Toronto Zoo's White Lion Pride

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Address: 2000 Meadowvale Rd.
Date: Jan 2017
Website: www.torontozoo.com

  The four white lions born at the Toronto Zoo in 2015 were part of a baby boom. They were all males and have the colour mutation, like their parents, that makes them rare.  The Toronto Zoo is one of only a few zoos in North America where you can see white lions on display.

  The Toronto Zoo has seven white lions, but very soon the four brothers will be leaving. We visited one last time to say goodbye to Hank, Harrison, Oliver and Gus.  The whole family was outside huddled together for a family portrait.  Only their mother couldn't sit still to pose for a good photo.

  Aside from their colour, white lions are just the same as regular African lions.  This means they like to sleep in the sun on a hot summer's day and are no more susceptible to sunburn than other lions.  The Toronto Zoo has both white and regular lions that take turns sharing the display so this means that you will see different lions on different days.  White lions also tend to be more of a beige colour so it can sometimes be difficult to tell which lions you are seeing.

Above is a picture of a regular African lion male for comparison.
Below is a male white lion.

 

  We enjoyed our last visit with the white lion cubs and it was great to see all of the brothers together one last time.  Soon they will be off to start prides of their very own.

 

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 Toronto Zoo (Lion House)

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Post # 154

Canada Lynx

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Address: 2000 Meadowvale Rd.
Date: Nov 2016
Website: www.torontozoo.com

  A Canada lynx is a medium sized cat which closely resembles a bobcat.  The easiest way to tell a lynx and a bobcat apart is that lynx have longer legs and their back legs are actually longer than their front ones.  They appear to be on a bit of a slant when running or walking.  Like most large cats they are beautiful to look at, but scary to come across in the wild.

   We have only ever encountered lynx at the zoo as it is very rare to see one in the wild.  The Canada lynx above was at the Toronto Zoo and may be one of the parents of the two babies that were born in 2016.

  Canada lynx can be found throughout Canada as well as in the northern United States.  The lynx above was from the Assiniboine Zoo in Winnipeg and was already wearing his winter coat which made him look twice as large.

  In 2016, the Toronto Zoo was lucky enough to have two lynx kittens born at the zoo.  The Canada Lynx can be found in the zoo's Canadian Domain on a very steep hill that goes down into the valley.  The lynx are one of the first animals on the way down the hill for those that fear they may never make it back up if they venture down to the bottom.

  When we visited, the babies were already about 3 months old.  They were still as cute as ever.  A Canada Lynx's favourite meal is snowshoe hare.  As you can see from the picture above, this baby lynx has already developed a taste. 

The video above shows the babies walking around and giving wide eyed looks.

  We visited again when the lynx kittens were about 7 months old.  The two kittens loved to play fight and chase each other around the enclosure.

  The Canada Lynx usually prefers a quiet, solitary life and likes to stay hidden.  While these two juveniles are in the exhibit it is a great time to see these animals in action.

 

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Assiniboine Park Zoo (Grasslands & Boreal Forest) , Toronto Zoo (Canadian Domain)

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Post # 153

Toronto Zoo Baby Boom

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Address: 2000 Meadowvale Road
Date: Mar 2016
Website:  www.torontozoo.com

  Lions and rhinos and bears!  Oh My!  The Toronto Zoo is currently in the middle of a baby boom.  During our latest visit to the zoo we were able to visit their eight newest arrivals.  There are 4 white lion cubs, 1 polar bear, 1 Indian rhino calf and 2 giant panda cubs all now on display for public viewing.

   The first to arrive were the four white lion cubs.  They were born in September 2015 and are all males.

 

  White lions have a gene mutation that causes them to have lighter hair, but they are not albinos.  The four cubs at the zoo are named Gus, Hank, Harrison and Oliver.  

  Like most wild animals they are growing rapidly and it will not be long until these babies are as big as their parents.

    Below is a video of the boys playing and Mom keeping control while she still can.

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  On October 13, 2015 the Toronto Zoo welcomed the first giant panda cubs to ever be born in Canada.  There was one boy and one girl.  They were kept under special watch and 24 hour care as they grew bigger and bigger.  The public was waiting patiently and finally in March 2016 the panda babies were named and we were given a chance to see them in their nursery.

  The male panda is named Jia Panpan which means Canadian hope.  He has round black fur around his eyes.

