Gateway to Asia officially opens at the Calgary Zoo
Many Calgarians were sad to see the pandas go back home to China, but their enclosure has been turned into ta new exhibit called Gateway to Asia.
Two new species will also join the Komodo dragons there: a Malayan tapir and two white-handed gibbons.
The building has been closed to the public since December 2020 and that meant the two Komodo dragons weren't seen by visitors until now.
The two male white-handed gibbons, named Majimel and Maximus, are brothers and join the Calgary Zoo from Safari Niagara in Stevensville, Ont. Majimel is seven years old and Maximus is four years old.
White-handed gibbons, also known as the lar gibbon, are native to the tropical rainforests of Southern and Southeast Asia. In the wild, they're found in Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Laos. They can spend their entire lives in the forest canopy.
"They do feel safe here," said Jennifer Godwin, the animal care manager. "So they do come on the ground, they do walk bipedally when they are on the ground with their arms up for balance. It's super comical we love it and could watch it all day."
20-year-old Tanuck is a Malayan tapir, also called the Asian tapir. It's the largest of the five species of tapir and the only one native to Asia.
He was a resident here from 2002 to 2003 and now rejoins the Calgary Zoo from Parc Safari in Hemmingford, Que.
The zoo says wild populations of these species are decreasing significantly every year mainly due to habitat loss from deforestation for logging, road construction and agriculture.
"These two species are a really good way to connect visitors to nature," said Godwin. "Especially forest and forest habitat and how important they are to conserve."
The three are classified as endangered while Komodo dragons are classified as vulnerable. The three new males are part of an international breeding program.
"It helps create more genetic diversity in the population as a whole so we do get recommendations for breeding," said Godwin. "Tanuck has had some recommendations, so we're waiting to hear from the Species Survival Plan, so we might even get a female."
"Zoos are big contributors to conservation," said Alison Archambault, the zoo's director of brand and engagement. "Because everything we do begins and ends with wildlife conservation, inspiring people to care about wildlife and wild places is a very important part of that."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
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.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.