In regards to Pacific Coasts, wonder what will happen to the Living Coast Penguin exhibit after they build their new exhibit
Brookfield Zoo Brookfield Zoo News 2024
- Thread starter MeiLover
- Start date
Can someone point me in the right direction here? I keep seeing on the forums a mention of dates for the Africa Savannah section(this should be their next project right?) but I can't find a timeline within the document itself. What exactly is the timeline for each of these projects?
This article from the Chicago tribune mentions a groundbreaking for Gateway to Africa in 2026: Brookfield Zoo Chicago unveils $500 million renovation project
No other projects have a specific timeline.
Honestly? Kind iffy with these plans. My mind could be easily changed by the quality of future developments, but for me this feels like it has potential to take away from my favorite aspect of Brookfield - the showcasing of entire ecosystems, including a verity of small animals alongside the iconic megafauna.
When I saw this at first this morning I was honestly really disappointed for some other reasons, but looking at the renders now that I have some time I'd say I'm just wary rather than outright disappointed. We remain to see how much of this will actually happen though.
When I saw this at first this morning I was honestly really disappointed for some other reasons, but looking at the renders now that I have some time I'd say I'm just wary rather than outright disappointed. We remain to see how much of this will actually happen though.
I'm really surprised to hear you say this, because I have the exact opposite opinion. Throughout this master plan I see numerous examples of smaller species being featured alongside popular megafauna: The Australia House revamp will add new reptiles and insects to the collection alongside kangaroos, koalas and other marsupials. The dolphin mangrove may also include wading birds, turtles and fish alongside the cetaceans. Amazon Waters will feature many herps and fish alongside the larger Pantanal and Andean sections with tapirs, capybara, flamingos, etc. Not mention all of the existing reptile and bird houses will be staying as is, so from my perspective biodiversity is only getting better across the board.
Maybe, admittedly I haven't looked through that entire really long document, kinda just a first impressions and skimming. I'm also not 100% sure I trust Brookfield to go through with this - their last major development, Great Bear Wilderness, was dramatically scaled back after all.
I'm also not a huge fan of the Amazon House will presumably just be an inferior version of Amazon Rising at Shedd. I also dislike the idea of the South American Coast being a new complex, as that's exactly what The Living Coast was before it got ruined.
I'm getting more positive as I'm hearing more, but I want to see how Tropical Forests turns out before I get excited.
Last edited:
I am absolutely over the moon with this news! I'd rate it higher than 9/10 if there was indoor (i.e., winter) viewing for the savannah animals (or at least some of the megafauna) and if it was certain the okapis will stay. They're one of the zoo's claims to fame. At least the African Forest building is staying.
Giraffeweevil04
Member
The Elephants and Rhinos are confirmed to have indoor viewing and the South African Forests area seems to have a few extra paddocks near the current building. Maybe that’s where the Okapi will be?
USZOOfan42
Well-Known Member
Okapi seems to be in current habitat.
Thankfully page 34 of the master plan references okapis under Tropical Forests (alongside the pangolin and others), so I'm assuming they'll be in or near their current habitat.
General Impressions
The new North Gate Plaza sounds pretty good. I like that, like Milwaukee, we're trying to eliminate queues. I'm a little unclear if the entry tunnel will survive but the overpass sounds fantastic and a wetland is a cool idea, looks to manage the water issues that have been discussed before.
Outstanding move making the conservation hubs visible. Reminds me of the labs at the the Field Museum where you can watch scientists actually work with fossils. It's a great way to make the nitty-gritty of science work more accessible and potentially more appealing, and add something to see as opposed to these buildings looking like wasted space to the average visitor.
Bear Grottos being reinvigorated is well overdue, and it's great to think about seeing red pandas and wolverines at the zoo, both popular and active small carnivores that can make better use of the renovated space, and to see sloth bears bringing the space back to its original pur-- SUN BEARS!???
This is going to sound silly on my part, but it hadn't occured to me that it was very intentional to set the amphitheater away from animal exhibits. That's smart. All of these animals at the current grottos deserve the better habitats that appear planned for them, but I'm still pretty bummed to imagine taking animals away from the eastern side of the zoo, and someday the Fragile Kingdoms' species will need outdoor space.
Great to hear a new, permanent butterfly house is coming. While butterfly houses aren't as much my thing as some, they are popular, make great field trips and walkthrough habitats, and it'll be cool it's not seasonal. Maybe add a turtle or a bird or two.
Just in terms of the planning book, I love the globe with highlighted relevant regions, although the lack of representation for the southeast Asian rainforest feels really weird. I get why - they are drawing attention to zones specifically in the new ecoregions section, while this habitat's representation is existing spaces in the eastern side of the zoo and more broken up, plus Tropical Forests' orangutan enclosure, but it does feel odd.
I do want to point out that the Conservation Framework references seals, addax, and painted dogs, which are not mentioned in the plan otherwise, alongside pangolin which will receive new investment and bongo, elephant and hippo which will not arrive until during the plan, so I would assume there is some plan for those first three species to stay. It also is the only place that I saw mention Andean Flamingo, the presumably future residents of the South American Andean Lagoon!
