Calgary Zoo - History

History

The Calgary Zoological Society was established in 1929.

The recently completed Destination Africa expansion included two new facilities: The TransAlta Rain Forest and the African Savannah. The most recent expansion project known as Project Discovery opened in June 2007. It features double the indoor and triple the outdoor space of the old exhibit, a wide-open design, and vaulted ceilings. Other projects the Calgary Zoo is planning are: a new main entry (under construction), an overhauled conservatory, and an Arctic/Antarctic penguin addition.

On November 17, 2004 an Asian elephant was born at the Zoo. She was rejected by her mother and died within 3 weeks of her birth of an overwhelming infection, despite the efforts of zoo keepers and veterinarians. She was given the name, Keemaya, after her death.

A giraffe named Richard was born in late November 2007 and has been doing well. Also on March 21, 2007 a new baby Siberian tiger was born. Its name is Vitali.

In August 2007, another Asian elephant, Malti, was born. Malti contracted elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus, a serious and invariably fatal virus October 31, and died on November 1, 2008 despite treatment.

Between May 10 and May 15, 2008, forty cow-nosed rays died from low blood oxygen levels. Three survivors from the original group were quarantined in smaller pools where they, too, are exhibiting the black spots their fellow rays were afflicted with before dying. An error by the contractor in designing the system lead to the problem. The exhibit has since been modified to ensure optimal levels of dissolved gases. The stingray pool will be slowly restocked by the Calgary Zoo.

On May 15, 2008, a baby gorilla was born to Zuri. Zookeepers looked through more than 1,400 entries for the baby's name, and on July 2, she was given the name Yewande (Yu-wan-day), a Nigerian name that would be given to a girl after the death of an elder in the family. Her name was selected by Calgarian Justin Brower.

In January 2009, a two year old male Turkmenian Markhor became entangled in an exhibit play toy called the boomer ball and lost its footing on a suspended log. The animal died from this accident.

On February 13, 2009, a Colobus monkey gave birth; this offspring became the first to be born at the Calgary Zoo.

On Dec 12, 2009, The Globe and Mail ran an article on the Calgary Zoo due to "animals dying left and right" and indicated numerous critics are demanding a review of the zoo's conducts and operations. A knife was accidentally left in the western lowland gorilla enclosure. A Turkmenian markhor goat hanged itself on a toy. 41 cownose stingrays' deaths blamed on human error. Two baby elephants have died, and several gorillas too. A hippotamus succumbed to circulatory complications after being transferred from the Denver zoo. On December 11, an 18-month old female capybara died instantly after being crushed by a hydraulic door operated by a worker who wasn't following proper safely protocols. The zoo's director are calling all the incidences unrelated. An independent review was solicited by the Zoo in December 2009 following public pressure and was conducted by the Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

On Sep 10, 2010, Calgary Zoo staff announced the overnight death of a second tiger cub born earlier in the week to Siberian tiger Katja. Zookeepers weren't aware that Katja was expecting, saying it's hard to detect pregnancy in tigers. Katja, the 10-year-old mother, didn't nurse her young. Zoo staff noticed her carrying the first kitten in her mouth, which is likely how it died. The zoo's veterinary team says the both Siberian tiger cubs suffered similar head trauma.