Zoo Diaries
Encyclopedia
Zoo Diaries is a Canadian documentary television series airing on Life Network
. The series documents the live of animals and people at a zoo with a record of breeding endangered species. 74 episodes have been produced since 2000 by DocuTainment Productions. DocuTainment's owner, Garry Blye, who did several other television series, developed a reputation for not paying his crew. His 2011 production, Puttin' on the Dog, for Animal Planet, was a follow-up to Zoo Diaries. It was plagued with controversy when Blye failed to pay most of the crew members, including editors, writers, a production manager, and a creative producer, owing some of them for up to three months of work. As of November 2011, most of them still had not been paid.
Each episode opens with a brief description of the show's contents. Events in the life of three or four animals are shown, cutting between stories every couple of minutes. Each story focuses on an animal in an interesting situation, and the zoo person responsible for handling the situation. Some situations are resolved over a number of episodes, for example, developing and performing an animal show designed to startle the audience. Topics vary from birth to death. Handlers discuss situations and difficulties in frank terms, and scenes are occasionally shown that might be disturbing for young children.
The series is candid about the zoo employees' behavior and opinions. For example, one episode shows the keepers feeding a gorilla a beer, and another shows a plush toy with styrofoam given a baby orangutan that the baby attempts to eat.
It is filmed at the Toronto Zoo
in Toronto, Ontario and narrated by Vince Corazza
.
Episodes 1-37 are available on DVD.
Life Network
Slice is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Shaw Media. Slice is a lifestyle channel directed towards women with programming including talk shows, reality television and more.-History:...
. The series documents the live of animals and people at a zoo with a record of breeding endangered species. 74 episodes have been produced since 2000 by DocuTainment Productions. DocuTainment's owner, Garry Blye, who did several other television series, developed a reputation for not paying his crew. His 2011 production, Puttin' on the Dog, for Animal Planet, was a follow-up to Zoo Diaries. It was plagued with controversy when Blye failed to pay most of the crew members, including editors, writers, a production manager, and a creative producer, owing some of them for up to three months of work. As of November 2011, most of them still had not been paid.
Each episode opens with a brief description of the show's contents. Events in the life of three or four animals are shown, cutting between stories every couple of minutes. Each story focuses on an animal in an interesting situation, and the zoo person responsible for handling the situation. Some situations are resolved over a number of episodes, for example, developing and performing an animal show designed to startle the audience. Topics vary from birth to death. Handlers discuss situations and difficulties in frank terms, and scenes are occasionally shown that might be disturbing for young children.
The series is candid about the zoo employees' behavior and opinions. For example, one episode shows the keepers feeding a gorilla a beer, and another shows a plush toy with styrofoam given a baby orangutan that the baby attempts to eat.
It is filmed at the Toronto Zoo
Toronto Zoo
The Toronto Zoo is a zoo located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It opened August 15, 1974 as the Metropolitan Toronto Zoo and is owned by the City of Toronto; the word "Metropolitan" was dropped from its name when the cities of the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto were amalgamated to form the...
in Toronto, Ontario and narrated by Vince Corazza
Vince Corazza
Vincent Corazza is a Canadian-born actor known for playing the role of Alden Jones in the television series Braceface....
.
Episodes 1-37 are available on DVD.