Welcome, Hiiro
What’s better than a celebrity couple? A royal couple! We’re thrilled to welcome our female red-crowned crane ‘Ruby’ back to zoo grounds along with her new habitat-mate, male ‘Hiiro’. In August, Ruby…
Read MoreThe Garden Gallery in the ENMAX Conservatory will be closed from Monday, November 11th, through to Thursday, November 14th, to accommodate setup for ZOOLIGHTS, presented by Olympia Trust Company.
Thank you for your understanding.
Land of Lemurs Walkthrough & Outdoor Gorilla Amphitheatre: The two outdoor animal viewing areas will close for the season beginning on October 15. Lemurs and gorillas will be viewable in their indoor habitats.
PETRONAS Gateway to Asia: The building will have adjusted viewing from September 23 until mid-November while we complete mechanical upgrades to the Malayan tapir habitat. Komodo dragons will remain viewable indoors. Malayan tapirs and red-crowned cranes will be viewable in their outdoor habitats (weather permitting). White-handed gibbons will not be viewable for the duration of the project.
African Savannah Yard: Our Hartmann’s mountain zebras and ostriches will be off-view until the end of the year while we complete exciting upgrades in the African Savannah Yard, including the construction of a new Savannah Barn for the animals. Our giraffe tower will continue to be viewable throughout the project.
Thank you for your understanding.
Bite-Sized
The health and well-being of the animals in our care is one of our top priorities. However, even with access to the best nutrition, exceptional habitats and exemplary medical care, there are occasions when Mother Nature has other plans.
Towards the end of August, two Humboldt penguins in our care sadly died from avian malaria. ‘Bianca’ (11 years old) and her son ‘Rio’ (1 year old) both succumbed to the illness. Avian malaria is a mosquito-borne disease of birds transmitted through bites of infected mosquitos. Although these deaths were unexpected as all of our Humboldt penguins have been on preventive medication every summer for the past decade, the disease is widely known to affect many species of birds and is one of the most significant causes of mortality in penguins, under human care and in the wild, with mortality rates ranging from 50-80%.
Following the sudden loss of Bianca and Rio, the Animal Care, Health & Welfare began testing the entire Humboldt penguin colony for signs of infection. The unfortunate reality is that avian malaria does not always show up in blood work in advance and if found, the treatment is not always successful in penguins. None of our other birds were positive on their bloodwork.
Bianca hatched at SeaWorld San Diego in May 2012. She joined the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo family in September 2013, so she lived most of her life with us in Penguin Plunge. Rio hatched here at the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo in June 2022 and was the offspring of the late Bianca and her mate ‘Chango’ (7 years old).
We are deeply saddened by these unexpected losses. Please keep our Animal Care, Health & Welfare team in your thoughts during this difficult time.