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The Toronto Zoo is a zoo located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Encompassing , the Toronto Zoo is the largest zoo in Canada averaging around 1.2 million visitors a year. The zoo is divided into seven zoogeographic regions: Indo-Malaya, Africa, Americas, Tundra Trek, Australasia, Eurasia, and the Canadian Domain. Some animals are displayed indoors in pavilions and outdoors in what would be their naturalistic environments, with viewing at many levels. The zoo also has areas such as the Kids Zoo, Waterside Theatre, and Splash Island. The zoo has one of the most taxonomically diverse collection of animals on display of any zoo worldwide and is currently home to over 3,000 animals (including and fish) representing over 300 species. The zoo is open to the public every day of the year.
The zoo is a corporation owned by the City of Toronto government. Founded by Hugh A. Crothers and business partner, John Cameron Egan, who became the first Chairman of the Metro Toronto Zoological Society in 1966, the zoo opened on August 15, 1974, as the Metropolitan Toronto Zoo. The word "Metropolitan" was dropped from its name when the individual municipalities that made up the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto were amalgamated into the current city in 1998. The zoo is located near the Rouge River on the western border of Rouge Park in the city's east end district of Scarborough.
In 1963, a private citizen's brief to build a new zoo was introduced by Hugh Crothers to the Chairman of the Council of the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto, William Allen. Allen asked Crothers to head up a committee to investigate the feasibility of a new zoo. By 1966, a group of eleven people became The Metro Toronto Zoological Society with Crothers as the first chairman.
Original plans were to have the park be located in the Leaside area, but the site was later used to create the E.T. Seton Park and the original Ontario Science Centre. In 1966, Mr. Crothers and the ten other citizens met at City Hall to form the Metropolitan Toronto Zoological Society. In 1967, the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto (Metro 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 that 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 the original Riverdale Zoo's to , 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.
Between 1980 and 1984, several new exhibits were added to the zoo, including , gaur, a children's zoo known as Littlefootland, and new indoor habitats for the zoo's and Indian rhinoceroses, as well as the official opening of the Zoomobile.
In 1985, Qing Qing and Quan Quan – a pair of , on loan for three months from 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 housed other rare or unusual animals, including golden snub-nosed monkeys (1986), (1988, 1996 and 2002), (from the late 1970s until 1998), and (1995 and 2012 onwards).
In 1987, the zoo rebranded the South American Waterfall area as the Maya Temple Ruin exhibits, featuring some architectural decor. The zoo's , and remained while the and similar animals were relocated. In 1988, the zoo completed new reptile exhibits in the Australasia Pavilion, the spotted-necked otter exhibit in the Africa Pavilion, and the Primate Wing in the Americas Pavilion.
The Malayan Woods Pavilion opened in 1993 and the arrived the following year. went on exhibit in 1996, and become a feature exhibit in 1997.
In 1997, zoo workers went on strike for nine weeks, however, the zoo remained open. After the strike, they signed a minimum complement contract.
In 1998, with the amalgamation of the individual municipalities that made up Metro Toronto, the Zoo was officially renamed the Toronto Zoo. That same year, the Zoo opened the Africa Savanna, the largest expansion in its history.
While the SARS outbreak in 2003 had a devastating effect on the tourism industry in Toronto, 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, with the exception of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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 in the location of the former Edge of Night area. The Great Barrier Reef exhibit consists of a large long community tank featuring brownbanded bamboo sharks, damselfish, and triggerfish. Lionfish were also added, as well as enlarged seahorse tanks, and Aurelia aurita. The exhibit opened on May 16, 2008, alongside the reopening of the Australasia Pavilion.
In May 2007, Dinosaurs Alive opened, which featured 18 animated dinosaur models and life-size skeleton replicas. It featured the largest Tyrannosaurus model 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 sheep and mara exhibits were closed for the construction of the new Tundra Trek area. Tundra Trek featured new exhibits for the polar bears, reindeer, and Arctic wolf, as well as new additions to the zoo, such as , Snow goose and . Returning to the zoo to take up residence in the new polar bear exhibit were three orphaned polar bears initially raised at the zoo and named by the community: Aurora, Nikita, and Inukshuk. The Tundra Trek opened on August 1, 2009.
On May 16, 2008, Stingray Bay opened for the first time. This interactive exhibit allowed the public to touch, feel, and feed live with their stingers removed. The exhibit returned to the zoo on a regular basis but closed permanently on October 8, 2012, to make room for the Giant Panda Research Center. 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.
On August 15, 2009, the Toronto Zoo celebrated its 35th anniversary. During that weekend, the public got to learn about some of the zoo's 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. The pavilion reopened in early 2011, with new exhibits for pygmy hippos, red river hogs, an African softshell turtle, and ring-tailed lemurs replacing the , as well as a variety of exhibits for fish and reptiles.
On May 21, 2011, the black-footed penguin exhibit opened to the public. This exhibit once housed South African fur seals, and was closed and modified in 2010 to house the penguins.
