Toronto Zoo

Toronto Zoo

The Main Entrance to the Toronto Zoo
Date opened	August 15, 1974
Location	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Land area	287 hectares (710 acres)
Coordinates	43°49′13.00″N 79°10′58.00″W / 43.82028°N 79.18278°W / 43.82028; -79.18278Coordinates: 43°49′13.00″N 79°10′58.00″W / 43.82028°N 79.18278°W / 43.82028; -79.18278
Number of animals	5,000+[1]
Number of species	500+[1]
Memberships	AZA,[2] CAZA[3]
Website	www.torontozoo.com

The Toronto Zoo is a zoo located in the Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It opened August 15, 1974 as the Metropolitan Toronto Zoo and is owned by the City of Toronto; the word 'Metropolitan' was dropped from its name when the cities of the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto were merged to form the present-day City of Toronto. The zoo is located near the Rouge River in the northeast corner of the city.

Encompassing 287 hectares (710 acres), the Toronto Zoo is the largest zoo in Canada.^{[citation needed]} It is divided into seven zoogeographic regions: Indo-Malaya, Africa, Americas, Tundra Trek, Australasia, Eurasia and the Canadian Domain. Some animals are displayed indoors in tropical pavilions and outdoors in what would be their naturalistic environments, with viewing at many levels. It also has areas such as the Kids Zoo, Waterside Theatre and Splash Island. The zoo is currently home to over 16,000 animals (including invertebrates and fish) representing over 491 species. The Toronto Zoo is currently working on the North Zoo Redevelopment. This project will be completed in four phases.

History

In 1888, the Riverdale Zoo opened in Toronto, as a typical example of a zoo during this time, with animals displayed as curiosities in dark cages and cramped enclosures.

In 1963 a private citizen's brief to build a new zoo was introduced. Original plans were to have to park located at the Don Mills, Ontario area, but the site was later used to create the E.T. Seton Park. In 1966, eleven citizens met at City Hall to form the Metropolitan Toronto Zoological Society. In 1967, the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto approved the Rouge Park site in Scarborough for a new zoo. The following year, a feasibility study on the new zoo was produced by architect Raymond Moriyama. In 1969 a master plan was created by Johnson Sustronk Weinstein and Associates^[4] which was approved by the Zoological Society. Construction of the new zoo began in 1970. On August 15, 1974 the Metropolitan Toronto Zoo was open to the public. The zoo increased from 3 hectares (7.4 acres) to 287 hectares (710 acres), and is now one of the largest zoos in the world. The Zoo introduced some designs to enhance the public's viewing experience and the animals' living comfort. Animals were displayed in naturalized environments and grouped according to their zoogeographic region. The old zoo was converted into an urban farm called Riverdale Farm, which opened in 1978.

In 1976, the Zoo opened the Canadian Domain Ride, a monorail that traveled into the Zoo's Canadian Domain area, located in the Rouge Valley. The ride ceased operations in July 1994 after an accident. The monorail has since been dismantled. The current Zoomobile uses 5 (4 car set) Chance Coach Sunliner tram.^[5]

Between 1980 and 1984 several new exhibits were added to the Zoo, including Gaur, a children's zoo (Littlefootland) which does not exist anymore, and a new indoor habitat for African Elephants, Snow Leopards and the Indian Rhinoceros Pavilion. As well as, the official opening of the Zoomobile.

In 1985, Quinn Quinn and Sha Yan^[6] – a pair of giant pandas, on loan for three months from the Peoples' Republic of China were displayed at the Zoo. The Zoo broke all previous attendance records, as thousands of visitors came to see these rare animals. Over the years, the Zoo has presented other rare or unusual animals, including: golden monkeys (1986), koalas (1988, 1996 and again in 2002), and white lions (1995).

The Gorilla Rainforest exhibit.

In 1987, the zoo opened the Maya Temple exhibit and Wolf Woods exhibit. In 1988, the zoo completed new reptile exhibits in the Australasia Pavilion and the Primate Wing in the Americas Pavilion. Caracal lynx exhibit opened in 1989, the year after the Spotted-neck otter exhibit opened.

In 1993, the Red Panda exhibit re-opened and the Malayan Woods Pavilion opened. The sumatran tigers arrived in 1994. Naked mole-rats went on exhibit in 1996. Komodo dragons become a feature exhibit in 1997.

