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Wednesday, September 22, 2021

Toronto Zoo with the grandkids

My own grandmother lived in Toronto and I have fond memories of going to Toronto's Riverdale Zoo when I was a kid. In fact, it was walking distance from her house! But that zoo closed in 1974, and the animals were relocated to a bigger and better facility. Good thing too, because I remember the enclosure the black bears were in... just a concrete holding cell... it really wasn't very nice.

The "new" Toronto Zoo is so much better, but there are still some animals who just don't seem at home in their enclosure. 

Ever since we went to Africa in 2013 and saw many animals in their natural setting, I haven't been a big fan of zoos. I think that certain animals should not be held in zoos. Gorillas, and big cats as examples. They just don't seem happy.

Having said that, there are a lot of animals that seem quite content.

Our grandkids at age 8 and 10 had never been to a proper zoo. And they're at the right age to maybe learn some things, so we're glad we took them. And we had a great day. The weather was perfect, and there was hardly anybody there!

Waiting for the gates to open.

We got there just before 9:00am, and even though our tickets were for the 9:30am time slot they let us in right away. We headed first towards the Arctic Tundra zone.

Artic Wolf.

Polar bear.


They were feeding them romaine lettuce!
Pretty sure that's not in a wild polar bear diet.

The bear is probably thinking Sadie looks like a tasty morsel.

Watching the polar bears.

Flamingos.

Tough to get good photos through the cage wire.


Poison frogs.


The tiger didn't look happy.
All he would do is pace up and down the fence line.

These rabbits were kind of funny!


Sadie is such a character.

The world's largest spider compared to Sadie's hand.

The otters were fun to watch.

Beautiful feathers.

Mila the tiger cub was born here.
She was part of a three cub litter born April 30th, but her two siblings did not survive.

Canadian cougar.

Two baboons. Haha. Sorry Cameron!

Zebras.

Rhino.

Hippos. The most dangerous animal in Africa.
Hippos kill an estimated 500 people per year in Africa, twice as deadly as lions.

Never been this close to a hippo.

Such funny looking creatures.


Gorillas.

Reticulated Python.

They grow to 30' long!

No point in being a grandparent if you can't give them a treat every now and again!

The end.

It was a good trip, and we're glad we took them. Perfect weather, and the kids were pretty good despite the problems that are typical of kids that age. We had fun, but we were glad to be able to hand them back to their parents!

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12 comments:

  1. I liked the human rabbits the most :-). I don't like animals in captivity either...so sorry for the polar bear eating lettuce!!

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    1. The rabbit picture was a fun picture to do with the kids.

      The polar bears and other animals are fed really well but right now the polar bears are being fed less food to simulate how they would be eating if they were in the wild. It actually makes sense because in the wild at this time of year they would be eating very little but come January they are fed a lot over a four month period because that is when they eat a lot. Here is an interesting article that I found on how they feed the bears. https://www.toronto.com/opinion-story/10313572-it-s-feast-or-famine-for-toronto-zoo-s-5-polar-bears

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  2. Yes, that is one of the joys of grandchildren: Enjoying time with them spoiling them for a while and then giving them back to their parents

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    1. We look forward to our next adventure with Cameron and Sadie. It is a fun time doing something special with them and as they get bigger so will the trips. We look forward to having them each travel with us in the motorhome in some far off country. :-)

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  3. Fun day with Cameron and Sadie at the zoo! We have enjoyed so many memories with our grands thru the years. We are a close knit family and the best times as we look back are following each of them in their chosen athletic sports events in or out of school/college - soccer, field hockey, basketball, softball, baseball, and gymnastics. The rabbits pics are so cute!!💕

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    Replies
    1. We had a great day with them at the zoo. They really loved seeing all the different animals.

      We remember you going off with your grandchildren to see their different events, I think you were off to Florida a few times if I remember correctly to watch them play in some tournament or other. It is nice to be able to do that with them. The memories will last a lifetime. :-)

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  4. Love " the end" exactly what i would have done, lol

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  5. Beautiful photos. They have a great selection of animals.

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    1. Thank you! The Toronto Zoo really is a great zoo and overall they give the animals lots of space and a well rounded diet. The animals are well looked after but it is still a zoo and we would much rather see the animals in the wild.

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  6. Looks like it was a fun time! Looks like you a good time! You too looks you had good time! Take care, Rawn

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    Replies
    1. We all had a great time at the zoo! Both Cameron and Sadie loved seeing the animals.

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