Toronto Zoo Wild Encounters behind-the-scenes tours

@Mr Wrinkly - the main event calendar might show them, but we checked the Book Now experience calendars and they only have available dates until September in most cases. The guide on our experience also mentioned it was seasonal. Also we all know that once winter comes a lot of the zoo closes and animals will go off of display. :)
 
I saw a post from the zoo to someone's question about when the tours will be running and the zoo responded until September at this time. If popular they could easily run it year round with maybe some animals being removed and other options being offered. Winter tours still get the tour price and admission. Great way to maximize revenue from those willing to go in the winter.

I could definitely see the program expanded across the zoo. The otters would be incredibly popular on their own. A lion/ hyena house visit would be cool. I'm sure there would be a fair bit of interest in a reptile or amphibian tour. A hippo barn tour would be interesting. I have long wanted to see what was in there. Could easily do a rhino/kudu barn visit. A vehicle ride down to the domain to visit anyone down there would be a popular way to get down the hill. Just some I could see being easy enough to do with a fair bit of interest.
 
Been fascinating to read everyone's reports so far, thank you!
I am booked for the Gorilla Encounter on June 30th, looking forward to hopefully being right up close even for just a few moments...I assume from the back of the outdoor exhibit.

I may do one more over the summer, we'll see..
 
I finally got to go on a tour. I wanted to go big so I did the Greater One Horned Rhino.

The zoo emails you the day before the tour to tell you where to meet and the rules. FYI you should be wearing close toed shoes. The guides who were amazing said it wasn't mandatory but some of the tours require a foot bath before going into the animals spaces so it's definitely a consideration beforehand. I didn't realize there was an email until we were 15 minutes from the zoo so way too late to have made a change. I'm not an email checker. The email is definitely something to keep an eye out for because if there is a change to your meeting place they send you a photo of where to meet which would be very handy for the average zoo goer.

We had 2 guides all to ourselves because my friend and I were the only ones going. Big win for us. The full attention of 2 guides and 2 keepers. The guides were very knowledgeable. Yes working off a script but able to answer questions fairly easily not that I had a lot but my friend was just full of them and I had to keep my mouth shut and let the guide do their job. They keepers were great too, making sure we stayed safe but had as much fun as possible. Huge thanks to them if they happen to be reading! All four were simply the best.

After getting the rules we walked over to the trigger fish sculpture where we had a quick talk about the sculptures and pollution. I think its something that wont be in tours next year as the exhibit should be over. It was just kind of something to get us going.

Then over to the exhibit to visit with whoever was on display that day. In this case it was watching Vishnu. He was having a wallow. We chatted about why rhinos are vulnerable and how they were a conservation success story, blah blah blah. Our keeper appeared behind the exhibit across from the wallow. She called and called Vishnu and he was not having it. Apparently water was more important than food and attention. We headed through the gate to the right of their exhibit and headed behinds scenes as the keeper waved us in further because Vishnu changed plans. We got to go really far behind scenes to see Asha and Kiran instead. Two rhinos for the price of one. There is a path that runs between the rear holding and tahr exhibit. It was neat because we had two tahr right up against the fence. Normally you wiz by so fast you just catch a glimpse but in this case we really got to see them. Got to see a male and female so it was neat to compare them. Sorry I forgot to take a photo. I was too into looking around. They had use walk through one of the babirusa's rear exhibits to get to a spot that we could be in a keeper area.

Asha and Kiran were chilling in a mud wallow under the mister. They looked at us and had no intention of moving until the keeper showed them a carrot. Well then they were both motivated to get up and come see us. It was impressive to see just how bit they were when you are standing inches from them. Asha was into things until the keeper stopped offering her a carrot but Kiran had hope springing eternal. That big lip kept reaching out to her asking for more. Then we got to feed him several carrots. He slimmed me and then let me pet him while he ate his carrot. I was dead to him until he had eaten his carrot from my friend. He just kept swiching btween us looking for more food but he did like getting rubbed. It's hard to describe what they feel like. Maybe a really rough, dry bumpy leather. Once he realized we were not giving more carrots he was out too. Head over to eat hay with mom. Until the keepers brought out a willow bow then he scampered back over. Asha saw he was getting a really good treat and came over herself and took it from him. Kiran is still nursing which is longer than Nandu nursed but they said Asha isn't pregnant again so she probably isn't motivated to wean him. They are working on separation with them especially at feeding time. Whenever Asha cycles Kiran ends up eating everything. They described him as a bottomless pit.