In 1998, with the amalgamation of the Metro Municipalities, the Zoo was officially renamed the Toronto Zoo. That same year, the Zoo opened the Africa Savannah exhibits, the largest expansion in its history. In 2001, the Zoo added eyelash vipers to its collection and opened the Gorilla Rainforest, the world’s largest indoor habitat for Lowland Gorillas. The zoo's 'Splash Island', an educationally-themed water play area, opened in 2002. This was followed by an open-air amphitheatre in 2003 and the 'Kid's Zoo' in 2004 featuring exhibits geared to guests 10 and under.

Splash Island is an educational water play area, themed to water: clouds to rain that flows into streams, rivers, lakes and oceans. The sprayers reflect animals typically found in these waterways.

The SARS crisis in 2003 had a devastating effect on the tourism industry in Toronto, however the Zoo fared well with local residents supporting the zoo by visiting often. The Zoo’s attendance has recovered well with many record-breaking annual attendance numbers since then.

In November 2006, the Toronto Zoo temporarily closed the Australasia Pavilion for redevelopment. The pavilion underwent two years of construction, resulting in new exhibits including a Great Barrier Reef area (where the former Edge of Night exhibit used to be). The Great Barrier Reef exhibit consists of a large seven-metre-long community tank featuring sharks, damsel, and angel fish. There is also a lion fish, as well as enlarged seahorse tanks. Coral and moon jelly fish have also been added to the collection – both firsts for the Toronto Zoo. This pavilion reopened on May 16, 2008.

In May 2007, Dinosaurs Alive opened, which featured 18 animated dinosaur models and life-size skeleton replicas. It featured the largest T-Rex in North America. This exhibit was enjoyed by over 600,000 visitors and was included with zoo admission. The exhibit closed in October 2007.

On August 21, 2007, the polar bear, llama, Dall's Sheep and Mara exhibits were closed for the construction of the new 10-acre (4.0 ha) Tundra Trek area. This project was the first phase of the North Zoo Site Redevelopment Project. Tundra Trek features new exhibits for the popular polar bear, reindeer, arctic fox, arctic wolf and snowy owl. Coming back to take up residence in the new polar bear exhibit were 3 orphaned polar bears initially raised at the Zoo and named by the community: Aurora, Nakita and Inukshuk. The Tundra Trek opened on August 1, 2009.

On May 16, 2008, Stingray Bay opened for the first time. This interactive exhibit allows the public to touch, feel, and feed live stingrays. The stingrays are supported in 20-inch (510 mm) deep, 1,450-square-foot (135 m²), 60,500-litre (13,300 imp gal; 16,000 US gal) salt water habitat with waterfall and state-of-the-art life support system. Stingray Bay is a separate exhibit from the zoo, charging an additional admission fee. It has opened at the zoo 3 times, in 2008 from May 16 to October 13, in 2009 from May 15 to October 12, with the addition of nurse and bamboo sharks, and in 2010 from May 22 to October 11, with the addition of horseshoe crabs. The exhibit will again open in 2011 on May 21, and bonnethead sharks will be the feature animal until the exhibit closes October 10, 2011.

In September 2008, the Toronto Zoo Board approved a motion to dissolve the Toronto Zoo Foundation and bring fundraising and development in-house. All parties agreed to the transfer of existing donor funds to the Toronto Community Foundation.

Statue of Dr. Scholfield in January 2011

On August 15, 2009, the Toronto Zoo celebrated its 35 year anniversary. During that weekend the public got to learn about some of the zoos oldest residents, including; Marg the demoiselle crane and Monty the West African dwarf crocodile.

On September 9, 2009 the south side of the African Rainforest Pavilion was closed for construction. During construction, one of the mandrills scheduled to move into the new area died, and the rest were moved to another zoo. The pavilion opened in early 2011, with new exhibits for pygmy hippos, red river hogs, nile softshell turtle, and lemurs instead of the mandrills, as well as a variety of exhibits for fish and reptiles.

The Dr. Scholfield Memorial/Asian Gardens opened the first phase in June 2010, and includes a statue erected in Dr. Scholfield's honor.

On May 21, 2011 the black-footed penguin exhibit (formerly the South African cape fur seal exhibit) opened to the public. This exhibit once was the old South African cape fur seal exhibit and it was closed in 2010 and modified to house black-footed penguins.

Exhibits

The Toronto Zoo is divided up into seven different geographic regions. Each region showcases animals and plants from that area of the world.

