TORONTO, ON, Friday, May 5, 2023: Your Toronto Zoo is heading into this sunny weekend with some exciting news: we have a newborn baby camel! Suria, an eight-year-old Bactrian camel, gave birth to a female calf yesterday morning. This is Suria’s second calf and although Suria is an attentive mother, the initial stages of nursing have been challenging. Wildlife Care and Wildlife Health staff were prepared for this initial hurdle and have several strategies in place to help ensure positive outcomes for both mom and calf.
Toronto, On, Friday, February 24, 2023: They Say It Takes A Village To Raise A Child…But What About A Four-Week-Old Baby Fruit Bat? At Your Toronto Zoo, The Wildlife Care Team Has Been Working Closely With The Veterinarians And Nutritionists To Hand Raise A Bat Pup And It Might Be The Sweet Start To Your Weekend You Didn’t Know You Needed!
Toronto, Canada (August 3, 2022) – If you have visited Toronto Zoo’s Canadian Domain recently, you’ve probably noticed some very special additions – three wood bison calves! Born the week of June 20th, there are two females and one male. These three little calves are quickly becoming a visitor favourite as they follow the much larger adult females around the paddock, peeking out behind their mothers’ legs.
What makes these little ones extra special is the innovative reproductive techniques that enabled Toronto Zoo to deliberately produce females!
How can Toronto Zoo choose whether to have females or males?
At one-month-old, Toronto Zoo’s newest orangutan was becoming more alert to his surroundings, including making eye contact with the Wildlife Care team. Mom Sekali participated in regular training sessions and was comfortable bringing the baby up to Keepers and allowing them to use a dropper to place Vitamin D drops directly in his mouth. Once this behaviour was completely established, Keepers planned to introduce a baby bottle; this could be helpful in the future if they need to give the baby Pedialyte or medications in a liquid form, or if supplemental milk is required.
TORONTO, ON, Friday, May 27, 2022: Your Toronto Zoo is excited to reveal the names of our #FlamingHotCheetahs! With almost 10,000 votes cast, it was a relatively close race, but the winning group was Toulouse, Berlioz and Marie – named after the kittens in Disney’s Aristocats animated film! A big thank you to everyone who participated! We love including the community in special moments at your Toronto Zoo.
Toronto Zoo's newest Mom and baby continue to do well behind-the-scenes and he nurses often throughout the day. The other orangutans are fascinated by the new arrival, and Sekali continues to seem content to show him off
Please note Sekali and her baby are not currently viewable at this time. We will make an announcement when they are ready to make their public debut.
Your Toronto Zoo is thrilled to announce the birth of a critically endangered Sumatran orangutan, born Friday April 8 at 3:06 p.m. to mother Sekali. The day prior to the birth, Sekali was exhibiting signs of restlessness and discomfort. Keepers monitored her closely overnight and although she seemed to settle down and looked comfortable, it was noted that her eyes were open for a much larger portion of the night than usual. The morning of April 8, keepers noticed Sekali was showing increasing signs of discomfort, and her water broke at 11:30 a.m. Things progressed smoothly right through to the baby’s birth. Sekali’s maternal instincts kicked in right away: she immediately held the baby against her body, cleaned it, and showed concern whenever it vocalized. She even carefully repositioned the umbilical cord when shifting positions and thanks to the maternal training provided by Keepers, Sekali brought the baby up to the Keepers to let them get a close visual check a few hours after it was born – and identify the newborn as a male!
This is the second offspring for twenty-nine-year-old Sekali, who gave birth to her son, Kembali, in 2006, and the first offspring for Budi, a fifteen-year old male. Both Sekali and Budi were born at the Toronto Zoo (to unrelated parents) and were paired at the recommendation of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Orangutan Species Survival Plan (SSP). This cooperative breeding program, coupled with direct support of conservation work in Sumatra, is part of the Toronto Zoo’s commitment to ensure this critically endangered species will survive for future generations. The Toronto Zoo currently houses the only Sumatran orangutans in Canada and, as part of the AZA Sumatran Orangutan SSP, thirteen orangutans have been raised at your Toronto Zoo since 1974.