Both keepers were general keepers so they work with everything from the rhinos to tigers to orangs. They both agreed rhino day was like a vacation. A little rubbing and attention and the rhinos were good. The tiger were a little harder because they have safety concerns. The orangs were their least favorite. The one keeper described a day there as a day at a nursery school with incredibly smart toddlers who are angry and want to hurt you.

After that we continued to wrap around the building and went to visit babirusa, Olive. We got to pet her and feed her a banana and lettuce. It wasn't a long thing but it was a pleasant surprise. We also said hi to Bucky but he was on exhibit so he just looked at us like, "where is my yummy treat... nothing... seriously fine I'm going to walk way."

We walked out the other side of the build beside the outdoor babirusa exhibit. The keepers urged us to make a pledge for conservation. I promised to go on more tours and support the zoo because that whole time was awesome. We got super lucky it was just the two of us. Their whole focus was on us. 100% worth the $65 I paid. Would do it again hands down!

Super cool information we learned from the guides. Apparently its not a secret because they know the details and shared rather freely. Firstly the zoo is likely extending the tours through Thanksgiving weekend. Very excited about that. There is now a chance I can go on a second one. Secondly and far more excitingly there are two more tours being added in all likelihood. The first is a tour of the Canadian Domain. The one guide was getting her golf cart liscene so while they are not positive they are almost certain you will be driven down and back up. Huge for making the tour successful. Right now the plan is to do some enrichment activity, visit the moose and bison and tour the grizzly bear hibernation area. The second, and the one that just flew to the top of my list along with giraffes, is a river hippo tour. Sign me up now. You get to go behind scenes and feed and pet the girls. Done deal. Love it. I might throw a tantrum if this one doesnt pan out. But the guides said it should be showing up on the website shortly. In fact they thought it might be possibly offered as of yesterday when we were on the tour. It's not but I will be keeping my eye on that.

I definitely recommend the tour. Yes it's expensive but it is also amazing to feed and pet a rhino. Did I get a lot of information I didn't already know? No but it would be unfair for most of us on here to judge them on the info they provide. We know a great deal so it is harder to really get us on the education aspect. But the experience was just so rewarding. Hippos and giraffes (come spring and the baby) here I come!
 
@ZooFuss, thanks for the heads up on the extension being added. Time to bribe my friend into another visit to pet a hippo! Life goal to complete and I didnt even know it was one until last week.

That's so odd that the Domain says it will be walked. The guide I was talking to said she had golf cart training this week. So weird. Maybe it was for another purpose. Or maybe for a person with a disability. That one seems very possible.

Off to dangle hippos in front of my friends and see who bites.
 
Bug House

No interest in bugs, but I like to learn new things and have never seen the bug house, and there's Lydia, so I signed up for this Wild Encounter.

There were only 4 people in the group - my friend and I, and a boy about 10, who asked for this for his birthday, and his mom.

We spent about ten minutes at the Health Centre windows while the guide explained each room's purpose, and talked about the equipment. Nothing was going on at the time. That left about 25 - 30 minutes for the Bugatorium, as a poster on the wall calls it.

There are 3 or 4 small rooms lined with tanks and equipment, some stacked, with narrow passageways between. We remained in the largest room where there was quite a variety of species, and a leaf-cutter set-up where we could watch them going about their business through the whole process of leaf-gathering and processing. The leader started talking abut the various species, but soon Lydia came out to meet us.

Lydia Attard is the long-time bug keeper at TZ and she is well known as The Bug Lady. She is someone who found a passion, which not many people do, but she also got to pursue it, got a job in the field, is good at it, and appreciated. Not many people get any of that and her enthusiasm was fun.

She started to help with the discussion but soon was bringing out other species from the back, opening tanks and taking out the species, showing us their characteristics and allowing those who wished to hold some of them.

