4 summer 2014 collections

1974

1976

1980

1982

1983

1975

• MetroToronto ZooopenedAugust 15

• Monorail openedto the public

• Littlefootland(children’s zoo)and snow leopardexhibit opened

• Elephant houseofficially opened

• Australasiapavilion’s “Edgeof Night”nocturnalsection opened

• MayanTempleexhibitopened

• Wolfwoodsexhibitopened

1988

1989

• Became first Zooto display Liberianmongoose

• Dinamation, a display of larger than life animateddinosaurs opened

1994 • Sumatran

tigers arrived• Wombats

producedyoung for thefirst time

1997

• Adopt-A-Pondawarded AZANorth AmericanConservationAward

1993

• Malayan Woods Pavilion opened• Toronto Zoo received the AZA

Conservation Award for the black-footed ferrets breeding program,welcoming the first birth of black-footed ferrets in Canada the same year

1995 • White lions

of Timbavation exhibitfor thesummer

• First birth ofTasmaniandevils inNorthAmerica

• Indian Rhinocerospavilion opened

1985 • Pair of giant

pandas, Qing Qingand Quan Quan,arrived on loanfor three monthsfrom China

• First breeding ofa Puerto Ricancrested toadoutside of PuertoRico

1991 • First birth of a great

Indian rhinoceros inCanada

• Adopt-A-Pondlaunched

• First birth of an Africanelephant in Canada, Thika,born to Tequila and Tantor

• First volunteerprogramlaunched

• Educationbranch &programmingfounded atthe Zoo 19

87

1984

• Americas pavilionPrimate Wing openedfeaturing pygmymarmosets, commonmarmosets, golden-liontamarins and white-facedsaki monkeys

ROBERT TAYLO

R

• AfricanSavannaopened

• Serengeti BushCamp openedfor first season

• The MetroToronto Zoobecame theToronto Zoo

1998

Toronto Zoo opening, 1974

When the Toronto Zoo first opened its doors in 1974, it was consideredto be the most innovative and forward-thinking zoo in the world.Located just outside of the metropolitan core adjacent to the RougeValley National Park, the large 700 acre site offered visitors theopportunity to experience the world’s flora and fauna as a globaljourney. With over 3,000 animals presented in informative exhibitsthat recreated their natural habitats (complete with native plants andtrees), the Zoo appealed to guests of all ages and interests. Nowvisitors could travel from Africa to Asia to the Arctic and evenAustralia for only three dollars.The new Zoo excelled at bringing smiles to Zoo visitors’ faces on a

daily basis, but the Zoo was also created to play a major role in speciesprotection and conservation initiatives. Now, 40 years later, the TorontoZoo is a recognized leader in advancing knowledge about wildlife andhow animals interact with their environments. As we approach our 40thanniversary, it is sobering to realize that the global extinction rate hassoared from one or two species annually in 1974 to the current rate ofthree species per day. Worldwide, zoos are uniting to address thiscritical issue. The Zoo’s mission is more important now than ever before.

great Zoo years!From dream to reality, the Toronto Zoo hasfulfilled its promise to be the world’s finest zoo

Dr. Graham Crawshaw with keeper Ariel Sha

mir and baby snow leopard

Zoo billboard proclaiming opening

in the beginningToronto's first zoo – the Riverdale Zoo –opened in 1889 on a nine-acre propertyin the heart of Toronto (where RiverdaleFarm now sits). However, the limitations ofits location became increasingly apparent,and by the 1960s there was a strongcitizen’s movement to form a new zoo. TheMetropolitan Zoological Society was formedto bring this vision to life, and in 1967, theGlen Rouge was approved as the site for anew major zoo. “On this site will be built theworld’s finest Zoo,” proclaimed a billboardnear what is now Meadowvale Road – a promisethat filled Torontonians with excitement andanticipation. Everyone wanted to be take part in and helpbuild our Zoo.

