Wild For Life The Toronto Zoo

Brent Huffman, lead curator of mammals, at the Toronto Zoo joins me on this episode to discuss the importance of coorporative breeding programs at the Zoo. Brent defines the term “Cooporative Breeding” and tells us about various examples of breeding programs at the Zoo as well as some of the other zoos with which the Toronto Zoo works to ensure the proper breeding of a species in question. 
 
Brent also discusses the purposes of the Species Survival Plans (SSP) and how they function at the Toronto Zoo. 

How to you transport a juvenile rhinoceros from Toronto to Vancouver during a pandemic? Vicki Hardstaff, the Toronto Zoo’s Animal Logistics Coordinator, joins me in today’s episode to discuss the planning and execution of transferring Theo the rhinoceros to the Greater Vancouver Zoo. 
 
We discuss the number of Zoo staff that accompanied Theo; his surroundings during the transfer; and, how long the distance actually is between Toronto and Vancouver!

Toby Thorne, Native Bat Coordinator, and Melissa Mayhew, Senior Environmental Scientist at the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) join me on the podcast to discuss why native bat conservation is so important to the Canadian environment and how the partnership between the Zoo and the NWMO is working to help protect bats and their habitat.

The Oregon Spotted Frog is listed as an Endangered Species under the Canadian Species At Risk Act; therefore, the breeding success and reintroduction of offspring to the natural habitat is of utmost importance. It’s not surprising that the Toronto Zoo is partnering with Laurentian University to help research how to increase the success rate for the Oregon Spotted Frog breeding program at the Toronto Zoo. 
Briar Hunter is a Master’s student at Laurentian University who is involved in the research of the breeding program and joins me on today’s episode to discuss her research purpose, collaborators out west, and what she hopes to accomplish after her research. Briar’s supervisors for her Master’s thesis are Dr. David Lesbarreres (Laurentian University) and Dr. Gabriela Mastromonaco (Toronto Zoo).

I am joined by Maria Franke, Manager of Welfare Science at the Toronto Zoo, on today’s episode to discuss how the Zoo monitors and studies animal welfare for its species. Animal welfare is always the number one priority. It uses a holistic approach that includes monitoring the physical, mental, and emotional status of the animals with a focus on quantitative data. Maria discusses how animal welfare at the Zoo is a collaborative effort and how the new Outdoor Orangutan Habitat will help to monitor the species’ welfare and allow comparisons of welfare between indoor and outdoor habitats.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Amanda Corbett today on the podcast to discuss the New Goat World habitat at the Toronto Zoo. The habitat offers goats a chance to climb, cross bridges, and climb the “Toronto Zoo” structure where guests can get a great photo!
Amanda tells you about the goat species we have at the Zoo and how the Zookeepers look after them, including their behavioural husbandry.