In 2011, the city started looking at the process of selling the zoo to a third party after Toronto Mayor Rob Ford claimed there were many interested buyers. This process was short-lived with the city later deciding the zoo will remain an entity of the city.
In April 2012, the zoo lost its accreditation in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums due to a disagreement regarding sending its three elephants to PAWS, an animal sanctuary in California that is not AZA-accredited. The zoo began looking for a new accredited home for its elephants in October 2011, but the Toronto city council voted to send the elephants to California instead, ignoring the recommendations of the zoo's professional staff. The zoo re-applied for AZA accreditation in March 2013, and they later returned to the AZA program. The three elephants were transported to the PAWS sanctuary in California on October 16, 2013.
In 2012, on a trade mission to China, it was announced that the Toronto Zoo and the Calgary Zoo would be lent two from China for the span of ten years, with the pandas splitting the time equally between the two facilities. The pandas, named Er Shun and Da Mao, arrived at the Toronto Zoo on Monday, March 25, 2013, greeted by Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Their exhibit opened on May 18, 2013. The pandas originated from the Chongqing Zoo and Chengdu Panda Base. In October 2015, Er Shun gave birth to twin cubs named Jia Panpan and Jia Yueyue. The exhibit closed on March 18, 2018, when the pandas were moved to the Calgary Zoo. In December 2014, the renovated Eurasia area, renamed the Eurasia Wilds, opened, featuring a new aviary with Eurasian eagle-owls and Steller's sea eagles and a new exhibit for the .
In April 2016, plans to install a maglev operation to replace the Zoo Domain Ride surfaced. Plans have been confirmed in November 2018 with the consortium (which includes Magna International and Lockheed Martin) paying for construction and the first 15 years of operation.
On May 11, 2017, over 400 employees went on strike, and zoo management decided to close the zoo, due to job security negotiations falling out, though conservation programs continued. During the strike, three snow leopard cubs, two clouded leopard cubs, five cheetah cubs, and three Vancouver Island marmot pups were born. The strike ended on June 15, 2017, after the Union and Zoo Board of Management signed and ratified a four-year agreement.
In December 2019, the zoo opened an after-hours night walk experience called Terra Lumina, in partnership with Montréal-based company Moment Factory. The experience is designed as a hypothetical look into the year 2099, showing positive change having occurred in the world as humanity made changes in the decades between now and then to respect and live in harmony with wildlife, with strong indigenous influences. The experience closed early on March 14, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and resumed on August 14, 2020.
The zoo implemented a mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy starting October 25, 2021, which requires all staff and visitors aged 12 years and older to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and to show their proof-of-vaccination documents to enter the entire Zoo grounds. The zoo closed for a third time on January 5, 2022, due to growing concerns around the COVID-19 Omicron variant, and reopened on February 10, 2022.
In June 2023, the zoo opened an outdoor habitat for the Sumatran orangutans, marking the first time at the zoo that the species would be viewable outside of the Indo-Malaya Pavilion.
In late 2023, extensive renovations on the main entrance began, with plans set for it to become a "Conservation Campus" featuring a new exhibit for the zoo's North American river otters as well as updated guest services buildings and research facilities.
On August 15, 2024, the zoo celebrated its 50th anniversary. The zoo took this opportunity to honour several longtime residents, including Puppe the Sumatran orangutan and Charles the Western lowland gorilla, the only two remaining animals from the zoo's first year of operation in 1974. A new bronze statue of Charles was unveiled outside of the African Rainforest pavilion as part of the festivities. Charles died from heart failure two months after the festivities at the age of 52.
Species previously held in the Indo-Malaya section include , , , lion-tailed macaques and golden snub-nosed monkeys.
In 2023, the zoo completed construction on a large outdoor orangutan exhibit on the site of the gaur habitat that allowed for further study of orangutan social behaviours.
The African Rainforest Pavilion holds the world's largest indoor gorilla exhibit, home to the zoo's Animal-made art silverback Charles from 1974 until his death in 2024, as well as dozens of other African species, including , red river hogs, , crested porcupines and pygmy hippopotamuses. The south side of the pavilion was completely refurbished in 2011 and showcases ring-tailed lemurs and Aldabra giant tortoises.
Species previously held in the Africa section include African bush elephants, , , , , spotted-necked otters, and South African fur seals.
Species previously held in the Canadian Domain section include moose, , and .
Species previously held in the Americas section include beavers, Giant Pacific octopodes, prehensile-tailed porcupines, , dall sheep, Patagonian mara and .
Species previously held in the Tundra Trek section include , , and .
Species previously held in the Australasia section include , Matschie's tree-kangaroos, , red-necked wallabies and .
Species previously held in the Eurasia section include scimitar oryx, Barbary sheep, European bison, , Manchurian sika deer, chamois, , and .
