We're celebrating 60 Years of the #CanadianFlag 🇨🇦

Today, your Toronto Zoo proudly joins all Canadians in celebrating the 60th anniversary of our national flag a symbol of our country’s strength, diversity, and shared commitment to a better future. For six decades, the maple leaf has united us, representing the values we hold dear: resilience, stewardship, and a deep connection to the natural world.

Your Toronto Zoo is honoured to play a role in protecting the incredible wildlife and wild spaces that make this country so special. Just as our flag inspires pride and belonging, we are committed to inspiring action for the conservation of species here at home and around the world.

On this milestone anniversary, let’s celebrate not just our flag, but what it stands for - hope, responsibility, and a love for the land we call home.

Happy 60th anniversary to the Canadian flag! 🇨🇦

One week until the Zooperbowl 🏈

Stay tuned to see who Butters (the Superb Owl) chooses as her #SBLIX winner prediction 👀 @nflcanada

It’s #GroundhogDay, and while others consider groundhogs the experts on weather predictions, your Toronto Zoo has decided the best-equipped animals to make weather predictions are those most impacted by weather and climate changes ❄️

Juno the Polar Bear has stepped up and made a prediction about when we can expect some warmer weather! To no one’s surprise, this arctic bear has predicted late spring for this year. While this may not seem like good news in the wake of a very cold January, this is good news for our planet, as shifting seasonal patterns have serious consequences for Arctic species like the polar bear 🐻‍❄️

When we burn fossil fuels like coal, oil and methane gas for energy, we release carbon dioxide gas into the atmosphere. This excess carbon dioxide builds up, acting like a heat-trapping blanket, warming the air, land and ocean. As this heat trapping blanket thickens, causing the climate to warm, the melting of arctic sea ice poses a threat to these communities as well as the polar bears that call it home.

Sea ice is crucial habitat for polar bear reproduction, hunting, and migration; and without it, it dramatically lowers the polar bear's chances of survival putting them at risk for extinction. Sadly, in 2024 the Southern Hudson Bay population of polar bears were off the sea ice for a record-breaking 197 days. This means the polar bears are stuck on land, fasting for over 6 months, and can lose up to 1kg (or ~2.2lbs) per day, which can equal half their body weight per year.

Changes to sea ice also impact the livelihoods and food security of people living in the Arctic tundra and threatens transportation corridors. Climate-driven loss of the permafrost is causing severe damage to homes and infrastructure in surrounding communities 💨

Test your Climate IQ for a chance to WIN a behind-the-scenes experience with the polar bears at your Toronto Zoo! Discover how climate change is impacting their Arctic habitat and enter by March 1, 2025, for your chance to win: https://woobox.com/tev7c3

We're slithering into the #YearoftheSnake 🐍

The staff and volunteers of your Toronto Zoo wish our greater community a Happy Lunar New Year! 🎉

May it be a year filled with good health and prosperity for all ✨💫

Happy Zoo Year 💚

We wish to thank the countless guests, members, staff, volunteers, and community who joined us for many key moments and milestones this past year - especially during our 50th Anniversary celebrations.

Watch below to see a few highlights and tell us: what was your favourite Zoo memory from 2024? 🎉

Looking ahead to 2025, and as we move away from our 50th Anniversary year, we look forward to another 50 years and more of connecting you with animals and conservation science.

White rhino male Kifaru celebrated his first Christmas (and birthday) at your Toronto Zoo this year.

He was able to enjoy some extra enrichment (and scratches) from his Wildlife Care team.

A reminder to guests visiting the Zoo that the White rhinos are behind-the-scenes enjoying the comforts of their winter home. They are not viewable.

Happy Birthday to this happy hippo! 🦛💜 Harvey turns 30 today! 🎈

To celebrate, Harvey enjoyed a special cake made with some of his favorite foods and treats, including frozen hay cubes and sweet potatoes.

Harvey is a very sweet and laid-back guy! His Wildlife Care team describes him as a mellow fellow who loves spending his days napping in the pool or wallow in his habitat—just as he would in the wild.

His team is always excited to show him a little extra love. Harvey isn’t just a beloved member of the Zoo family; he’s also incredibly important to the conservation of his species. Pygmy hippos are listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, with fewer than 3,000 individuals estimated to remain in the wild. We are proud to have Harvey here at the Zoo as part of the Species Survival Plan, helping to support conservation efforts and share the story of this remarkable species.

If you’re visiting the Zoo this weekend to wish Harvey a happy birthday, be sure to watch where you stand! Pygmy hippos mark their territory by flicking their tails while pooping—so beware of the splash zone! 💩

Become a field researcher and under the cover of darkness,
explore hands-on activities connecting with nocturnal wildlife.

Our Pyjama Party Overnight is offered October – Mid April for Guide/Scout and Youth groups on Friday and Saturday nights. (Minimum age 4).

Have you ever wondered what enrichment is given to an otter vs a snake? How about an alligator vs a fish? Join us as we learn about the Toronto Zoo enrichment giving tree and what our animals have on their wish lists this holiday season!

On this #InternationalDayofVeterinaryMedicine, we look back to when your Wildlife Health and Science Centre team welcomed Sumatran orangutan Budi and Western lowland gorilla Sadiki for echocardiography work that could indicate signs of cardiovascular disease ❤️

Joining us for these procedures was Dr. Laurent Locquet, a specialist in veterinary medicine from the United Kingdom, as well as Leanne Harmann, an advisor to the Great Ape Heart Project at the Detroit Zoo. As a sonographer with GAHP, Leanne is one of the world’s most experienced specialists for performing great ape echocardiograms.

She’s performed exams on all four great apes for the GAHP for well over a decade. In fact, the GAHP reviews approximately 150 great ape exams worldwide each year.

Learn more from Dr. Nic Masters about the important work of these specialists and how your Zoo works collaboratively with many trained professionals to provide world-class care to the 3,000+ animals here.

A reminder that your Wildlife Health and Science Centre, located behind the Greenhouse, is open to guests when the Zoo is. Journey through the public gallery where you may have the opportunity to view another procedure such as this one. #GuardiansofGreatApes