Part of why I am bringing up the Conservation Framework here is because it's clear there will be a lot of animal species and smaller spaces not explicitly mentioned, epsecially during Gateway to Africa -- though the plan seems light on birds, reptiles and small mammals, and overly focused on megafauna, the exclusion of painted dogs and ungulates, for example, indicates this is not a reflection that only species mentioned will be included, and if these larger animals are missing then it makes a little more sense that birds, reptiles and small mammals will likely still be included and are just being left unmentioned. I assume some of this is to allow flexibility should something fall through, and some is to focus on what will sell to mainstream investors.
The discussion of routes is interesting. I wonder what Twilight Safari here entails -- later hours or a tour at sunset in the summer? Unmentioned elsewhere but buried in discussion of the routes is mention of a new exterior otter habitat in the north-south mall, off the Swamp. Very proud to see this crazy-not-crazy idea come to life. I have previously advocated an otter exhibit on the malls on one occasion and when discussing the Cook County Conservation Hub I also brought up the possibility of an outdoor otter exhibit. Like penguins, otters make great welcoming animals and can be very active, and the existing space is on the small side. Smart choice.
Pacific Coasts and Australia
Pacific Coasts of the Americas looks like it will unify the zoo's California sea lion with a new penguin exhibit, and it looks like both will have indoor and outdoor spaces. I'm really glad to see the free-flying birds will move up there with penguins. I wonder if other aspects of the Living Coast may move here as well - it's such a great exhibit and I'd really hate to see it all end up on the chopping block. Still, that's not as- oh my god, what is that dolphin exhibit?? It's like a beautiful aviary but dolphins in the shallows and natural plants and I'm a little in love. Reading the text and proximity of discussion, I initially thought this would all be one exhibit, but the maps later seem to show these separate by the north lot and refer to the dolphin development as "From the Gulf to the Coast". No mention of seals during the initial section, but later on, during the Framework. I hope they include a tunnel like that at Saint Louis.
The Australia renovation is promising but this is the one habitat I expected visuals that they seem to be missing. A full and improved koala habitat is more than welcome and it will breathe a lot of life in the zoo's Australia collection to add more birds to the area, and-- Tasmanian devils!? Now, that's super exciting! What a dream! Brookfield hasn't held the species in decades and our Australia has lacked any real predator representation. There is no mention of existing species like geese, kookaburra, echidna or bats, all of which I hope and expect will remain, and I admit I was really hoping we would see tree kangaroo affirmed after Puzzle's sad passing. I also held out a little hope for the return of some other Australasian birds (cassowary, kiwi) that have left the collection. Still, the vagueness of this plan makes me hope some of these ideas might still be on the drawing board for the future.
Gateway to Africa
For the Gateway to Africa section, we have beautiful renderings of elephants (back at long last!) with room to swim, and what will easily be one of the best hippopotamus exhibits in the country, with what looks to me like plenty of room to graze and fantastic underwater viewing, built off historic Pachyderm House from the looks of it! Nile crocodiles next door is an excited choice as the zoo is currently lacking in large reptile displays. The renovated Pachyderm House space alarmed me for a minute, as I thought the trademark arches were being eliminated, only to realize the viewing area depicted is where the current stalls are located, and the arches will remain. I notice gemsbok in the mixed Savanna.... probably just lazy, reused clip art, but!
Savannah Passage looked like it had the potential to be something amazing. The existence of multiple transfer corridors is a step beyond the typical mixed Savannah setup and should hopefully allow a pretty liberal mix of hoofstock, but also it sounds like potentially easy separation and isolation for species like Grevy's Zebra that may need that. I love how the zoo is preserving the existing eco-buildings for Habitat Africa while altering the outdoor landscaping, though I am curious if small changes may be made, such as changing the indoor Klipspringer exhibits. No sign of the Aardvark House/Small Antelope building, presumably because Dr. Mike is waiting to inform me personally before any public announcements.
Keeping the existing buildings with superior outdoor exhibits, anyway, is very much the best of both worlds there, and based on the diagram it looks like we have a much-needed new lion exhibit, and-- Cheetah?? A very exciting addition, but-- new Pygmy Hippo habitats? Bongo Forest?? Some kind of new pangolin-- CONGO BUFFALO??? Now that's something I did not expect. I know the species persists in the UK and apparently Florida, but I figured Brookfield would never want to go back!
Everything outdoors at Habitat Africa looks likely to remain, and the unlabeled smaller paddocks there I assume are existing forest hoofstock spaces. No mention of red river hogs, duikers, dik-dik, even okapi nor hypothetical warthogs, tells me there are probably going to be smaller exhibits that are simply not marked for intensive planning purposes. I was pretty worried about the painted dogs until I noticed them on the framework page, and I think I see their viewing cabin. I'd love to see an additional African monkey or two mixed in with the buffalo or pygmy hippo as they were at Ituri Forest. (I know, broken record, but I'd like the zoo to integrate primates outside Tropic World.)
