Toronto Zoo celebrates 50th anniversary this summer

The Toronto Zoo will soon turn 50, and celebrations have already begun.

The zoo kicked off festivities by breaking ground on a new conservation centre that staff say will usher in a new era for the entire community, both in Scarborough and beyond. 

“The new community conservation centre is a space where communities can come together,” the zoo’s senior director of wildlife science, Dr. Gabriela Mastromonaco, told CBC Toronto. 

“It’s an experiential approach to conservation science at Toronto Zoo … it’s a really wonderful next step for us.”

The zoo says it’s welcomed nearly 60 million people since it first opened on Aug. 15, 1974.