Zoo Street Names

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Address:  46 Trumpeter Street
Date:  May 2020
Website:  www.torontozoo.com

  There is a neighbourhood of houses located on Sheppard Avenue East and very near to the Toronto Zoo. Some of the streets are named after zoo residents. You could visit this neighbourhood before or after your visit to the zoo and continue your animal adventures. The photo above was taken from inside the zoo and you can see the rooftops across the Rouge Valley.

  We entered the neighbourhood via Rouge River Drive. The Rouge River runs through the valley just behind these houses.

  The first animal street we encountered was Coyote Crescent. The Toronto Zoo does not have any coyotes in its collection. There are many wild coyotes that call the Rouge Valley home. We are sure that at some point a coyote has trotted down Coyote Crescent.

The zoo does have a fake coyote located behind the Australasia Pavilion. This one is there to possibly keep wild coyotes from getting too close to the kangaroo enclosure.

  Another wild resident of the Rouge Valley is the red fox. The Toronto Zoo briefly had one on exhibit. They had printed up signs and hoped everyone would come to see their fox. We came, but by the time we got there the fox had already dug its way under all the fencing. He escaped into the valley to join his wild friends.

  Red Fox Place takes you to Mountain Lion Trail. 

  The zoo does have one of those. A mountain lion is also known as a cougar.

  Snowgoose Terrace cuts between Mountain Lion Trail and Red Fox Place. Snow geese breed up above the timber line and during migration they head south past the Toronto Zoo.

  It is rare that a snow goose lands and spends time in Scarborough. You can always go to the Toronto Zoo and see their lesser snow geese all year long.

  Heading north, the next street was Reindeer Drive. 

  The Toronto Zoo has several caribou. In Europe they are called reindeer.

  We drove onto Jaguar Street. We didn't notice any Jaguars parked on any driveways. Come to think of it, we didn't see any Mercury Cougars or Ford Pumas on Mountain Lion Trail either.

  The Toronto Zoo used to have jaguars out by the Americas waterfall and may get some again in the future.

  We continue our journey. There are fifteen animal streets in total so we have a ways to go. The next street  is Muskox Drive.

  The zoo does not have musk ox, but it does have yaks which are kind of similar. Whoever named some of these streets should have done better research.

  The next street is Wolverine Way. Sorry, but no wolverines in Scarborough wild or otherwise.

  On the opposite side of the neighbourhood is Antelope Drive.

  The zoo has had many antelope on display through the years. The antelope above is a sable antelope. The zoo also has impala, eland and wildebeest.

  Savanna Drive is not named for an animal. It is where a large number of African animals spend their lives.

  The African Savanna at the Toronto Zoo is one of the largest sections and includes giraffe, rhinos, zebra and more.

  Bald Eagle Avenue cuts right through the center of the neighbourhood.

  The zoo has several bald eagles. Our favourite is Wombly the bald eagle ambassador.

  Bald Eagle Avenue ends up becoming Panda Square.  Panda Square goes around Trumpeter Park.

  The Toronto Zoo had special panda visitors from China in both 1985 and 2013. Everyone who saw them remembers the giant pandas fondly.

  Trumpeter Street runs across the bottom of Trumpeter Park.

  Trumpter swans are quite common at the Toronto Zoo, especially in the pond at the bottom of the Canadian Domain.

  The two animal streets that branch off from Trumpeter Street are Chipmunk Avenue and Bobcat Terrace.

  You have a good chance of seeing wild chipmunks darting across trails at the Toronto Zoo. This little guy has his cheeks full. Bobcats on the other hand will not be found at the zoo.

  The last street in our tour of the zoo name streets is Cheetah Crescent.

  This cheetah at the Toronto Zoo was enjoying the sunshine and flowers. You can enjoy visiting the actual animals at the zoo and then seeing the streets that the animals inspired.