building the dreamOpening the Zoo’s doors took plenty of hard workingstaff, a community of great people, and of course,animals. The acquisitions were funded by a variety ofsources, including local schools, memberships anddonations from many individuals and organizations.Through Project Noah, for example, school childrenfrom all over Toronto chose animals from a masterlist and gathered the funds to help bring them toToronto. By opening day, Project Noah had raised a total of $266,000and generated tons of excitement. The wall on which the Project Noahschool names were commemorated is still at the Zoo entrance today. Our membership program was another key contributor. People were so

keen that we began signing up members in March 1971, before the Zoowas even open. Our first members-only tour of the site was hosted inJune 1971, giving members their first look at their new Zoo. They receivedquarterly updates on the Zoo’s progress, an initiative that evolved intotoday’s Collections and Newsprints publications. By the time we openedour doors, we had approximately 3,000 members contributing to ouranimal family. Today, the Zoo has over 30,000 members.

animal factsAnimals began arriving at the Zoo even before the pavilions andpaddocks were finished. By October 1973, ten months before theZoo opened, there were 700 animals on the site and the Zoo’sefforts in saving species had already begun. One of the mostsignificant babies born here before opening was a kusimanse (atype of mongoose), which marked the first birth of this speciesin North America! We also welcomed baby fruit bats and twobaby black lemurs, the birth of which was a rare occurrence atzoos. Since then, our Zoo population has grown to over 5,000animals!

birth of a ZooOn August 15, 1974, the Metro Toronto Zoo (as it was called

then) opened its doors to the public. It was a hectic butexciting time getting the Zoo up and ready forfull operation. Now home to many of theRiverdale Zoo’s staff and animals, the Zoo was abusy place. A new, innovative spirit prevailed, inkeeping with the Zoo’s pioneering use of thezoogeographic concept. In 1971, Dr. Gunter Voss,Director, Metro TorontoZoo had said that theZoo’s first objective was“to create a ZoologicalPark which significantlybroadens concepts of whata Zoo can be, and canaccomplish.” This entailed

combining plants and animals according totheir native continents to create naturalhabitat exhibits for visitors, separated intosix regions. Although dividing animals by diet would have been muchmore convenient, the Zoo wanted to recreate the “real world” bygrouping animals by where they would live in the wild. Visitors couldobserve the interactive ecological system of plant and animal life inthe Zoo’s exhibits. The Toronto Zoo was the world’s firstzoogeographical zoo.

threatened species

at the Zooextinct in the wild: 2

critically endangered: 18

endangered: 28

vulnerable: 36

near threatened: 20

collections summer 2014 5

• Zoo received NationalMerit and Regional Honourawards for AfricanSavanna exhibit

2001

• Gorilla Rainforest exhibit openedand won CAZA’s prestigiousThomas R. Baines Award

• Toronto Zoo rescued two femalepolar bear cubs, Aurora and Nikita

2002 • Splash Island

opened• Interactive

lorikeet feedingand Aussiewalkaboutexhibits opened

2003

• First hatchings of Komodo dragons in Canada• Waterside theatre opened• First birth of Sumatran tiger cubs

in Canada• Toronto Zoo rescued male polar

bear cub, Inukshuk

2004 • Kids Zoo opened

2006

• Zoo won CAZA top award for captive breeding critically endangered black-footed ferret

• Eco Cell program announced to recycle usedcell phones and help save gorilla habitat

2007 • Dinosaurs

Alive!came tothe Zoo

• Great Barrier Reef opened• Ngozi, female western lowland gorilla,

arrived as a possible mate for Charles. • Stingray Bay opened

2009

• First black-footed ferretsreleased in Saskatchewan’sGrasslands National Park

• Zoo unveiled first evercarbon-neutral exhibit forthe lion-tailed macaques

• Award-winning new 10-acre Tundra Trek exhibit opened 2

010

• ConservationCarousel opened

• First Nations ArtGarden opened

• Visitors madeToronto Zoo thenumber one cellphone recycler inNorth America

2011 • Hudson the polar bear was

born, the first cub hand-raised from birth at the Zoo.