From May 18, 2013, to March 18, 2018, the area included two giant pandas: Er Shun (female) and Da Mao (male). With the pandas' arrival, the zoo refurbished its seasonal attraction area into an extensive educational centre – the Giant Panda Interpretive Centre. In 2014, after her first estrus, Er Shun was artificially inseminated – the first such procedure performed on a panda in Canada. No baby was born in 2014 and it was believed that Er Shun experienced a pseudopregnancy, a phenomenon common in giant pandas. In 2015, Er Shun was again artificially inseminated, resulting in the first birth of giant pandas in Canada. Twin cubs, one male (later named "Jia Panpan" indicating "Canadian Hope") and one female ("Jia Yueyue" indicating "Canadian Joy"), were born on October 13, 2015. The cubs were raised by Er Shun, with "twin swapping" occurring through the first four months of their lives until they were large and healthy enough that zoo staff were confident of their survival.
A third area, the Kids Zoo, consists of a variety of animals that children can interact with, such as , , , European rabbit, and . The Discovery Zone also hosted Dinosaurs Alive and the Stingray Bay exhibit for their respective durations.
Some of the conservation initiatives that the Toronto Zoo has participated in are as follows:
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 the San Diego Zoo and the Philadelphia Zoo.[1] Coltan is a mineral ore mined and refined in central Africa for metals used in the electronics 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
In addition, the Toronto Zoo also participates in, and has been a key centre for, the Species Survival Plans (SSP) of dozens of species, maintaining healthy captive populations of animals which may one-day be re-introduced to their former homes. Some notable SSP species the zoo has successfully bred over the years include the western lowland gorilla, Sumatran orangutan, golden lion tamarin, Sumatran tiger, Amur tiger, snow leopard, cheetah, Przewalski's horse, Indian rhinoceros, Matschie's tree-kangaroo, African penguin, and Komodo dragon. The Toronto Zoo has bred hundreds of species, with many of these breedings being firsts for Canada, North America, and even the world.
In 2004, two female West African successfully hatched on October 1, the first hatching of this species in Canada.
Three Sumatran tigers were born at the zoo to parents Brytne and Rengat in 2003, and two more were born in 2006.
In 2006, three orangutans were born and named Jingga, Kembali, and Budi through a TVOKids naming contest.
In 2006, a Matschie's tree kangaroo was born, one of three born in North America in 2006. Later named Noru, it was sent to the Lincoln Zoo, and was paired with a mate named Milla who gave birth to twins – a first for this species.
On June 5, 2007, two rare were born, the first birth in thirteen years. Another snow leopard was born in 2009, alongside three more in 2017, and two more in 2024.
Two Przewalski's horses, one male and one female, were born on June 22, 2007, the first birth in fifteen years. The zoo also successfully bred Przewalski's horses in 2008, 2009 and 2020.
The zoo has also been very successful in breeding , the most recent birth coming in 2023.
In July 2015, two wood bison calves were born as the result of artificial insemination using frozen-thawed sperm that had been collected from a male wood bison in Elk Island, Alberta, in 1980.
Through the weekend of September 26–27, 2015, the zoo's white lioness Makali gave birth to four cubs: the first pure-bred white lions born at the Toronto Zoo.
On October 13, 2015, Er Shun, the visiting female giant panda, gave birth to two cubs. This was the first successful reproduction of giant pandas in Canada. A male, later named Jia Panpan, was born at 3:31 AM with a weight , while the other, a female, later named Jia Yueyue, was born at 3:44 AM and weighed 115 g. Their sexes were unknown during the first few months of their lives, being determined in February 2016. The cubs were kept off display until the age of 5 months. In March 2016, the cubs were given the names Jia Panpan and Jia Yueyue to signify Canadian hope and Canadian joy, respectively, and revealed to the public before the March Break of that year.
On Remembrance Day (November 11) of 2015, a female polar bear named Juno was born to mother, Aurora. Named for Juno Beach, Juno would be adopted by the Canadian Army and was granted the rank of Honorary Private, and was later promoted to Honorary Corporal on her first birthday and Honorary Master Corporal on her fifth birthday.
On February 17, 2016, 11-year-old Indian rhinoceros Ashakiran, on loan from the Los Angeles Zoo, gave birth to a male named Nandu. With fewer than 3,555 left in the wild, Indian rhinos are classified as a vulnerable species.
In May 2017, the Toronto Zoo had its first births of clouded leopards to mom, Parvati, and dad, Mingma.
On July 17, 2017, a wood bison calf was born at the Toronto Zoo as a result of embryo transfer from a bison at the University of Saskatchewan.
On May 1, 2021, three Amur tiger cubs were born, with one surviving.
On June 13, 2024, two red panda cubs were born.
Elephant deaths preceding Tara's:
In the days following Tara's death, both Zoocheck Canada and U.S.-based In Defence of Animals, as well as game show host Bob Barker of The Price is Right fame, called for the zoo to close the exhibit and send the remaining three elephants to a sanctuary. Toronto City Council endorsed this highly controversial decision. In September 2013, plans were finalized to move Toka, Thika and Iringa to a sanctuary in California in October 2013. The three elephants were transported on land during a 50-hour-long drive with stopovers. Iringa died on July 22, 2015, at the sanctuary in California.
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