Toronto Zoo

We’ve got a group of four student travelers from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who have driven up for a brief break. It’s a long haul Toronto for a mere three day stay; but, it is understandable when you realize that they are just 20 years old. You see, the age of majority in the U.S. is twenty-one. It’s nineteen in Ontario. So our young students have come to Canada to sightsee and enjoy a cold beer or two on a hot day. Legally.

There are a lot of attractions in this city (see our Top Ten list on this site) but it seems that they are most interested in having a look at our Zoo. It’s a place described by Jack Hanna of Animal Kingdom as 'World Class'.

We all want to be proud of our city, but I seem to recall that Philly was home to the very first zoo in North America and has an enviable reputation for breeding animals that have proven to be difficult to breed in captivity. It seems that Philadelphia is the City of Brotherly Love. (So to speak.)

So a little research has shown that the above information is correct; they’ve got a nice little zoo in Philadelphia and it predates ours by exactly 100 years! It also has a reputation for being quite progressive. For instance, they no longer (since 2006) exhibit elephants because it was deemed the enclosures were too small to house the largest land mammal humanely. Can’t argue with that - bravo!

But I’ve been to our zoo in Toronto just recently and we’ve got elephants! There are quite a few of them actually! What are we thinking? What will our visitors think of us? Which city has got it right?

A little more research shows that both cities have it pretty much right. Philadelphia’s has a small zoo with a big reputation and Toronto’s Zoo is massive and has 710 acres of land - almost 12 times the size of North Americas original!

Comparisons can be odious so I’ll just leave it by saying that they have a pretty enviable facility down in Pennsylvania and they’ve been a leader in getting things right. We know we’ve got a great zoo but we mustn’t forget that we’ve learned a lot from those who came before us.

So our zoo, located in Toronto’s east end Rouge Valley is home to more than 5000 animals representing 460 separate species. There are over 10 kilometers (6 miles) of hiking trails (x-country ski trails in winter) through six zoogeographic regions: the Indo-Malaya; Africa; the Americas; Australasia; Eurasia and the Canadian Domain. Animals are housed indoors in Tropical Pavilions and out of doors in naturalistic environments. As mentioned previously the zoo is massive so go as early as possible and plan on spending the day.

There are a lot of things at the zoo that fall into the not-to-be-missed category. Among them are: the award-winning African Savanna and the award-winning Gorilla Rainforest. Other,must see, animals are the Snow Leopard and Siberian Tiger Cubs. My personal favourite at the zoo is a common Snapping Turtle. Although there are plenty of wild one’s to be found even in the Rouge Valley, the one at The Toronto Zoo is enormous!

There is also the Zeller’s Discovery Zone that features a Kid’s Zoo, Splash Island and Waterslide Theatre. Entrance to this children’s exhibit is $3 and children under 3 are admitted free.

There are seven Gift Shops and Kiosks located throughout the park for souvenirs. A popular purchase is Zoo Poo; fertilizer made from the zoo’s animal droppings

There are several food outlets at the Zoo run by Harvey’s, Pizza Pizza, Mr. Sub and Yogen Fruz as well as a couple of outdoor patios for draft beer and coolers. Be forewarned that like the animals you are a captive consumer group at the zoo and food and drink can thus be a bit pricey. It is strongly advised you bring sandwiches or a picnic lunch and your own drinks. It could save you a lot of money.

The Zoo is easy to reach as public transport (subway and bus) will take you to the front gate for $2.75. It is approximately 1hr and 15 minutes from the hostel. The Zoo is set in Toronto’s beautiful Rouge River Valley with the main entrance on Meadowvale Road, north of Highway 401 (Exit# 389) For Toronto Transit Information: 416 393-4636 or www.ttc.ca

The Zoo is open 364 days a year closing only on Christmas Day.

May 17 - Sept 1     9:00 A.M. - 7:30 P.M.     Gates close @ 6:30 P.M.
Sept.2 - Oct. 13     9:00 A.M. - 6:00 P.M.     Gates close @ 5:00 P.M.
Oct.14 - Dec. 31     9:30 A.M. - 4:30 P.M.     Gates close @ 3:30 P.M.

General Admission:

Adults:     $20
Seniors (65+)     $14
Children (over 3)     $12