The Kookaburra

The Kookaburra is hard to miss, a hefty bird, he’s known for his noisy laugh. During sunrise or sunset he’s often heard making the following noise, try it out loud:

“Koo-hoo-hoo-hoo-ha-ha-ha-ha”

If you are visiting the kookaburra at The Toronto Zoo, he’ll be in the Australasia pavilion.  But make sure you look up – most likely he’ll be perched up high. He’s got a very distinctive, thick eyebrow, about 40 centimeters long. The kookaburra is native to Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. His favourite meal is small rodents, insects, small birds, snakes and lizards.

His beak is brown and his tail is brown with blue tips. When he’s flying, his tail is mostly white. The kookaburra has big feet and legs that are also brown.

Did you know?

Young kookaburra’s work together when feeding. One bird will hold on with mighty strength to one end of the prey while the adult bird pulls backwards at the other end until the body of the prey is torn apart and easier to eat. Gross!

When your about to take a picture of your friends, instead of saying “cheese” switch it with the word “whales”, you’ll make them laugh, I guarantee it.

Pilot Whales socializing off the shores of Cape Breton Island

Pilot whales are very social, and are often found in groups of 20 to 90 pods. They swim, breed and eat as a group. Some pilot whales show off and spy hop. They basically stick half of their bodies out of the water, vertically, almost like break dancing. Can you spy hop? Many animals spy hop, not just this big guy. Wolves all need to do this, so they can see their surroundings.

Pilot whales look like black dolphins with a white or light grey anchor-shaped patch on its bottom surface. They have rounded heads with a very small beak. The male’s head may protrude up to 4 inches over the lower jaw! Its body is long, allowing the whale to swim with ease, but very stocky and muscular. They look cute, but they can hold their ground.

Pilot Whale Spy Hopping

Pilot whales are generally found in both the northern and southern hemisphere or in tropical water throughout the world. Short-finned pilot whales tend to chill out in the warmer water.

Did you know?

• Pilot whales eat squid!
• One captive pilot whale named “Morgan” was trained by Navy scientists to retrieve beeper-attached objects from the ocean floor at depths of over 1,600 feet—Pretty incredible!

If you’re ever visiting Nova Scotia, check out the whale watching adventure tours! You’ll get a chance to get up close and personal with these loveable sea creatures. Here’s a video from my last trip to Cape Breton Island, enjoy! Click here for whales

The NEW Tundra exhibit at the Toronto Zoo

The ArCtiC WoLf

Also called the Polar Wolf, a cousin of the Gray Wolf, you can catch the Arctic Wolf in the new Tundra Trek exhibit at the Toronto Zoo.

OR if you’re feeling adventurous, you can also find him in the Canadian Arctic, Alaska, and the northern part of Greenland. The Arctic Wolf has really thick fur because they can live in SUB-ZERO temperatures and are exposed to the frigid cold for long periods of time—days, months, even years! They can survive up to five months in total darkness! They can also live without food for weeks! They roam around LARGE areas of land, hunting for food. They are the ONLY mammals that can withstand these kinds of conditions. The Arctic Wolf travels in packs from 2 to 20!

Similar to the Grey Wolf, Arctic Wolves are a bit smaller with smaller ears so they can trap in as much body heat as possible.

Did you know?

To keep themselves warm, Arctic Wolves grow a second layer of fur to protect them from the harsh conditions.

Good luck finding one this winter! They are all white so they will blend in easily to the winter snow and are pretty shy around humans.

The Arctic Wolf

Check out this cool You Tube video of wolves HOWLING

Did you know?

Wolves howl because it’s how they keep the pack together. It’s how they communicate and bond with each other.

The Tomato Hornworm

This big green caterpillar LOVES tomatoes! It’s a big green caterpillar with these cool shaped markings on its side and has a black horn on its rear.

Imagine how this little creepy crawler affects farming, and your local grocery store. They are so hard to spot because of their green colour. They hide right under branches close to the truck, commonly attacking tomato, eggplant, pepper and potatoes.

One way to reduce the population of tomato hornworms is by planting Marigold flowers!

The Tomato Hornworm

Did you know?

Pupa. Don’t call your friends this, but a pupa is basically the life stage of insects that undergo TRANSFORMATION! They go through 4 stages: from the embryo, larva, pupa then imago (adult stage).