It was all very interesting, and she was very engaging, for the group as well as the two tour leaders. We were there for close to an hour because she kept saying goodbye and then "let me show you one more" and getting something else out. The boy was given many opportunities to touch or hold things and ask questions.

This was an excellent encounter and I recommend it, especially if Lydia is there. We took a guess that a weekday would be best to "encounter" her, and we did.

The only mildly negative thing was that due to all the glass and 7 people moving around in a small space, it was difficult to get pictures. I have posted a few in the gallery.

No list of species since I know very few of them!
 
I had the great pleasure of attending both the White Rhino, and the Greater One-Horned Rhino special "behind the scenes" encounters this past weekend.

These particular encounters were for Rhino Awareness month, apparently set up by two of the keepers (Deserrai and Angie) and all monies went straight to rhino conservation. 10 people in each.
Both events more than exceeded my expectations - the description had said "at least 30 minutes", but each one lasted an hour!

For the white rhinos we were taken down to the barn (which of course was in its usual configuration, instead of the set-up they do for the open house in July). We were SO lucky to meet 4 of the 5 up close - the "social group" (Sabi, Zohari & Theo) were on one side of the barn, and Tony was on the other (Tom was out on exhibit, so if the girls & Theo had been outside, we would have met Tony and Tom.)

We were given controlled opportunities to pet and scratch Tony and Sabi, from the ears back - no feeding or head touching as their horns are, obviously, potentially dangerous. They were so soft! And really accommodating to all these strangers touching them. When they'd had enough, they just walked away. Watched Theo playing with/asserting himself with Aunt Sabi...fascinating to see up close, and to hear all their vocalisations, something you rarely hear when they're outside. And Tony was incredibly "mild-mannered". I was really pleased he was there, since as most of you probably know, he'll be heading out to Parc Safari in the near future. They're doing daily crate training with him.

We started the greater one-horned rhino visit with Vishnu, out in the off-public outside exhibit. We were able to feed him carrot and apple, and encouraged to touch him as much as we wanted, as long as he was happy. He got a bit bored with us after the food was gone (after licking someone's leg!), and wandered off to chase one of his giant enrichment balls around - which he promptly managed to lose through the fence on the other side...he stared at it for a while, then found another one to play with instead.

We were then taken down to the back of the public exhibit, where Kiran hauled himself out of the wallow to check us out, followed reluctantly by Asha. Again we fed them... Asha spat out the carrot but was happy with the apple for a bit, let us touch her but then wandered away. Kiran hung around a while longer, eating everything, until he realised his mother was at the other end of the exhibit and went off to join her.
I thought the GOH were much "tougher" feeling than the white rhinos. They are also the most slobbery creatures I have ever seen... haha each carrot or apple left your hand completely "slimed"!

Of course in both barns, the keepers not only talked about how they care for them, and what they're like, but also heavily discussed the challenges these magnificent animals face - all the remaining species - from poaching to habitat loss. Extremely interesting, and incredibly sad.

The keepers said they were hoping to do it again next year - and if so I would definitely consider signing up again.
 
Kifaru Bwana said:
Any infos on further breeding in the white rhino?
Click to expand...
They have been having issues with Sabi...apparently her cycles are "sporadic" and no luck with her, maybe in the future.
They do actively want to breed Zohari again, however the challenge is getting her to go outside with Tom, but without Theo. Even if they separate them inside the barn and have all the right doors open, she is not into leaving without him...but they continue to try whenever she cycles.
 
I think the solution with Sabi would be to initiate / start hormonal therapy. It ain't gonna work otherwise. The possibility exists that companion F Zohari hormonally surpresses her. A move / transfer coupled with a new immigrant female would be a second option.
 
Kifaru Bwana said:
I think the solution with Sabi would be to initiate / start hormonal therapy. It ain't gonna work otherwise. The possibility exists that companion F Zohari hormonally surpresses her. A move / transfer coupled with a new immigrant female would be a second option.
Click to expand...
I'm sure the Zoo is on top of all that, and is doing all that they feasibly can.
 
