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Zoo Diaries

Season 2
TV-G

  • Slice
  • 30m
  • Canada
  • English
  • Documentary
Zoo Diaries is an intense look at life behind the scenes at the Toronto Zoo. It follows the day-to-day tensions, passions, triumphs and failures of one of the most unique professions on earth. The series focuses on the zoo as a modern-day Ark, where animals are increasingly protected from the threat of extinction. As one of the world's biggest zoos, it has expanded its longstanding role as an exhibitor to devote more of its resources to protecting endangered species. The style of the series is best described as "docusoap." There are three interwoven stories in each episode, some continuing week to week. Sometimes the stories are of life and death struggles. At other times, they are cute and humorous. Featuring real people in real situations, the series is intended for an adult audience, with some episodes not suitable for young children.

13 episodes

Season Premiere

2x01 2014

Season Premiere

2x01 2014

  • no air date30m

Wood Bison Round Up

Three wood bison have to be rounded up and coaxed onto a van for a move to the Calgary Zoo. They are all young bison, just over a year old, who will help replenish the breeding stock in Calgary.

Rainforest Intro

The new gorilla rainforest is almost complete and it is time to introduce the first gorillas to the exhibit. The gorillas go in and enjoy their new home as the keepers marvel at the beautiful new exhibit.

Polar Bear Cubs

Two very cute and cuddly young polar bear cubs have arrived at the zoo. They were orphaned when their mother was shot and killed on the shores of Hudson's Bay.

Today marks the end of their quarantine and their move to their new home in the polar bear exhibit.

2x02 2015

  • no air date30m

Polar Bear Surgery

Sani is the oldest female polar bear at the zoo and the keeper, Kelly, has been noticing some blood in her den. The vet, Graham, is worried she has female problems.

Graham knocks her out and takes her to the health centre for examination and treatment. Now Graham and the keepers have to decide whether to do a hysterectomy on the old bear.

Baby Lion Move

Two young lions are about to experience their exhibit for the first time. They are nine months old, but most of their exhibit was closed for the winter so they haven't had the opportunity to experience it. Today is the day Linda will let them in.

Panda Training

Last season Louisa was the head keeper in elephants. She has been moved to the health centre and has become the zoo's chief animal trainer. Today she is training Chao Nao a red panda who has been very sick in the past. Chao needs regular examinations and the vets do not want to anaesthetize her every time. So it is Louisa's job to train Chao to accept being examined while she is awake.

2x03 2016

  • no air date30m

Snow Leopard Darting

A six-year-old snow leopard has arrived from the Calgary Zoo to be bred to the male snow leopard at the zoo. Before she can be introduced to the male she has to be checked medically by the veterinary staff.

Croc Catch-Up

Now that the rainforest is complete it is time to introduce all of the animals to their new homes. Our first story is about the crocodiles who have to be nudged into their spacious exhibit.

Once inside however, they begin to feel very comfortable nuzzling each other and beginning an underwater dance that could lead to crocodile babies.

Meerkats to Rainforest

The meerkats are among the most popular and cutest animals in the zoo. They too have a new and larger exhibit in the rainforest. And unlike the other animals, their natural curiosity allows them to run right in and check out every nook and cranny of their new home.

2x04 2017

  • no air date30m

Rainforest Opens

This is the first day the rainforest is open to the public. We spend the morning with Vanessa as she readies the gorillas and the exhibit for the zoo visitors' first look. Everyone is very excited and very tired, but anticipating the big day ahead.

Diane and the Monkey

Diane is a young veterinary technician who has been put in charge of an older marmoset monkey, Cecily. Diane has to feed and clean the monkey this morning.

Camel Training

Dan loves camels and he loves to train them. Rebecca is a young camel that many zoo veterans think is untrainable. Dan wants to try. Today is step one. He has to get a halter on her.

2x05 2018

  • no air date30m

Mittens the Spider Monkey

Mittens has been at the health centre for just over a year. He has a slight brain injury that has caused him to shake. It is much better now and the zoo vets have decided to try to put him back with the family that rejected him. Today is the first step, catching him and carrying him to a holding area beside the spider monkey exhibit. Here, he will become accustomed to the other spider monkeys and they will become accustomed to Mittens.

Dyann and the Bat

Dyann is a young veterinary technician who has been given the responsibility of hand raising a rejected baby fruit bat, Stevie. In this episode, Dyann feeds and exercises Stevie who is too young to fly.

Feeding the Tree Kangaroo

Emma is a tree kangaroo from Borneo who has two problems: she may be pregnant and she is losing weight. Today Maria, the keeper, is giving Emma some fruits and vegetables to try to perk up Emma's appetite. At the same time she will do a pouch check to see if Emma has given birth to a little baby "joey".

2x06 2019

  • no air date30m

Ferret Births

The black footed ferrets are highly endangered and are bred at the zoo for release into the wild. This is the beginning of a birthing cycle for all of the zoo's female ferrets. Andrea the keeper enters the quarantine area with a hand held camera to see if any new babies were born and to feed the adults.

Panda Training #2

Today Luisa is back to train Chao Nao, but this time she brings Dr. Doug Whiteside. She hopes to coax Chao into position so that Doug can touch her as a preliminary to finally hand examining her without having to knock Chao out.

Tahra and Merlin

Merlin, a two year old falcon, is an old pro...in this case Tahra, the keeper, is the rookie. Today Tahra is being trained to fly Merlin in the zoo's bird show.