Indo-Malaya

The Indo-Malayan area contains two pavilions that exhibit plants and animals from the southern and southeast Asia. There are 4 outdoor exhibits in this area. Featured animals in this area include Indian rhinos, Malayan tapirs, lion-tailed macaques, orangutans, Mandarin Ducks, spiny turtles, rare Sumatran tigers, and various freshwater fish. The Malayan Woods Pavilion houses butterflies, whistling ducks, red-tailed green ratsnakes and clouded leopards. Three Sumatran tigers were born at the zoo to parents Brytne and Rengat in 2003, and two more (Kali and Indah which mean "River" and "Beautiful" in the Indonesian language) in 2006. Also in 2006, three orangutans were born and named Jinnga, Kembali and Budi through a TVO Kids naming contest.

Africa

Opened in 1998 the African Savanna became the zoos largest expansion in history. The African Savanna combined with the African Rainforest Pavilion encompasses most of the southern third of the zoo. The African Savanna featured species include lions, zebras, olive baboons, greater kudus, sable antelopes, white rhinos, elephants, hippopotamuses, hyenas and masai giraffe. The African Rainforest Pavilion holds the world’s largest indoor gorilla exhibit, and also holds pygmy hippopotamuses. In 2004 two female West African Dwarf Crocodiles successfully hatched on October 1, the first birth of this species in Canada. In September 2009, a male Gorilla was born to Ngozi and Charles, later named Nassir. A mandrill named Mohawk was born in December 2008. The South Side of the African Rainforest Pavilion underwent extensive renovations in 2009 and 2010, and will open in the Spring of 2011. The South side of the pavilion is completely refurbished and showcases ring-tailed lemurs.

Canadian Domain

The Canadian Domain is situated in the Rouge Valley. The animals in this area will all be regrouped onto the table land. The Canadian Domain was built in accompaniment with the Canadian Domain Ride, which exhibited North American animals in their native environment. Featured species in this area include, elk, bison, moose, cougar, lynx and grizzly bear. The Toronto Zoo is currently participating in a breeding program for the Canadian bison. Canadian Domain is slated to be moved onto the zoo's tableland in coming years and re-named Canadian Wilderness

Americas

This area of the zoo houses animals from both North and South America. Animals include several species of monkeys. The Americas Pavilion displays a wide variety of amphibians, reptiles, fish, and insects. The Mayan Temple Ruins features jaguars, spider monkeys, and flamingos. The Americas Pavilion houses the majority of the zoo's reptile and amphibian collection, and was the designated area for the 2008 Year of the Frog conservation project. In 2006 a two-toed sloth was born; this was the first birth of this species at the zoo. The Americas Pavilion will undergo a transition as per the North Zoo Site Redevelopment from the Americas Pavilion to the Tropical American Pavilion. Some Americas animals will be relocated with this redevelopment project.

Australasia

The Australasian Pavilion features animals from the Australian mainland, as well as surrounding islands. Featured species in this area include thorny devil stick insects, a variety of Australian reptiles, kangaroos, wallabies, emus, wombats, kookaburras, red-tailed black cockatoos, Matschie's tree kangaroos and Komodo dragons.^[7] In 2003 a Komodo Dragon was hatched for the first time in Canada. In 2006 a Matschie's Tree Kangaroo was born, one of three born in North America in 2006.(New York Bronx Zoo, St. Louis Zoo and Toronto Zoo.) Later named Noru, was sent to the Lincoln Zoo, and was paired with a mate named Milla who gave birth to two twins - a first for this species. The Komodo dragons were donated to the zoo as a gift from the President of Indonesia. This pavilion once had an “Edge of Night” section to highlight crepuscular and nocturnal marsupials, but this was later converted into the Great Barrier Reef exhibit featuring sea horses, a live coral and jellyfish tank, lion fish, bamboo sharks and a 7-metre (23 ft) long community tank. The exhibits inside the pavilion also received facelifts during the transition, including and outdoor area for the hairy-nosed wombats and swamp wallabies.

Eurasia

A Snow Leopard at the Toronto Zoo.

Eurasia is the oldest and most quiet part of the zoo. This section is planned to be redeveloped and expanded to include a variety of species. The featured species in this section of the zoo are Siberian tigers, snow leopards, Przewalski's wild horses, red pandas, Barbary apes, and Bactrian camels. On June 5, 2007, two rare snow leopards were born, the first birth in thirteen years. Another snow leopard was born in 2009. Two Przewalski's horses, one male and one female, were born on June 22, 2007, the first birth in fifteen years. Three more Przewalski's horses were born in 2008 and another was born in 2009. In 2007, one male and one female Siberian tigers, were born. The zoo has also been very successful in breeding bactrian camels, the most recent birth coming in 2011.

