Toronto Zoo

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Toronto Zoo


Location	Toronto, Ontario, CAN
Land area	287 hectares (710 acres)
# of Animals	5,000
# of Species	460
Accreditations/ Memberships	CAZA
Website

The Toronto Zoo is a zoo located in the north eastern part of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It opened in 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. It is one of the day use areas of Rouge Park, one of Canada's largest urban natural environment parks, and is open every day except Christmas day.

Encompassing 287 hectares (710 acres), the Toronto Zoo is one of the largest in the world. It is divided into four zoogeographic regions with numerous indoor pavilions and outdoor exhibits. The zoo is home to over 5,000 animals representing over 460 distinct species.

The zoo is accessible from Highway 401 (2 km away), or by TTC buses from Don Mills or Kennedy station. There was at one point a proposed extension of the TTC's Scarborough Rapid Transit line, which might have stopped at the zoo, but the plan was dropped because of the low demand and the high cost of running the Scarborough RT's linear induction motor-driven vehicles.

1 History
2 Board of Management (2007)
3 Conservation
4 Zoo Diaries
5 External links

The Main Entrance to the Toronto Zoo

The Gorilla Rainforest exhibit

Elephant and Keeper

Mother and Joey

The evolution of the Toronto Zoo begins back in 1888 with the opening of the Riverdale Zoo. The old zoo was converted into an urban farm called Riverdale Farm. The Riverdale Zoo was a typical example of a zoo during this time, with animals displayed as curiosities in dark cages and cramped enclosures.

It wasn't until 1963 when a private citizen's brief to build a new zoo was introduced. 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 submitted by architect Raymond Moriyama. 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 to nearly 300 hectares and is now one of the largest in the world. The Zoo introduced some innovative designs to enhance not only the public's viewing experience but also the animals' living comfort. Animals were displayed in naturalized environments and grouped according to their zoogeographic region.

In 1976, the Zoo opened the Canadian Domain Ride, a monorail that travelled 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 and replaced by the Zoomobile, a tractor-pulled ride.

Between 1980 and 1983 several new exhibits were added to the Zoo, including Gaur, a children's zoo (Littlefootland), a new indoor habitat for African Elephants and Snow Leopards.

In 1985, Qinn Qinn and Shayan - 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 and again in 1996), and White Lions (1995).

Splash Island is an educational waterpark with variously-themed exhibits that teaches about the states-of-matter of water: solid (ice), liquid (water), and gas. Exhibits are grouped around variously themed groups of aquatic animals, as well as river, lake, and ocean themes.

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 exhibit, the largest expansion in its history. In 2000, the Zoo opened the Gorilla Rainforest, the world’s largest indoor habitat for Lowland Gorillas. The zoo's 'Splash Island', an educationally-themed waterpark, opened in 2002. This was followed by an open-air theatre in 2003 and the 'Kid's Zoo' in 2004 featuring exhibits geared to guests 10 and under.

The SARS crisis in 2003 had a devastating effect on the tourism industry in Toronto, including the Zoo. The Zoo’s attendance is slowly recovering from the after-effects of these events.

On August 21, 2007, the Tundra Exhibit was closed for expansion and renovations.

Sumatran tiger at the Toronto Zoo

Councillor Raymond Cho, Chair
Dr. Dudley Williams Mr. Peter Evans, Vice Chair
Councillor Glen De Baeremaeker
Councillor Norman Kelly
Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti
Councillor Mike Del Grande
Councillor Michael Thompson
Dr. Jay Naidoo

Toronto Zoo Vision: The Toronto Zoo is Canada's premier Zoo, known for its interactive education and conservation activities. As a unique wildlife experience, we inspire people to live in ways that promote the well being of the natural world.

Two Happy Hippos at the Toronto Zoo

Toronto Zoo Chiclids

The Toronto Zoo spends considerable effort in conserving and propagating endangered species from around the world. Breeding captive wild animals is a difficult process but the zoo has had some successes.

2001: the Toronto Zoo rescues two female Polar Bear cubs, later named Aurora & Nikita
2003: three Sumatran Tigers were born at the zoo to parents Brytne and Rengat. They were the first of their kind to be born in Canada. This subspecies of tiger is critically endangered, with an estimated 400-500 remaining in the wild.
2003: a Komodo Dragon was hatched for the first time in Canada.
2003: the Toronto Zoo rescues a male Polar Bear cub, later named Inukshuk.
2004: two female West African Dwarf Crocodiles successfully hatched on October 1.
2005: a male Gorilla was born March 7, later named Sadiki.
2006: a male Sumatran Orangutan was born January 18th. He was named Budi which means "The Wise One" in the Indonesian language.
2006: a Two-Toed Sloth was born. This was the first birth of this species at the zoo.
2006: 18 Vancouver Island Marmot pups were born. The Toronto Zoo was the first zoo to establish a captive-breeding program for these animals with the goal of releasing them back into their wild habitat.
2006: two more Sumatran Tigers were born to the same parents as the 2003 litter. They were later named Kali and Indah which mean "River" and "Beautiful" in the Indonesian language.
2006: five African Cheetah cubs were born.
2006: four Golden Lion Tamarins were born.
2006: one Matschie's Tree Kangaroo one of three born in North America in 2006.(New York Bronx Zoo, St. Louis Zoo and Toronto Zoo.)
2007: two rare Snow Leopards were born on June 5th. This is the first birth in 13 years.
2007: female Przewalski's Horse born June 22. This is the first birth in 15 years.
2007: one male and one female Siberian Tiger, were born at the Toronto Zoo on July 13.

Zoo Diaries is a Canadian documentary television series which airs on Life Network. The series documents the stories of people who work at the zoo. 65 episodes have been produced since 2000 by DocuTainment Productions.

Zoo Diaries is an intense look at life behind the scenes at the Toronto Zoo. One of the world’s biggest, the Toronto Zoo has expanded its longstanding role as an exhibitor to devote more of its resources to protecting endangered species. Each episode of Zoo Diaries focuses 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.