



Jump to decade
• Metro Toronto Zoo opened August 15

• First Zoo to employ a full time Nutritionist
• First Volunteer program launched
• Education Branch & Programming founded at the Zoo
• First captive breeding of a zorilla in the Western Hemisphere


• McDonalds at the Zoo!

• ZooSki began

• Monorail opened

• Aldabra tortoises arrive, including Queenie & Malila

• First endangered Grevy’s zebra born in Canada - named Blue Jay!
• First breeding in the world of Renauld’s ground cuckoo

• Received first accreditation from Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA)

• First fur seal born in Canada
• Zoo began working to save endangered wood bison


• Caribbean flamingos arrived, including Phoebe, Pinkie, and Brain still at the Zoo today!
• First agave bloom, growing 22 ft in three weeks!
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• First kusimanse born in the Western hemisphere

• First pygmy hippo born in Canada
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• First white rhino born in Canada (Shaboola).
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• First birth of an African elephant in Canada (Tikka born to Tequila and Tantor).

• First Kusimanse born in the Western hemisphere.
• First hatch of a scheltopusik lizard in the Western Hemisphere.
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• Littlefootland opened
• “Meet the Keeper” talks began
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• Australasia’s Edge of Night nocturnal section opened
• Adopt-an-Animal program began
• Puerto Rican crested toad conservation breeding program began

• First giant pandas in Canada arrive - Qing Qing and Quan Qaun

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• First breeding of Puerto Rican crested toad outside of Puerto Rico
• First successful embryo transfer in a Dall’s sheep
• First wood bison released into Manitoba’s Interlake Region
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• Golden monkeys arrived

• Zoo Camp began

• Fur seal habitat opened (African penguin habitat now)

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• Mayan Temple Ruins opened
• Became the only Zoo in Canada with a full time Reproductive Physiologist
• Americas Pavilion Primate Wing opened

• Pair of koalas arrived for the summer

• Sperm collected and frozen from scimitar-horned oryx at the Toronto Zoo is flown to New Zealand for artificial insemination

• The first Zoo in the world to have Liberian mongoose

• Dinamation Exhibit opened
• An early example of how assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) are instrumental for global species conservation, a scimitar-horned oryx was born at the Orana Wildlife Trust in New Zealand using semen from a Toronto Zoo animal.
• TTC Zoo Bus began servicing the Zoo

• First sperm sample banked at the Toronto Zoo
• Spotted-necked otter habitat opened
• Adopt-A-Pond program and wetland conservation/stewardship program launched
• Warthogs arrived


• Black footed ferret conservation program began - first Zoo in the world to exhibit critically endangered species

• First birth of black footed ferrets in Canada

• Zoo receives AZA Conservation Award for black footed ferrets breeding program
• Malayan Woods Pavilion opened
• First black footed ferret kits reintroduced to the wild
• Orange-kneed tarantula bred – first breeding in North America
• Sumatran tigers arrived

• First birth of Tasmanian devils in North America

• Toronto Zoo Carnivore Diet developed by Nutrition Department, now used by zoos across the continent.
• Zoological Society amalgamates with Toronto Zoo
• First trumpeter swans nest at Toronto Zoo’s Weston Pond

• Adopt-A-Pond Program receives North American Conservation Award
• Vancouver Island Marmot conservation program began

• Komodo dragon becomes feature habitat
• African Savanna opened

• Serengeti Bush Camp began
• Metro Toronto Zoo officially became the Toronto Zoo
• First successful hatch of an Eastern loggerhead shrike in human care

• Toronto Zoo celebrates 25th anniversary
• Orphaned Yukon bear arrived, Shintay
• Wood bison calves born through artificial insemination for the first time

• Zoo Diaries airs for the first time

• Rescued two female polar bear cubs, Aurora and Nikita

• Gorilla Rainforest opened
• First Zoo-hatched Eastern loggerhead shrikes released to the wild in partnership with Wildlife Preservation Canada
• ‘Zellers’ Splash Island opened
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• First four Vancouver Island marmots born at the Zoo

• First hatchings of Komodo dragon in Canada
• Waterside Theatre opened

• First birth of Sumatran tiger cubs in Canada
• Kids Zoo opened

• First Zoo-born Vancouver Island marmots returned to Vancouver Island
• First African red river hogs born in Canada
• Eco Cell ( now Phone Apes) launches. To date, over 30,000 cell phones have been recycled
• Dinosaurs Alive!

• Zoo joined Polar Bears International (PBI)

• Great Barrier Reef opened
• Stingray Bay opened

• Characterized reproductive hormone cycles for normal and egg-bound female veiled chameleons
• First black-footed ferrets released in Saskatchewan’s Grasslands National Park
• Zoo unveiled first ever carbon-neutral habitat for lion-tailed macaques

• Award-winning 10-acre Tundra Trek opened
• First fibroblasts banked at Toronto Zoo used to create wood bison embryos
• First Atlantic salmon fry released into Lake Ontario watershed
• Wood turtle head-start program initiated
• Conservation Carousel opened

• First Nation Art Garden opened
• PhoneApes program made the Zoo the number one cell phone recycler in North America!
• Zoo School started
• Established non-invasive single-sample fecal progesterone protocol to detect pregnancies for wild caribou/reindeer populations
• Hudson the polar bear was the first cub hand-raised from birth at the Zoo