Tundra Trek

After the closing of some of the Americas animal exhibits in 2007, the Tundra Trek opened on August 1, 2009. This area became the sixth region of the zoo, and showcases a variety of Arctic animals including reindeer, polar bears, snowy owls, snow geese, arctic foxes and arctic wolves. The new state-of-the-art exhibits are larger in order to encourage breeding. Educational theming emphasizes the lives of the Inuit and the effects of climate change.

Zellers Discovery Zone

This area is geared towards children, and features educational themes and exhibits. The most prominent area is a children's waterpark, Splash Island, which features landscaping and themed objects depicting the 3 states of water: solid (ice), liquid, and gas. Exhibits are grouped around variously themed groups of aquatic animals, including rivers, lakes, and oceans. Waterside Theatre is an open-air venue where live demonstrations of a variety of animals are shown, including alpacas, goats, falcons, turkey vultures, hawks, skunks, ferrets and hornbills. A third area, the Kids Zoo, consists of a variety of animals that children can interact with. The Zellers Discovery Zone also hosts the Stingray Bay exhibit for its duration.

Board of management

The board of management at the zoo consists of 6 Toronto City Councillors and 5 members of the public (1 Toronto Zoo Foundation nominee, 2 high-profile/scientist members and 2 citizen members).

2010 Board Members

• Councillor Raymond Cho, Chair
• Joe Torzsok, Vice Chair
• Councillor Paul Ainslie
• Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker
• Dr. Ming-Tat Cheung
• Councillor Mark Grimes
• Councillor Norm Kelly
• Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti
• Dr. Dudley Williams - Professor of Biology at the University of Toronto (Scarborough College)
• Sylvie Tessier
• Cindy Yelle - Vice President (Development) at the Hospital for Sick Children Foundation

2011 Board Members

• Councillor Raymond Cho
• Councillor Mark Grimes
• Councillor Paul Ainslie
• Councillor Gloria Lindsay Luby
• Councillor Josh Colle
• Councillor Chin Lee
• Dr. Ming Tat Cheung
• Ms. Sylvie Tessier
• Ms. Cindy Yelle - Vice President (Development) at the Hospital for Sick Children Foundation
• Mr. Joe Torzsok - Chair
• plus one vacancy

Conservation

The Toronto Zoo makes considerable effort to conserve endangered species from around the world with the help of other accredited zoos. Breeding captive wild animals is a difficult challenge, but has resulted in the re-introduction of many species.

One of the Toronto Zoo's Sumatran tigers.

Some of the conservation initiatives that the Toronto Zoo has participated in are as follows:

• The Toronto Zoo was the first zoo to establish a captive-breeding program for black-footed ferrets with the goal of releasing them back into their wild habitat, and had released more than 120 animals by 2011.^{[citation needed]}
• The zoo has rescued polar bears from the wild. Two in 2001, later named Aurora & Nikita and one in 2003, later named Inukshuk.^{[citation needed]}
• In 2008 the Toronto Zoo participated in 2008 Year of the Frog, where researchers were sent to study a deadly fungus causing problems to amphibians and reptiles worldwide.^{[citation needed]}

Cell phone recycling

The Toronto Zoo has been collecting and recycling cell phones since 2006. In 2010, it was awarded the distinction of being the top cell phone recycler out of the Eco-Cell's 175 participating wildlife organizations in [North America]. Other participating wildlife organizations include include the San Diego Zoo and the Philadelphia Zoo.^[8] Coltan is a mineral ore mined and refined in central Africa for metals used in the cell phone industry. This unregulated mining industry has a dramatic impact on the region's biodiversity. Recycling cell phones helps to preserve the critical Lowland gorilla rainforest habitat in Africa by decreasing the demand for these minerals. This is of particular interest to the Toronto Zoo as its gorilla habitat has expanded with the addition of a newly born baby gorilla. The Toronto Zoo's cell phone recycling program is composed of two parts: Retrocell ^[9] is the zoo's official cell phone refurbisher and the Ontario Electronic Stewardship Program^[10] processes the remainder of the phones that are collected by the Toronto Zoo.

Elephant deaths

On November 30, 2009 Tara, the Zoo's largest creature, died. She was found lying down when staff arrived in the morning and was unable to be raised to her feet. Tara was the third elephant in 14 months to die at the Zoo and fourth in three years.^[11] The Zoo has planned a major expansion of the Zoo exhibit and indoor quarters, to accommodate the existing herd and any new elephants, perhaps the result of breeding. Board of Management minutes from October, 2009 indicate a concern that the condition of the elephant exhibit might cause the Zoo to lose its Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) accreditation.

