The Toronto Zoo is a zoo located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It opened August 15, 1974 as the Metropolitan Toronto Zoo and is owned by the City of Toronto; the word "Metropolitan" was dropped from its name when the cities of the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto were amalgamated to form the present-day city of Toronto in 1998. The zoo is located near the Rouge River, along the western border of Rouge Park in city's east end former borough of Scarborough.
Encompassing 287 hectares (710 acres), the Toronto Zoo is the largest zoo in Canada. It is divided into seven zoogeographic regions: Indo-Malaya, Africa, Americas, Tundra Trek, Australasia, Eurasia and the Canadian Domain. Some animals are displayed indoors in tropical pavilions and outdoors in what would be their naturalistic environments, with viewing at many levels. It also has areas such as the Kids Zoo, Waterside Theatre and Splash Island. The zoo is currently home to over 5,000 animals (including invertebrates and fish) representing over 450 species.
Read more about Toronto Zoo: History, Exhibits, Conservation, Controversies, Media, Future Development, Gallery
Famous quotes containing the word zoo:
“...there was the annual Fourth of July picketing at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. ...I thought it was ridiculous to have to go there in a skirt. But I did it anyway because it was something that might possibly have an effect. I remember walking around in my little white blouse and skirt and tourists standing there eating their ice cream cones and watching us like the zoo had opened.”
—Martha Shelley, U.S. author and social activist. As quoted in Making History, part 3, by Eric Marcus (1992)