. zoos could Toronto be talking to? The only ones with room seem to be the International conservation Center, Reid Park (when the new exhibit opens), or Disney's animal kingdom.
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Neither of these facilities have the space to house 3 non-breeding females.

Miami and Toledo would have the space for them. Maybe Virginia, Atlanta, or Seneca Park too, but it would probably be very cramped.
 
gorgeousingray said:
https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1RNPN_enUS429US429&aq=f&gcx=w&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=zoo&safe=active#q=zoo&hl=en&safe=active&rlz=1C1RNPN_enUS429US429&tbm=nws&ei=__WhTpfdNuONsQLW4LGUBQ&start=50&sa=N&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=c5f884ea8ecdd0c3&biw=1366&bih=667

Did anyone see this article? What U.S. zoos could Toronto be talking to? The only ones with room seem to be the International conservation Center, Reid Park (when the new exhibit opens), or Disney's animal kingdom.
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I find it very Ironic. When Bob Barker when on his tyrade against our zoo, he blasted on the radio the fact that Toronto Zoo would even consider sending the elephants to an AZA acredited zoo and AZA itself....now that they may be going to an American AZA acredited zoo, Barker is no where to be found.
 
I'm confused by the whole thing and who has the final say in the matter. I know the zoo wanted the elephants to go to an AZA accredited zoo since they thought their standards/expectations were what they needed. Plus they were skeptical of elephant sanctuaries with the rumors of viruses spreading among elephants. But they want a nonaccredited sanctuary. Well, I should say one person on the board want this. But who will make the final call?
 
blospz: The city council is the one to make the final decision, and they just did and overruled the zoos board of directors. The keepers never had any say in this.

The "accreditation" thing is a lame excuse for zoos to keep elephants within the AZA system, without taking into consideration what is best for the animals. The facilities and care at PAWS are outstanding. Not just a lot more space, but they are working with top-notch consultants (Gayle Laule for training and Alan Roocroft for foorcare, for example) and have staff on the ground 24/7. The elephant curator from Oakland has only good things to say about them. They are not AZA accreditted because they have a different philosophy. It`s hyprocritical that the zoo staff is now "fuming".
 
Yassa said:
blospz: The city council is the one to make the final decision, and they just did and overruled the zoos board of directors. The keepers never had any say in this.

The "accreditation" thing is a lame excuse for zoos to keep elephants within the AZA system, without taking into consideration what is best for the animals. The facilities and care at PAWS are outstanding. Not just a lot more space, but they are working with top-notch consultants (Gayle Laule for training and Alan Roocroft for foorcare, for example) and have staff on the ground 24/7. The elephant curator from Oakland has only good things to say about them. They are not AZA accreditted because they have a different philosophy. It`s hyprocritical that the zoo staff is now "fuming".
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And what will happen when the owners of this "sanctuary", who are in their late 60s, die? As far as I know there's no real succession plan, so the elephants are very likely to live longer than PAWS will be able to stay viable. Isn't it just grand that these sanctuary owners get to enjoy captive elephants, while self-rightously promoting their "rescue" work?

The Toronto City Council is way out of bounds on this one. I always assumed there was a higher level of common sense in Canada than in, say, San Francisco or LA. Guess not....
 
Being in your 60s is hardly ancient old, but PAWS is a nonprofit organization with a board of directors that can do everything that is necessary in the case that one of the founders can no longer do the job, including hiring new CEOs. Exactly that happened last year in the elephant sanctuary in Tennessee when the board of directors acted upon complaints by staff and fired Carol Buckley. Until that moment, hardly anyone knew the board of directors even existed. But neither place (TES nor PAWS) is the private playground of their founders. Not anymore.
 
I agree with parts of what everyone has said, but I can tell you that the main reason why keepers are upset is that the decision was overrules by POLITICIANS who know nothing about the zoo, not saying that the Zoo Board of Directors know anything anyways but they at least would have looked at all aspects of the decisions with influence from the keepers which are on both sides of the story anyways. I solely believe the main reason of this decision was to get the media out of the way, there is a lot of public support to send the eles to a sanctuary, why I have no idea, so I believe this was done just to get it out of the way and allow the City Council to gain good publicity from all the recent other happenings. We could just blame it on Rob Ford seems as if everything is his fault anyways, and I stand by this comment 100%.
 
Quartz92 said:
I can tell you that the main reason why keepers are upset is that the decision was overrules by POLITICIANS who know nothing about the zoo, not saying that the Zoo Board of Directors know anything anyways but they at least would have looked at all aspects of the decisions with influence from the keepers which are on both sides of the story anyways
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One more reason to take the TZ out of the hands of the City of Toronto! The TZ should never be a political issue, and no one other than those involved in the running the TZ should be able to make decisions about the TZ and its animals.
 
Yes, another reason I am seeing why it culd be a good thing for the zoo to be privately owned. Keepers should absolutely have their say. They know their charges a lot better than Bob and all the armchair activists combined.

More articles here, this one is really interesting, I've never heard an elephant purr! Yep, those are some abused animals. :rolleyes:

CUPE Ontario | CUPE local 1600 questions proposed Toronto elephant transfer City Council usurps Zoo Board of Management for non-accredited facility

Zoocheck's Woodyear rescinding her offer, wanting to keep keepers out of the training process. Real smart, lady. :rolleyes:

Toronto News: Rogue zoo keepers fight move of Toronto?s elephants to California sanctuary - thestar.com
 
Who is this Woodyear lady and why does the article portray her as having authority over this issue? (i.e. "She is also considering shutting the keepers out of training the pachyderms for the risky trip")
 
R.I.P. Brytne

Longtime lurker and reader of ZooChat, but my first time posting (I wish it wasn't under these circumstances.)

I've been to the zoo many times over the past 2 years after several years away. Since my first trip, Brytne has held a special place in my heart. I've gotten so many amazing photos of her, and been back many times just to see her. So it's with a very, very sad heart that I woke up to this report today:

From The Toronto Star:

The Toronto Zoo has announced the death of Brytne, a much-loved 13-year-old Sumatran Tiger that was killed this morning in an altercation with a 3-year-old male tiger named Harimau Kayu.

Zookeepers attempted to separate the two animals after a fight broke out, but they were too late to save Brytne.

Veterinarians have confirmed the death was the result of a crushed larynx.

Harimau Kayu arrived in June from the San Diego Wild Animal Park on a Species Survival Plan breeding recommendation, zoo staff said in a statement.

The zoo has been working for the past six months to successfully introduce the pair into the same habitat.

Brytne had already produced two litters of cubs with another male, Rengat, the zoo said.

Staff had been working over the past six months to carefully introduce Brytne and Harimau Kayu, and get them to reside in the same habitat, it said.

The pair had been showing positive behaviours since October, such as nuzzling and chuffing, the zoo said.

“Zoo staff is devastated by the loss of this beautiful and loved animal of the Zoo community,” the statement said.
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CTV news is going to be doing a piece at 6 p.m. They actually alerted me to the news first before it hit the Star or online when they asked about my photos and if I had video.

I don't know how I'm going to visit that exhibit ever again. :( There's been far too much tragedy lately.
 
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