Elephant deaths preceding Tara's:

• June 2009: Tessa, knocked to the ground by another elephant, unable to stand unassisted after being raised to her feet by staff and equipment.
• September 2008: Tequila, cause of death not released.
• July 2006: Patsy, euthanized due to long-term degenerative arthritis

In the days following Tara's death both Zoocheck Canada^[12] and U.S.-based In Defence of Animals^[13] called for the Zoo to close the exhibit and send the remaining three elephants to a sanctuary.

Zoo Diaries

Zoo Diaries was a Canadian documentary television series which aired on Life Network. Its focus was on the relationship between the animals and their keepers, allowing viewers to experience what it’s like to bond with some of the world’s most exotic creatures. There have been 74 episodes produced since 2000 by DocuTainment Productions. The first 2 seasons of the show were also released on DVD/VHS

The future

Construction Projects:

• North Zoo Redevelopment Project: (The animal listed in brackets may be getting new exhibits)
  • Phase One: Tundra Trek. Opened on August 1, 2009.
  • Phase Two: Eurasia (Panda Bears & Golden snub-nosed monkeys were thought about in the Eurasian plan) Detailed design to be finished in early 2011. Construction to follow.
  • Phase Three: Mixed Wood/Boreal Forests (Moose, Wood Bison, Grizzly Bears, Vancouver Island Marmots) To begin in 2011/2012.
  • Phase Four: Tropical Americas (The conversion of the Americas Pavilion to Tropical Americas)To begin in 2014/2015.
• The zoo will bring back the panda exhibit for 2012, under an agreement with China that will have two giant pandas at the Toronto Zoo for five years at a cost of $20 million.^[14]
• Toronto Zoo is currently (Feb 2008) starting the initial design phases for an expanded elephant complex, including a large indoor space where the herd can be together and on display year-round, and an expanded outdoor paddock. To begin in 2015. There is going to be a feasibility study to determine whether it would be worth the money to expand the elephant habitat and quadruple the space of the current exhibit, according to an elephant keeper.
• Giraffe House Refurbishment to begin in 2010/2011.
• Animal Health Centre to begin in 2012/2013. Design has begun.
• Education centre to begin in 2014/2015.
• Orangutan Complex to begin in 2013/2014.

In 2011 the City started looking at the process of selling the zoo to a third party.^[15]

Gallery

• 

  Nicobar Pigeon at the Metro Toronto Zoo.

• 

  Red River Hog and piglets, African Savanna, Toronto Zoo

• 

  A Japanese Macaque, Eurasia, Toronto Zoo.

See also

• Riverdale Farm and High Park - Toronto's other zoos.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Check Out Our Amazing Animals!". torontozoo.com. Toronto Zoo. http://www.torontozoo.com/ExploretheZoo/Animals.asp. Retrieved 7 May 2011. 
2. ^ "List of Accredited Zoos and Aquariums". aza.org. AZA. http://www.aza.org/current-accreditation-list/. Retrieved 7 May 2010. 
3. ^ "Members' Directory, Accredited Institutions". caza.ca.org. CAZA. http://www.caza.ca/en/membership_and_services/membership_directory/accredited_members/index.php. Retrieved 7 May 2010. 
4. ^ History of the zoo
5. ^ http://www.toronto-travel-guide.com/toronto-zoo.html
6. ^ http://torontozoo.com/pdfs/Canadian%20Giant%20Panda%20Press%20Release%2020100823.pdf
7. ^ "Australasia". torontozoo.com. Toronto Zoo. http://www.torontozoo.com/ExploretheZoo/Animals.asp?pg=6. Retrieved 7 May 2011. 
8. ^ (http://www.zandavisitor.com/newsarticle-2996-Toronto_Zoo%27s_ECO-CELL_Program_Beats_San_Diego_Zoo_in_Cell_Phones_Collected)
9. ^ https://www.retrocell.ca
10. ^ http://www.ontarioelectronicstewardship.ca
11. ^ Wingrove, Josh (3 December 2009). "Elephant's death a zoo". The Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/elephants-death-a-crossroads-for-zoo/article1383554/. Retrieved 3 December 2009. 
12. ^ Kupferman, Steve (2 December 2009). "When Elephants Die". The Torontoist (supplement to The Globe and Mail. http://torontoist.com/2009/12/when_elephants_die.php. Retrieved 3 December 2009. 
13. ^ "Zoo elephant deaths spark call for shutdown". The Toronto Star. 3 December 2009. http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/733892--zoo-elephant-deaths-spark-call-for-shutdown. Retrieved 3 December 2009. 
14. ^ Pandas coming to Toronto - for $20 million
15. ^ http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2011/09/15/toronto-ford-radio.html

External links

• Toronto Zoo Official website