• New endangered Africanpenguin exhibit opened

2012

• Sumatranorangutans receivedenrichment iPads

• Gorilla Ropes Courseopened

2013

• Er Shun and Da Mao, a pairof giant pandas, arrivedon loan for five years fromChina. Giant PandaExperience opened to the public May 16

2000

2008

Baby kudu with keeper Ken May

Keeper Bob Johnson w

ith frog

collections summer 2014 7

animal anticsBy May 1975, the Zoo population had increased to over3,500 animals, representing 400 species. Today, the Zoois home to over 5,000 animals representing over 450species worldwide. Our animals are our family.Over the years, our animals have taught us many

things, particularly how smart they are. On one occasion,Puppe found a tube of lipstick in her exhibit, took the lidoff, twisted it up and put it on her lips much like a human.Our gorillas have also shown us their high level ofintelligence. Their outdoor habitat, forinstance, didn’t always have a roof.One day, Amanda, our femaleWestern lowland gorilla realized thatshe could prop a log against theglass wall and climb out of theexhibit. Luckily she didn’t go far, andputting a roof on the exhibit quicklybecame a top priority. These are justa few of the amazing stories that ourZoo keepers have, as our animalsreally are extraordinary.

top medical supportAt the Toronto Zoo, our animals havealways had top care with leadinginternational veterinarians, keepers,conservationists and nutritionists. Dr. William Rapley, who joined the Zooin 1974, was our first veterinarian andcontinues to work with us today asthe Executive Director Conservation,Education and Wildlife at the Zoo.The Toronto Zoo was the first zooin North America to employ a full-time nutritionist in 1974, andremains the only zoo in Canadato do so. Our Animal NutritionCentre has developed balanceddiets to ensure the optimalhealth and well-being of all ourZoo animals. Back in 1974, it costapproximately $20,000 a month to feed our animals. Today, it’sabout $16,000 a week. The Wildlife Health Centre is where ourleading veterinarians save lives. Anincrease in space and numerousupgrades are sorely needed, but weare happy to say our centre isgetting a full makeover. The newstate-of-the-art centre will lay thefoundation for high-quality wildlifehealth, reproduction and speciessurvival research. Ground isscheduled to break this fall.

protecting wildlifeSince its inception, the Toronto Zoohas continually strived to be theworld’s finest zoo. After 40 years, we realize that our work willnever be finished. With global extinction rates rising for many species,including the rhinoceros, Western lowland gorilla and Sumatran

orangutan, our work has only begun.The Toronto Zoo continues as a leader in breeding programs

targeted at reviving endangered species through research inanimal reproductive health. By releasing captive-bred,endangered animals back into the wild, the Toronto Zoo hashelped to preserve many of Canada’s threatened andendangered species, including the wood bison, black-footedferret and Vancouver Island marmot. Our efforts extendbeyond the Canadian borders withthe re-introduction of the PuertoRican crested toad and the axolotlinto their native habitats.

Over the years, the Toronto Zoohas contributed millions of dollarsto projects that protect and saveendangered species, both in

Canada and around the world,through the Endangered SpeciesReserve Fund (ESRF). Through thisfund, the Zoo is currently supporting48 species of animals all over theworld.

a focus on educationProviding education about the naturalworld for people of all ages has alwaysbeen one of the most important thingsthat the Zoo does. From helping teachersmake the most of class trips, to giving highschool students the opportunity to earnbiology credits, to family sleep-overs in ourown Serengeti Bush Camp, the Zoo makes learning about wildlife agreat experience. No wonder the Zoo’s camps and education

programs are so popular!

ou r members make the differenceOver the past 40 years, the community spirit,support and enthusiasm of our members hasmade the Toronto Zoo what it is today. Now,with the support of over 30,000 members,the Toronto Zoo remains a global leader inspecies protection. It is much more than ashowcase for beautiful, exotic andendangered species. The Zoo is a place whereanimal health, reproduction and speciesprotection are advanced. We could not do this

critical work without the support of our members and visitors, andfor that we thank you.

the Zoo logoOur distinctive logo, inspiredby the pictographs of pre-historic Canadian Indians,was designed by Stewart &Morrison Limited. The symbolwas meant to be a reminderof the perpetual dependenceand relationship betweenman and the animals aroundhim, through the deer headmotif with a circular, globalbackground.

1974

2014

Baby wallaby with keeper Randy

Noble

Keeper Bob Smerge and baby orangutan

Keeper Ron Gilmore with camels Meet-and-greet after the animal show

thank you!With big milestones, come big thanks to all ourpast and present board members, staff,volunteers, visitors, members, donors andvalued partners who have enabled us to becomethe Zoo we are today, and do the incrediblyimportant work we continue to do today.