  The female panda is named Jia Yueyue which means Canadian joy.  She has black fur that points like a diamond towards her eyes.

  While we were visiting, Jia Yueyue was asleep in a fenced off area.  It wasn't long until she woke up again.  This area might have contained her when she was a bit smaller, but now she was able to make her escape.

  Below is a video of the panda babies being fed, exploring their enclosure and playing together.

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  On November 11, 2015 a little baby girl polar bear was born.  Her name is Juno and she has even been adopted into the Canadian Army and given the rank of private.  The Toronto Zoo has had polar bear babies before such as Humphrey and Hudson, but this is the first female that we can recall.

 

  There is something about her face and behaviour which makes it easy to determine that she is a girl.  We have seen her both outside as well as inside her little house playing with her toys.

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  The last to arrive was a baby Indian rhino.  He was born in February 2016 and when we visited him he was only five weeks old.

  He looked so small and fragile compared to his mother, but if he charged at you be sure to get out of the way as he already weighs over 200 pounds.

  At the time of our visit the rhino baby did not yet have a name.  Another thing it does not yet have is its horn.  A baby rhino is born without a horn, but it starts to grow right away.  That is one more thing for Mom to be thankful for as she nurses and cares for her baby..

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Toronto Zoo (Lion House) , Toronto Zoo (Giant Pandas) , Toronto Zoo (Tundra Trek) , Toronto Zoo (Indian Rhino)

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Post # 106

Toronto Zoo (Woodchucks)

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Address: 2000 Meadowvale Road
Date: July 2013
Website:  www.torontozoo.com

  The Toronto Zoo has two types of woodchucks.  There are those that can be found in an enclosure in the Kids Zoo and those that live wild on the grounds or in the surrounding Rouge Valley.  We have encountered both types during our visits to the zoo.  Woodchucks are large rodents which are part of the marmot family and can be found throughout Canada and the eastern USA.

  Another name for woodchucks is groundhog.  Most people may be familiar with Groundhog Day which takes place on February 2nd.  It is said that on this day if a groundhog comes out of his burrow and sees his shadow then there will be 6 more weeks of winter.  If the groundhog does not see his shadow then it will be an early spring.  Two of the most famous groundhog prognosticators are Punxsutawney Phil in the United States and Wiarton Willie in Canada.

  The two woodchucks pictured at the top of this post are permanent residents of the zoo.  The woodchuck pictured above is one that we encountered as we walked along the pathways of the zoo.  We could tell that we startled him because he stood up on his hind legs and looked around to ensure he was not in any danger.  Once he was confident that we meant him no harm, he went back to rummaging through the grass.  Another woodchuck we encountered seemed to enjoy a little danger.  We spotted him inside the Indian Rhino enclosure.  The Toronto Zoo displays its animals by geographic region, so we knew that an animal from India would not be on display with one from North America.  While the rhino was over by the fence, this little woodchuck decided to eat from the rhino's hay.  He had better be careful.  While the woodchuck may not have the strength to chuck any of the wood he was hiding behind, the rhino could chuck the whole pile with just one swing of its head.

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Toronto Zoo (Kids Zoo) , Toronto Zoo (Indian Rhino)

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Post # 94

Secretary Birds

Location: San Diego, California, USA
Address: 2920 Zoo Dr.
Date: Feb 2014
Website: www.sandiegozoo.org

  Take a memo.  File these reports.  Cancel my 10 o'clock.  These birds have nothing to do with this kind of secretary.  In fact these days someone performing this type of work would be an administrative assistant.  Also, more and more, these tasks might be performed with a cellphone.  Anyway, having one of these almost four feet tall birds strutting around the office would probably freak people right out.
  We have seen secretary birds at the Toronto Zoo as well as at both the San Diego Zoo & San Diego Zoo Safari Park.  In the wild they can be found in the savannahs of Africa. If you see them up close they have some wonderful eyelashes and red and yellow around their eyes. 

  You can tell from their beaks that they are a bird of prey.  You can also tell that they are very strong.    We enjoy watching them walk around on their extra long legs.  (See the video at the bottom of this post for a bit of walking, but mostly standing, by one of these impressive birds). In fact they prefer not to fly, but capture most of their food by stomping it to death.  Their food usually consists of small mammals and reptiles.  They appear on many stamps, flags and emblems across Africa and after seeing a few of them for ourselves we can understand why they are so admired. 

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San Diego Zoo (Secretary Birds)

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Post # 74