Today a friend and I attended the Snow Leopard Awareness Weekend behind-the-scenes tour. Like the rhino ones last month, the entire $75 went to conservation, in this case the Snow Leopard Trust. We had the maximum allowed 10 people.

In addition to the tour, they had a public information booth & a silent auction going on outside the exhibit, where you could bid on various articles including paintings done by Ena.

We were taken up a path behind the exhibit... Mylo was out, we caught a glimpse of him as we made our way along the back yards. There were three, all with outside yard access and currently with open doors open so they could go in as well. Ena and Kita were in separate yards and peeked at us, but neither was very interested in coming right out at that point.
The keeper told us that they all three are kept and put on display separately now - solitary as they would be in the wild. They had already separated Mylo from his mum and sister ages ago, but for the most part mum Ena was still tolerating Kita. However a few months back it got to the point where Ena was just fighting with her daughter all the time, so they were separated.
They are crate training the youngsters, as at some point they will go to other establishments. The Zoo is hoping to obtain another breeding male under the SSP.

We then went inside. Keeper Jen (who has been working with Ena literally right from the start, picking her up at the airport when she came to us from Japan) first took us into the "kitchen" and explained about the feeding routines, showed us the boards where all the info is kept not only for feeding, but also veterinary work (like vaccinations), current and ideal weight of each animal, training records etc.

We then went back around the corner to the inside enclosures, right up close. Kita came over when keeper Jen fed her a couple of chicks, but got bored and left after that. Ena was fabulous...she ate her chicks and then settled right by the wire looking intently but contentedly at all of us while the keeper explained about the training chute, and how they were able to do the ultrasounds and even an x-ray while she was pregnant.

For me, this was so well worth the money, I love seeing the animals up close, and especially enjoy hearing the keeper's stories about them. It not only helps you appreciate their individual personalities, but you see just how much goes into caring for them, and how much the keepers care about them.

The keeper also said that the zoo is planning to add a snow leopard "wild encounter" next year, possibly even this winter - although that probably won't go right inside like this special one today... more likely to be an visit along the side fence inside the security area.

Such beautiful animals.
 
The zoo has announced their Wild Encounters will continue over the winter. There will be fewer options. Sticking around are the bug house, giraffe, amur tiger, kangaroo and lemur. New options are Holiday Enrichment, white rhino and snow leopard.

Toronto Zoo | Wild Encounter
 
Judache said:
Been fascinating to read everyone's reports so far, thank you!
I am booked for the Gorilla Encounter on June 30th, looking forward to hopefully being right up close even for just a few moments...I assume from the back of the outdoor exhibit.

I may do one more over the summer, we'll see..
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Hi Judache. Just wondering if you ended up going to the Gorilla Encounter and, if so, how it was? Hoping to “gift” my partner this encounter for the summer (I know they haven’t gone on sale yet, it would just be a future gift) but just want to confirm that it’s worth it. Also, is there any insight on the price? That info for summer encounters has been removed from the Toronto Zoo website
 
@Sydney C first off welcome!

While I didn't go on the behind the scenes with the gorillas I have heard basically you get a tour of the pavilion and then go to meet a keeper at the back of the outdoor exhibit where they do a little training session with one of them. A friend of a friend went so I got very little detail. The description was enough to convince me that despite the fact the gorillas are my number ones at the zoo, I should go for a different tour. For me it was all about getting to interact with the animal myself, feed and maybe touch. The rhino tour did not disappoint and I got to feed and touch a babirusa too which was totally unexpected. But everyone is different and what they would enjoy most about it will be different too.

The cost was $65 plus admission and probably not a bad idea to pay for the zoomobile too if you don't have a membership. The zoomobile is handy if you end up a little far from your meet up place before the tour.

The one tip I would give is if you can go for a weekday tour you might increase your chance of being the only ones on the tour. My friend and I went on a Friday and had 2 guides and 2 keepers all to ourselves and I think because it was just us they let us stick around longer than scheduled. Might have just been those keepers were being nice. We were so lucky to be the only ones. We got to feed and pet them all we wanted because there was no one to take turns with. While there are no guarantees I will definitely be angling for weekday tours next summer and hope for the best.