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Map of Our World
Toronto Zoo
Zoo Street Names

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Post # 360

Swans of Jarvis Street

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Address:  400 Jarvis Street
Date:  April 2026

  As you walk south down Jarvis Street in Toronto you may encounter some swans and some babies.  This is a work of art in four parts by Tom Dean called Desire. All the swans (and of course babies) are located on the west side of Jarvis between Maitland Street and Carlton Street.

  The first swan and baby are located outside of the Betty Oliphant Theatre. The swan has pointed its neck straight upwards and the baby is sort of twisted in a defensive pose. Swans can be quite aggressive and with their long necks they can reach out and give you a good peck.

  Outside of Canada's National Ballet School you will find another swan and baby pairing. The swan has fallen asleep on the bench and the baby is lying on the grass beside the bench.

   The baby seems unable to sleep as it is looking up and keeping an eye on the swan. The general theme we are sensing so far is that the swans don't care and the babies are a little concerned.

  In the garden behind the swan on the bench is yet another baby and another swan. In the photo above it might look like they are doing some stretches.

  This swan is in attack pose with its wings up and its head down. The baby is turning its back to the swan.

  One more building further south on Jarvis and we encountered the last baby and swan pairing. This time the swan has its wings low and its head turned as if to say to the baby that it has nothing to worry about. The general rule here is always to be careful around babies and swans, especially if walking down Jarvis Street.

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Map of Our World
Desire (Swans)

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Post # 358

Giant Canada Postage Stamps

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Address:  675 Commissioners St.
Date:  March 2024

  Canada Post has a Delivery Centre at the corner of Commissioners Street and Leslie Street in Toronto. It has nine giant stamps along its Leslie Street wall.  The stamps all contain Canadian birds. Many birders pass this building each day on their way to Tommy Thompson Park. The park is known for the large variety of birds that visit. Let's take a look at these stamps and the featured birds.

 

   This stamp features the Canada goose. The photo at the top of this blog is of Canada geese at Tommy Thompson Park. Canada geese are easily found all over Toronto near almost any water source.

 

 

Loon babies like to ride on the backs of their parents. This giant stamp features a male loon with a pair of babies.

     The loon above was spotted in Tadoussac, Quebec. It didn't have any babies on its back.

         This stamp is of a raven. Ravens are about twice as big as crows and have more rough feathers on their neck.

 

        This raven followed us around as we hiked in Algonquin Park. Ravens are about as smart as a 7 year old child and can remember faces for years. Perhaps we had met this raven before ?

    Toronto loves blue jays. After all it is the name of their baseball team. This blue jay was part of a group in High Park.

    This blue jay stamp shows a flying jay. Probably sliding into home plate for the winning run.

     This stamp is of a chickadee. It looks like it is doing a dance with its wings.

  This chickadee was seen fluttering around in the bushes at Humber Bay Park East.

 The remaining stamps are all of different raptors. This stamp is of a gyrfalcon. 

   Gyrfalcons are usually found up in the arctic. We have never seen a wild one. This gyrfalcon was at the Toronto Zoo.

  The other raptor stamps are all of owls. This one is a great grey owl. It is North America's tallest owl from head to tip of the tail.

 This is another species that does not make it down to Toronto. We saw this one in the Assiniboine Zoo in Winnipeg. The great grey owl is the provincial bird of Manitoba.

This stamp is another great owl. This is the great horned owl.

High Park in Toronto is known for breeding pairs of this owl. We have still not encountered any. We have heard them calling in the night. This owl is called Butters and works for the Toronto Zoo outreach program.

This last owl stamp is of a snowy owl. While they live and breed in the Arctic they do come down to Toronto during what is called an irruption. This is when there is an increase in the owl population and they have to travel further to find new territory.

 This snowy owl was spotted in Tommy Thompson Park. If you want the chance to see amazing creatures like this then check out the park. On the way there stop to admire the illustrated stamps that they inspired.

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Map of Our World
Canada Post - Giant Postage Stamps

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Post # 357