2x07 2020

  • no air date30m

Zuri Crating and Knockdown

Zuri is a 4-year-old gorilla who has never been integrated into the family group. At first, she was kept out because she has epilepsy. Now, the other gorillas will not accept her. So the zoo is sending her to the Calgary Zoo where they have a very young gorilla population who may be more willing to accept Zuri. Today they have to anesthetize her in a shipping crate. In the meantime this beloved animal is visited by many of the keepers who have worked with her over the years. It is a sad good-bye.

Ferret Weighing

Now that the ferret babies are a little older, Andrea goes back into the ferret barn to catch up the babies for weighing and medication.

Kookaburra Sings

Mark and Tahra meet a group of teenage girls who are at the zoo to see, hear and study bird sounds. Their biggest challenge today will be to make the kookaburra sing. First they try playing Kookie a tape of kookaburra sounds. When that doesn't work they imitate the bird's cry.

2x08 2021

  • no air date30m

Zuri Departure Day

Today's the day Zuri is shipped off to Calgary to be introduced to her new family. The four-year-old gorilla has etched a place for herself in the hearts of all the keepers who got to know her, especially Vanessa. After a teary farewell she is off to the airport. At the airport she makes new friends among the flight crew who come to visit her on the tarmac.

Feeding the Grizzly

Clayton Mitchell is a native elder and a member of the bear clan. Years ago, his teacher told him it was his job to feed the bears and say prayers over them every spring and fall. Now he comes to the zoo twice every year to feed honey to the grizzly bears and to sing and pray with them. Today he brings his son along to learn how to perform the semi-annual rites.

2x09 2022

  • no air date30m

Rhino Separation

Sanya is almost two years old now and it's time to wean her from her mother Indira. While Brad, the keeper, is separating the mother from the baby rhino he hears a commotion in the paddock. Patrick, the father, senses that Indira is out in the yard without the baby and he goes into heat and tries to climb a seven foot wall to get at Indira.

Feeding a Baby Tur

New baby tur twins, himalayan mountain goats, were born to a mother who could not feed them. One takes to the bottle easily, while the other is refusing to feed from the bottle. Dr. Kay Mehren, the head vet at the zoo, take the baby a new formula of goat's milk to try to get the baby to drink.
Dyann and Stevie #2

It's time to introduce Stevie, the young bat, to new keepers so that he is not so dependent on Dyann.

2x10 2023

  • no air date30m

Mittens Intro

Mittens the Spider Monkey had been brought to the Spider Monkey holding area so that the other Spider Monkeys might get used to him. This was in preparation for introduction back into the family. Today's the big day. Mittens is introduced. First in the holding area, then in the exhibit.

Crane Catch Up

A pair of rare European cranes that were bred in the zoo are being caught up so they can be shipped to the zoo in Peterborough, Ontario. The young cranes are a zoo success story. First because they were bred here, but also because they look like they too want to breed. In fact the female has layed an egg that she is protecting making it difficult for Ollie to catch them up. She doesn't realize the egg is infertile.

Fernando and the Polar Bears

Young Fernando was the winner of the "name the baby polar bears contest". Today, he comes to the zoo to pick up his prizes, meet the baby polar bears and to be interviewed by the media.

2x11 2024

  • no air date30m

Elk Round Up #2

A baby elk was born and the keepers have to hurry to catch it up so they can get blood and give it its shots. They have to do it quickly because after a few days it will be able to run too fast to catch it.

Tessa Trunk Wash # 2

Tessa is the youngest elephant at the zoo. Today, Nicole has to train Tessa to inhale water into her trunk and exhale it into a bag. This is to prepare Tessa for TB testing.

Luisa and Patas Monkeys

Luisa has developed a way to both feed and provide enrichment for the Patas monkeys. She fills a box with egg crates and hides fruit, peanut butter and crickets inside. It's up to the monkeys to figure out that there are goodies inside and to find a way to get them out. No problem for the monkeys.

2x12 2025

  • no air date30m

Josephine's Baby

Josephine, a lowland gorilla, has a baby. This is wonderful for the zoo, but it presents a problem. When Josephine had babies in the past she didn't have enough milk to feed them. So they had to be taken away to be hand-raised. Vanessa and Dianne don't want to take Jospehine's baby away so they are keeping close watch on the health of the baby. So far, so good.

Arctic Wolf

Ken Greig, the keeper in the Canadian Domain, has to catch an arctic wolf to send to a zoo in Germany. The problem is it has to be a female and it is difficult to tell the sexes apart through all that beautiful white fur.

Judy and the Orang

Judy is on the custodial staff at the zoo. One of her jobs is cleaning the windows in the orangutan exhibit. In the process she has become friends with several of the Orangs who come around to watch Judy work. Today the Orangs clean one side of the glass while Judy cleans the other side.

2x13 2026

  • no air date30m

Baby Gorilla

Josephine's baby is not looking so good. Zoo vet Graham Crawshaw has to decide whether to take the baby away from Josephine. Finally, they anesthetize Josephine and take her baby back to the health centre to feed it.

Dyann and Stevie say Good-bye

Today's a big day for Stevie... and Dyann. Stevie, the fruit bat, is moving in to the African Pavilion to live on his own without his surrogate mom Dyann. The weaning won't be easy for either of them.

Moose Twins

It's always great when baby animals are born at the zoo. But, today the Canadian Domain keepers are celebrating something special. Willow, the female moose, has given birth to twins. This is a rare event. Today the keepers, Ken and Tony, arrive for their first look at the bouncing babies.

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