• First group of endangered wood turtles headstarted by the Toronto Zoo released into the wild
• Toronto and Calgary Zoo’s Vancouver Island Marmot recovery program wins AZA North American Conservation Award
• African penguin habitat opened
• First bison calf born from artificial insemination at the Zoo

• White lion cubs Fintan, Lemon and Makali arrived at the Zoo

• Blanding’s turtle headstart program initiated. First cohort of Blanding’s turtles arrived at the Zoo


• Giant Pandas return to the Zoo!
• The new Eurasia Wilds Zoomobile Drive Thru opened
• Critically endangered Burmese star tortoise successfully hatched, a first for the Zoo – “B. Johny”

• Polar bear Juno named Honourary Corporal
• Three massasauga rattlesnakes born. First breeding success for this Species Survival Plan at the Toronto Zoo
• Indoor Masai Giraffe Habitat opened
• The first group of threatened Blanding’s turtles headstarted by Toronto Zoo were released into restored wetlands in the Rouge Valley
• The Toronto Zoo became the first Zoo in Canada to perform artificial insemination (AI) with a giant panda

• First giant panda cubs born in Canada
• Native bat Conservation program began
• Toronto Zoo successfully bred endangered Massasauga rattlesnakes
• 35 year old frozen sperm resulted in birth of artificially inseminated wood bison calf


• Toronto Zoo’s unique partnership with Crime Stoppers Ontario has earned both parties the first ever Community Partnership Environmental Award in Crime Stoppers International history.
• Sumatran orangutan Puppe celebrated her 50th birthday

• Native Bat Conservation Program receives grant from Environment Canada to support in-field work
• New state-of-the-art Wildlife Health Centre opened

• New Wildlife Health Centre received Thomas R. Baines Award
• Toronto Zoo became the first Zoo in Canada, and only the second Zoo globally, to install a Motus Wildlife Tracking System receiver station on site, allowing the Zoo to assist in important migratory bird research
• First cohort of Oregon spotted frog tadpoles sent to BC
• First successful breeding of Jamaican boa, Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

• First corpse flower (Amorphophallus titanium), began to bloom. Only blooming for 36 hours, this was the first time this species bloomed in the GTA and the fifth time it bloomed within Canada!
• New Blanding’s turtle habitat opened in the Americas Pavilion

• Washed Ashore - Art To Save The Sea Exhibit

• Terra Lumina: An Enchanted Night Walk opened

• The Toronto Zoo Wildlife Conservancy was established and has since raised more than $19 million!

• Fun Fact: in 1966 the Metropolitan Toronto Zoological Society (the former Wildlife Conservancy) was formed and played a crucial role in establishing the Toronto Zoo as we know it today. In 1986, the Zoological Society building was completed, which is actually home to Zootique gift shop today!
• Produced first Oregon spotted frog tadpoles using assisted fertilization
• Landmark agreement signed with Parks Canada

• First successful pollination of corpse flower, using cryopreserved pollen
• First birth of a critically endangered Madagascar spider tortoise at the Zoo
• Polar bear, Juno, promoted to honorary master corporal
• Eastern logger head shrikes released into the wild in partnership with Wildlife Preservation Canada
• Zoo closed to the public due to COVID-19 pandemic.
• Toronto Zoo Wildlife Conservancy campaign ‘Zoo Food For Life’ launched, raising over $1,000,000 to feed animals during closure
• Scenic Safari Drive Thru began

• CALL (Climate Action Learning and Leadership) program launched
• Four Wood bison pregnant as part of a year-long reproductive study, and celebrated the birth of a Bison calf named “Ishan” from 35-year-old frozen sex sorted sperm
• Charles the Western lowland gorilla celebrates his 50th birthday

• Toronto Zoo Wildlife Conservancy launches ‘Wilding Fund’, which now sends funds to in-situ efforts including Western lowland gorillas, Sumatran orangutans, white rhinos, African penguins, Amur tigers and red pandas.
• Zoo proudly participated in COP15, an international meeting that brings together governments and relevant organizations to set new goals and develop an action plan for protecting nature and halting biodiversity loss.
• Adopt-A-Pond celebrates 10 years of releasing endangered Blanding’s turtles into the wild
• Orangutans of Gunung Leuser’ outdoor orangutan habitat opened

• Zoo celebrated over 150 marmots, 400 ferrets, 200 shrikes, 700 Blanding’s turtles released into the wild
• First Zoo in Canada to participate in the PaRx program, Canada’s national nature prescription program
• New and engaging Educational Bat Exhibit opened - sponsored by partners at the Nuclear Waste Management Organization
• In partnership with Compass Group Canada, launched “Friendlier”, a reusable packaging solution to reduce single-use plastic waste

• Joined a coalition of animal advocates calling on the federal government to strengthen Bill S-15, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act to create some of the most sensible, effective, and strong science-based animal welfare legislation globally
• Newly renovated Greenhouse opened

• Groundbreaking of the NEW Community Conservation Centre at the front entrance
• Awarded the Canoo Partner of the Year Award by the Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC)

STAY TUNED
MORE HISTORY PIECES TO COME
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*Please note all events subject to change without notice.