The Toronto Zoo is divided up into seven different geographic regions. Each region showcases animals and plants from that area of the world.
Indo-Malaya
The Indo-Malayan area contains two pavilions that exhibit plants and animals from South and Southeast Asia. There are four outdoor exhibits in this area. Featured animals in this area include Indian rhinoceroses, babirusa, Sumatran orangutans, Mandarin ducks, spiny turtles, reticulated pythons, Sumatran tigers, and various freshwater fish. The Malayan Woods Pavilion houses butterflies, giant gouramis, and clouded leopards.
Africa
Opened in 1998, the African Savanna became the zoo’s largest expansion in history. The African Savanna combined with the African Rainforest Pavilion encompasses most of the southern third of the zoo. The African Savanna featured species include white lions, Grévy’s zebras, olive baboons, greater kudus, cheetahs, white rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, spotted hyenas, watusi cattle, blue wildebeests, common elands, African penguins and Masai giraffes. The African Rainforest Pavilion holds the world’s largest indoor gorilla exhibit, home to Charles, as well as dozens of other African species, including meerkats, red river hogs, dwarf crocodiles, and pygmy hippopotamuses. The south side of the pavilion was completely refurbished in 2011 and showcases ring-tailed lemurs and Aldabra giant tortoises.
Canadian Domain
Two bison located in the Canadian Domain of the Toronto Zoo.
The Canadian Domain is situated in the Rouge Valley. The Canadian Domain was built in accompaniment with the Canadian Domain Ride, which exhibited North American animals in their native environment. Featured species in this area include wood bison, moose, bald eagles, cougars, red foxes, raccoons, and grizzly bears.
Americas
This area of the zoo houses animals from both North and South America. The Americas Pavilion displays a wide variety of New World monkeys, amphibians, reptiles, fish, and insects. Some of its most popular residents are the common marmosets, golden lion tamarins, Linnaeus’s two-toed sloths, American alligators, beavers, river otters and a giant Pacific octopus. The Mayan Temple Ruins features jaguars, capybaras, blue-and-yellow macaws, green-winged macaws, black-handed spider monkeys, and American flamingos. The Americas Pavilion houses the majority of the zoo’s reptile and amphibian collection, as well as a large number of its invertebrates, and was the designated area for the 2008 Year of the Frog conservation project.
Australasia
A pair of western grey kangaroos located in the Australasia Domain of the Toronto Zoo.
The Australasian Pavilion features animals from the Australian mainland, as well as surrounding islands. Featured species in this area include Western grey kangaroos, wallabies, short-beaked echidnas, southern hairy-nosed wombats, kookaburras, Victoria crowned pigeons, Matschie’s tree-kangaroos, and Komodo dragons.[31] The Komodo dragons were donated to the zoo as a gift from the President of Indonesia. This pavilion once had an “Edge of Night” section to highlight crepuscular and nocturnal marsupials, but this was later converted into the Great Barrier Reef exhibit featuring seahorses, a jellyfish tank, lionfish, brownbanded bamboo sharks, and a 7-metre (23 ft) long community tank. The exhibits inside the pavilion also received facelifts during the transition, including and outdoor area for the hairy-nosed wombats and wallabies.
Eurasia Wilds
A red panda in the Eurasia Wilds section of the zoo.
Often regarded as the oldest part of the zoo, Eurasia received a large overhaul in 2014. The featured species in this section of the zoo are snow leopards, Amur tigers, West Caucasian tur, mouflon, chamois, red pandas, and Bactrian camels. With the area’s redesign to the Eurasia Wilds Steller’s sea eagles were added; while several other species are now only viewable from the Zoomobile, including lion-tailed macaques, yak, and the herd of Przewalski’s horses.[32]
Tundra Trek
An Arctic wolf sleeping at the zoo’s Tundra Trek, a section of the zoo that features animals from the Arctic.
After the closing of some of the Americas animal exhibits in 2007, the Tundra Trek opened on August 1, 2009. This area became the sixth region of the zoo, and showcases a variety of Arctic animals including porcupine caribou, polar bears, snow geese, and Arctic wolves. The new state-of-the-art exhibits are larger in order to encourage breeding. Educational theming emphasizes the lives of the Inuit and the effects of climate change.
Discovery Zone
This area is geared towards children by featuring educational themes and exhibits.