These guys, morph into a HAWK MOTH! Yes a HAWK MOTH. Hawk moths are sometimes mistaken for hummingbirds. Some are capable of flying at over 30 miles an hour!

Reindeer at the Toronto Zoo

The reindeer travels the FURTHEST of ANY land mammal, walking up to 5,000 a year! Can you image how fit these big guys are? And they need to eat healthy to fuel themselves up for the long trip! They have 4 stomachs! COOL! They mainly eat fungi in winter and moss, but also eat leaves from birch trees, grass. They might sneak into a nest and pop an egg or 2, but I don’t blame them, the protein is ESSENTIAL! Like it is for OUR body.

These guys might look seem like they are tough, but every tough animal, has a predator. Since they travel so much, just imagine how many predators they cross paths with. The golden eagle will hunt for the babies and the wolverine will also join them and take the little guys away. Brown bears, and polar bears eat reindeers of all ages.

Reindeer is light brown in the summer changing seasonally, from grey to white in winter! Its thick coat consists of 2 layers, a dense wooly undercoat, and a longer haired overcoat. Males have a thick mane of fur around the lower part of the neck. The antlers look like a branch, with curved main stems that sweep back and up from the forehead.

Santa Claus’ Reindeer

Flying reindeer pulls Santa Claus’ sleigh, these were first named in the 1823 poem “A visit from the St. Nicholas.” Can you name them all?

Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Dunder, and Bixem.

Visit the Reindeer at the Toronto Zoo, hours are 9:30-4:30 until Dec 31.

The Squid

Did you know squid have the ability to change their colour? Well it does to suit its surroundings, which make them more invisible to predators.

Most grow to 24 inches long, but the GIANT squid, can reach up to 43 feet! Look out for those big guys. If you’re behind one, look out! All squid have an ink sack, which allows them to discharge black ink ward off other predators.

Check out this cool video of some washed up squid in Nova Scotia, you can see the jet-propulsion system in action.

Bert's pet, Bernice, the pigeon

Pigeons are very popular birds among the city streets but you’ll find them living just about everywhere in the world, except for the extremely dry desert and extremely cold arctic climates.

Pigeons have short necks and short bills and can come in an array of colors from grey to brown and white. They prefer to eat seeds and fruit

Check out Bert’s pigeon dance: “Doin’ the Pigeon”

Can you do the Pigeon Dance?

The baby Gorilla needs a new name! You can help!

You have the unique chance to give him a name and win great prizes!
Visit the African Rainforest Pavilion to get a glimpse of the little guy and get inspired to name him. OR go HERE to enter your ballot!

Good luck!

Visit the giraffe at The Toronto Zoo

The giraffe (Giraffa) is the tallest land-living animal! Males can reach up to 5.4 meters tall and weigh almost 4300 pounds! Giraffes live in the open savanna of Africa, along Kenya and Tanzania.

Did you know?

• A giraffe’s neck is 1.5 meters long
• A giraffe’s heart weighs up to 25 pounds and pumps about 60 liters of blood every minute!
• A giraffe’s tongue is black and can extend up to almost 18 inches and is used to pluck leaves from trees

The giraffe is at risk in the wild because its habitat is vanishing. Poaching is a serious threat, as jewelry and fly swatters are made from the tail hairs. Whips, sandals, shield and drums are made from the hide and strings for musical instruments, bowstrings and thread are made from the tendons and leg muscles.

Visit the Giraffe at The Toronto Zoo

Visit the African Elephant at the Toronto Zoo

One way to tell if an elephant is an African one is by its ears! The African elephant’s ears are shaped in a triangular shape, like the continent Africa. The African elephant roams all types of African habitat, from savanna and bush to forest, river valley and semi-desert areas.

The trunk, which is an elongation of the nose and nostrils, is long, muscular and ends in two finger-like projections, which are used to pick up and examine objects. The trunk is very sensitive and has little hairs on it that are like nerve endings.

Elephants like to eat plants such as grass, foliage and branches or trees as well as fruit.

The African elephant is endangered because they’re hunted for their ivory tusks, which are considered to be very valuable in some parts of the world. Find out what you can do to help endangered species by visiting the World Wildlife Fund website.

Did you know?

• The elephant is the largest living land animal – adult males can weigh up to 5 tons!
• Elephants take mud or dust baths to protect them from sunburn
• An elephant’s trunk is actually an extension of its nose and nostrils. It’s also used to pick up objects.

Visit the African elephant at the Toronto Zoo .