Oh and once you book keep an eye out about a day or two before the tour for an email with instructions. Depending on the tour they may have some different requirements. The one I can remember is we were told to wear close toed shoes. Thankfully we were wearing them because I didn't catch the email until we were about 20 minutes from the zoo. It also shows you a photo of where to meet your guides which is helpful.

And remember you need to be willing to go no matter the weather. There are no refunds. And do not forget to bring the print out. The guide will check.

Hope that helps a little.
 
Last weekend I went on the hippo tour.

In a Covid world the tours are very different then last year. It started off with the guides not showing up until two minutes before the tour started. Last year they were there 10 minutes early and we shot the breeze for a while before setting out. They were so close to the start time I was in the middle of looking up a phone number for guest relations to ask where my guides were. The other group with us were doing the same thing. If I'm being told to show up 15 minutes early for the tour I expect the guides to show up more than 2 minutes before the start time. Sadly the guide we kept was a less than enthusiastic individual. A far cry from the pair I got last year. Those girls were fantastic. This years was adequate at best. The second guide never spoke and had to stay behind to wait for a group of 3 that never showed (must be nice to have $180 to $240 you can just waste by not showing).

First thing they did was go over the rules and disinfect all of us. Hand sanitizer to start and end the tour. There is no touching or feeding. Well the keeper will feed the animal but you won't. Not a surprise if one reads the tour description. Last year they said feed and touch. This year its watch a keeper feed. Masks must be worn the whole time even though you are outside. Its because you are less than 2 feet from the animal and the zoo is taking the position that any animal could be susceptible to covid.

We walked from the giraffes to the hippos and up the ramp behind the exhibit which is now roped off. The girls were in the pool and playing with a hose refilling the pool. Perky decided to go get a snack out of a feeder. The guide talked and we just watched the hippos for 15 minutes. I remember last time it was a 10 minute talk. More keeper time.

There was a little guy with the other group. I didn't say anything the whole time to let him just be the focus of the guide and keeper. He was loving it. Going on a tour with a kid that into it is magical. You get to see things through the wonder in their eyes. Little guy was so smart too. He was answering questions most adults couldn't answer. He clearly had a passion for hippos and the zoo.

The keeper came out and we were let into the narrow strip of land between the ramp and the back of the exhibit. The girls came running as soon as they saw as my friend put it "the lunch lady." We were told to stand with our backs to the ramp while the girls were fed. The keeper talked about the girls and their lives. A little bit about hippos. When the food was almost gone offered a chance for photos with the girls mouths wide open. To finish things off the girls were let back to the pool and each fed a cantaloupe. At that point we were welcomed to go right up the the edge to take photos again. Both sat there waiting for us to give them more yummy treats. At that point we were inches from them. Their size gets more impressive the closer you are.

We were then let out and sanitized again before saying goodbye.

Honestly for me the tours are currently not worth the price. What makes the experience for me is the ability to feed the animal and touch it. Without that it wasn't anywhere near as magical. I know enough about hippos that the keeper really didn't offer me anything from an educational standpoint. Although I can admit I'm not the average zoo goer. I spent most of my time standing two feet away from the girls and thinking all I want to do is touch their nose. I absolutely understand the zoo's covid policy and respect it. I do though think the price should be reduced a little to reflect the fact that it's not the same experience as last year. I only went on the hippo experience this year because I don't know that will be possible next year and didn't want to miss out on a chance to be that close. My life long dream is to touch a giraffe and if that experience goes away next year I know there are many other zoos around North America where that can happen for me but the hippos I'm just not sure where else that might happen.

If I compare the two experiences I have been on last years rhino was a solid 10/10. This years hippo was a 6/10. Lots of that is related to the lack of feeding or touching but its also losing points for sub par guides and a keeper that just didn't seem as into it as the 3 keepers we got last year. You always roll the dice with guides. Most keepers are fantastic. This one might just not have wanted to be exposed to guests. Those two factors can really change with each individual day. I can see how it will jump back up to a great experience if it continues next year and its back to business as normal. Their big noses are just asking to be petted. It was described as rubbery with stiff bristles. Depending on what it's up against in the future, I may be inclined to pay for it again for that chance to touch.
 
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