{"id":27928,"date":"2016-03-17T14:45:59","date_gmt":"2016-03-17T18:45:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/?p=27928"},"modified":"2016-03-29T19:34:26","modified_gmt":"2016-03-29T23:34:26","slug":"lions-and-rhinos-and-bears-oh-my","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2016\/03\/17\/lions-and-rhinos-and-bears-oh-my\/","title":{"rendered":"Lions and Rhinos and Bears… Oh my!"},"content":{"rendered":"It seems like spring is finally springing! Sure, there\u2019s been a lot of rain, but we\u2019ve also had a few beautiful, sunny days. Last weekend, I took advantage of the balmy 12-degree temperatures and went on a day trip. What better place to fill yourself with the joys of spring than at the beautiful Toronto Zoo<\/a>?<\/span>\r\n\r\nIt\u2019s actually pretty simple to get there on the TTC; just take the Bloor-Danforth subway line all the way East to Kennedy Station and then transfer onto the East 86A Scarborough, which will drop you off right at the front entrance. The trip usually takes just under an hour and a half, but it\u2019s worth it to get out of the hustle and bustle of the city.<\/span>\r\n\r\nGeneral admission is $23, but if you\u2019re going to be around Toronto for the next year, I\u2019d recommend getting a student membership <\/a>for $60. The zoo is open every day of the year, except for Christmas Day, but I think it\u2019s especially nice at this time of year because it tends to be less busy and the warm-but-not-hot weather is perfect for wandering and exploring.<\/span>\r\n\r\n
\"Pictured:<\/a>
<\/span> I certainly did a lot of wandering!<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nI don\u2019t know about you, but sometimes the urban jungle gets a bit overwhelming for me. The zoo is a great place to get some fresh air, take in some sights, and learn something new! It\u2019s the largest zoo in Canada, covering 287 hectares, and it is home to over 5000 animals. There\u2019s always something going on<\/a> and there are a ton of conservation initiatives<\/a> to get involved with too!<\/span>\r\n\r\nOf course, there\u2019s another draw this springtime. You may have heard by now that the Toronto Zoo recently welcomed two not-so-giant-yet panda cubs! Their names are Jia Panpan (Canadian Hope) and Jia Yueyue, (Canadian Joy). These two fuzzy little stars already have friends in high places.<\/span>\r\n\r\n
\"Pictured:
<\/span> OMG!!!! (Picture credit: cbc.ca)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nWell, those three are not the only majestic bundles of joy who have been hanging around the zoo lately. There are six-month-old white lion cubs\u2014Gus, Hank, Oliver, and Harrison\u2014who you can visit every weekend. Private Juno the polar bear is just four months old and she has already been recruited as the military\u2019s fluffiest mascot ever. The zoo\u2019s youngest animal is an as-yet-unnamed Indian rhinoceros; he\u2019s just three weeks old!<\/span>\r\n\r\nIf you're not yet convinced that the zoo is the place for you, here are some pictures\u00a0from my trip:<\/span>\r\n\r\n
\"Pictured:<\/a>
<\/span> Just look at this dramatic turtle welcoming you!<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n
\"Pictured:<\/a>
<\/span> The first rhino born at the zoo in 19 years!<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n
\"Pictured:<\/a>
<\/span> Private Juno!<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n
\"Pictured:<\/a>
<\/span> #goals<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n
\"Pictured:<\/a>
<\/span> Wide open spaces!<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nIf you\u2019re looking for an animal-themed adventure a little closer to campus, check out Ripley\u2019s Aquarium<\/a>. They even have a live jazz band<\/a> on the second Friday night of every month! I got the chance to go during a \u201cTrin Goes To\u201d event last Friday and it went just swimmingly!<\/span>\r\n\r\n
\"Pictured:<\/a>
<\/span> Jams and jellies... Who could ask for more?<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nWhat is your favourite urban escape destination? Let me know in the comments below!<\/em><\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It seems like spring is finally springing! Sure, there\u2019s been a lot of rain, but we\u2019ve also had a few beautiful, sunny days. Last weekend, I took advantage of the balmy 12-degree temperatures and went on a day trip. What better place to fill yourself with the joys of spring than at the beautiful Toronto Zoo<\/a>?<\/span>\r\n\r\nIt\u2019s actually pretty simple to get there on the TTC; just take the Bloor-Danforth subway line all the way East to Kennedy Station and then transfer onto the East 86A Scarborough, which will drop you off right at the front entrance. The trip usually takes just under an hour and a half, but it\u2019s worth it to get out of the hustle and bustle of the city.<\/span>\r\n\r\nGeneral admission is $23, but if you\u2019re going to be around Toronto for the next year, I\u2019d recommend getting a student membership <\/a>for $60. The zoo is open every day of the year, except for Christmas Day, but I think it\u2019s especially nice at this time of year because it tends to be less busy and the warm-but-not-hot weather is perfect for wandering and exploring.<\/span>\r\n\r\n
\"Pictured:<\/a>
<\/span> I certainly did a lot of wandering!<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nI don\u2019t know about you, but sometimes the urban jungle gets a bit overwhelming for me. The zoo is a great place to get some fresh air, take in some sights, and learn something new! It\u2019s the largest zoo in Canada, covering 287 hectares, and it is home to over 5000 animals. There\u2019s always something going on<\/a> and there are a ton of conservation initiatives<\/a> to get involved with too!<\/span>\r\n\r\nOf course, there\u2019s another draw this springtime. You may have heard by now that the Toronto Zoo recently welcomed two not-so-giant-yet panda cubs! Their names are Jia Panpan (Canadian Hope) and Jia Yueyue, (Canadian Joy). These two fuzzy little stars already have friends in high places.<\/span>\r\n\r\n
\"Pictured:
<\/span> OMG!!!! (Picture credit: cbc.ca)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nWell, those three are not the only majestic bundles of joy who have been hanging around the zoo lately. <\/span>
Continue reading “Lions and Rhinos and Bears… Oh my!”<\/span>…<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"author":271,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[784,16188,16187,11474,12743,9547,16189,16185],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27928"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/271"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27928"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27928\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28156,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27928\/revisions\/28156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}