BREAKING Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Zoos across the country are preparing for the return of visitors and are hard at work making sure the animals are well prepared, too.
With so few people visiting due to COVID-19 restrictions, some of the animals have had behavioural changes and zookeepers are bringing in volunteers to help get animals used to the company again.
“It's safe to say many of the species actually missed having guests around,” Dolf DeJong, CEO of the Toronto Zoo, told CTV’s Your Morning on Tuesday.
For weeks they’ve been working to prepare the animals for the zoo opening for visitors again, adopting a gradual approach to avoid overwhelming them.
“We've had to take a few weeks actually and start bringing volunteers and staff in slowly, so they could readjust to having those thousands of people on site,” he said.
During the pandemic, zookeepers noted some behavioural changes in animals who were used to being viewed crowds of people on a daily basis.
“A lot of the carnivores, the polar bears, the hyenas, they'd often be right up at the front of the habitat checking us out when we walked by, and really curious and inquisitive and sometimes even vocalizing, to kind of say ‘Hey, where are you folks?’” said DeJong.
The Calgary Zoo and Edmonton Valley Zoo are offering timed tickets to be purchased in advance, while Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg is asking visitors to buy tickets in advance and to wear masks when visiting indoor exhibits.
But a zoo visit will still be a bit different this year with some added safety precautions in place to keep visitors and animals protected from COVID-19. It starts with pre-booking a timeslot to visit, so that they can keep control of the number of people in the zoo at any given time. But they’ve taken extra measures to keep animals prone to COVID-19 safe, too.
“When you're on site you're going to see with the gorillas, with the Red River hogs, and with some of the other cats, you're going to see additional barriers and fences, pushing people back even further,” he said.
In addition, visitors will be asked to wear masks around certain species, for an extra layer of protection for both the visitors and the animals.
“You need to wear a mask because they can't,” DeJong added.
Only outdoor pavilions will be open, the Toronto Zoo is waiting for the next phase of reopening before allowing visitors into the indoor exhibits, but he said there’s still plenty to see.
“We’re talking ten plus kilometres of outdoor trails[…]so you can still see the bulk of your favourites.”
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
The federal minister of Crown-Indigenous relations is calling on Air Canada to 'make things right' with the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, who said her headdress was removed from an airplane cabin during a flight this week.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Health Canada issued recalls for various items this week, including kids’ bathrobes, cribs and henna cones.
A pair of Montreal designers' work has now been viewed over 41 million times. Taylor Swift dons a Victorian throwback black gown in her latest music video, 'Fortnight', designed by UNTTLD due Simon Belanger and Jose Manuel Saint-Jacques.
Breast cancer rates are rising in Canada among women in their 20s, 30s and 40s, according to research by the University of Ottawa (uOttawa).
A CSIS officer's allegations that she was raped repeatedly by a superior in agency vehicles set off a harassment inquiry, but also triggered an investigation into her that concluded the alleged attacks were a “misuse” of agency vehicles by the woman.
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.