This adorable footage was posted by the Toronto Zoo about 3 weeks ago, when the cubs (first appearing on ZooBorns in January: https://www.zooborns.com/zooborns/2022/01/your-toronto-zoo-welcomes-birth-of-cheetah-cubs.html ) were still too small to reliably sex. Until they are fully vaccinated and the weather warms up, the new family will remain cozy in their indoor habitat. As they grow and get stronger, they will gradually be introduced to their behind-the-scenes outdoor habitats, and eventually to the main cheetah habitat where you will be able to see them later this spring.
Since the time of this video, The cheetah cubs have received their first full examination from the Veterinary team! We are excited to announce that they have two boys and one girl!
TORONTO, ON, Friday, January 28, 2022: Your Toronto Zoo is excited to announce the arrival of three beautiful cheetah cubs born Monday January 24! Emarah, a 4.5-year-old female cheetah and first-time mom, gave birth in the early hours of the morning after a 92-day pregnancy.
In preparation for cubs, the Wildlife Care team set up a maternity den for Emarah, selecting a quiet space in the cheetah house and furnishing it with a large nestbox lined with a thick layer of bedding. Emarah began exhibiting signs of labour on Sunday, including restlessness and lack of appetite. The team monitored the labour using video cameras in her habitat to ensure her privacy. She gave birth to her first cub just after 3:30 am, followed by a further three cubs over the next few hours. Unfortunately, one of the cubs did not survive, but the remaining cubs appear to be doing well and have been observed nursing and wriggling around close to their mother. When cheetah cubs are born, their eyes are closed, and it will be about a week before they begin to open them to have a look around. During this time we minimize disturbances to give mother and cubs time to bond. The cameras allow the team to monitor Emarah and her new family as she navigates her maternal duties for the first time, and we are pleased to say she is doing very well – a real natural mom! She has been very attentive and has been seen grooming and nursing the cubs, both of which of which are excellent signs for a first-time mother. She also has been comfortable enough to start leaving the den to feed and to stretch her legs.
Unless there is cause for concern, it will be a few weeks before the vets will do their first full quick check on the cubs. Until they are fully vaccinated and the weather warms up, the new family will remain cozy in their indoor habitat; once they are several months old, we will introduce them to the outdoor habitats, including the main cheetah exhibit where guests will be able to visit them.
Emarah was part of the last cheetah litter born at the Toronto Zoo. While her brothers and sister have moved to other accredited zoos as part of the Species Survival Plan (SSP) Program through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), Emarah remained in Toronto . Emarah and her new family are important as her genes are not widespread in Cheetah populations in accredited Zoos. The SSP makes recommendations to best manage the cheetahs in our care. These cubs represent that next step in terms of preserving these important genes to ensure they are protected for the future.
In addition to conservation research, the Toronto Zoo team supports cheetahs in the wild through partnerships with the Cheetah Conservation Fund. Cheetah populations in the wild are declining rapidly, with estimates putting the world population at somewhere around 7000. The primary threats to cheetahs in the wild are the poaching of cheetah cubs to meet demand for illegal pets and human wildlife conflict. You can support Emarah and other threatened cheetahs in the wild by making a donation to the Toronto Zoo Wildlife Conservancy, or through the Adopt an Animal program.
TORONTO, ON, Thursday, October 7, 2021: Twenty-nine-year-old Sumatran orangutan Sekali is going to be a mother again! She and father-to-be Budi (a fifteen-year-old male Sumatran orangutan) were paired at the recommendation of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Species Survival Plan (SSP), and the Toronto Zoo is thrilled to further contribute to the future of this critically endangered species. Sekali has had one previous offspring (male Kembali, who still lives at the Toronto Zoo); Budi is a first-time father.