So by 2025, we'll have completed 'Phase I' and move on to 'Phase II', which will including the 'Southwest Australian Provinces' project, North Gate Arrival Plaza, all four regions of Gateway to Africa, which is incredibly ambitious -- just completing this will reinvent the zoo's entire northwestern region and restore several extremely popular species and draw in tons and tons of guests who probably haven't visited in a long time. I have brought up before - to non-zoo nerds, Brookfield often isn't all that impressive considering it's hindered accessibility. Elephants, koalas, nile crocodiles, and hippopotamus will draw a huge contrast with Lincoln Park and draw people who already visit the latter facility. They will also allow the zoo to sell more merchandise of these species and promote programs around them. I think the intent is to use these more popular and charismatic megafauna to kickstart funding for subsequent projects. Pacific Coasts of the Americas, focused on penguins and pinnipeds, is next.
I gotta admit, it's very satisfying to see elephants still in the master plan. They were my favorite animal as a child and seeing them in Chicago again would feel like such a homecoming. I was overjoyed to see them, especially the beautiful rendering. I really thought when the master plan came out we'd be having a different conversation.
There is reason to be cautious, as Habitat Africa was meant to be a five-phased plan including situtunga, leopard and more that never came to be, but if we can at least cross the second phase, it will still be a radical reinvention of the campus that will draw a ton of visitors. I do wonder how long they expect these projects to take in total and if the Gateway projects will be constructed at once or separately? It does say 'four regions'. It does feel though, almost designed to be broken up between the 'South African Forests' and 'African Savannah' developments. I suspect 'East African Forests' will overlap with the Savannah construction, since it focuses a lot on Pachyderm House, but I'm unsure how 'Central African Forests' will fit in.
I also like how this will lead visitors directly towards Tropical Forests Africa and the gorillas, allowing them to feel sort of gently integrated into the overall Africa focus.
The Chicago Tribune reports the zoo expects to begin the next phase in 2034, so everything above is expected to complete within the next ten years, presumably as part of the $500 million package they are currently funding, and everything below will be the next phase.
Asian Steppe and the Himalayas
The Asian Steppe rendering is impressive with snow leopard and takin in a predator/prey display, something modern zoos seem to have mostly moved on from, so that could be quite impressive. I welcome takin; though it is a species I might have once complained about, the zoo has been in desperate need of a caprid of some kind for years. It's one of those staple groups that I don't mind missing in a small zoo but in larger, world-class facilities feels too overlooked; and even sadder when Brookfield had a long, rich history with sheep and ibex.
The "Winter Experience Plan" gives some more information, but besides the three big cats and Takin, there appears to be nothing, and nearby structures seem earmarked for the other nearby developments, including the cafe, so it feels like there's very room to add any birds, reptiles or small mammals, and cramped between the expansive Africa section and future North America develpments, it feels like there's no room to grow either. Asia is a massive continent and even the Himalayan region can go a bit bigger than this, but it feels like a much smaller part of campus compared to the other four continents, Clouded Leopard Rainforest, Desert's Edge a little, and the Bear Grottos will feature representatives but are older exhibits, ditto for the species that will remain confined to the interior of Tropic World like the otters and gibbon.
The exhibit looks great and I am supportive of giving the big cats new homes and the addition of takin to the collection, just very uncertain about its overall placement in the grand scheme of things.
Phase III
Phase III, breaking ground from "2034 onward" per the Chicago Tribune, will be the amphitheater, the Central Asian Steppe, the Our Rivers to the Gulf dolphin pond, as well as the North and South American developments, and the Hamill Family Wild Encounters and Bear Grotto expansions. I'm really, really disappointed to see the last one down here. I think reinvigorating the unused Bear Grottos should be a priority; they have stood empty for way too long, in my opinion, far, far, too long, and it doesn't infringe on any of the existing projects unless you count the current presence of sloth bear at Big Cat Walkway. Why wait another ten years? It's not as if the existing Africa and Savanna sections are the weakest part of the zoo most in need of update.
It's also a little disappointing the incredible dolphin habitat is this far off. It seems to have a theoretical tie to Coasts of the Americas and the image is included alongside that complex. I did figure it would be a further off project because of the recent Seven Seas renovation, but I also find disappointing that one of the most innovative concepts they are promoting is the furthest in the future.
So let's talk about what's left off:
North American Grasslands - A little-known exhibit concept, "Brookfield's Western Frontier", from the 60s/70s seems to roar back to life. Definitely would welcome pronghorn and elk to the zoo, and a new bear exhibit isn't unwelcome. I'm not sure the bison need a new habitat but I can see the logic in conjunction wih the below Tundra/Taiga exhibit.
Tundra/Taiga - Well, if North American Grasslands happens, it's smart to make some little changes to Great Bear Wilderness. More space for polar bears isn't a bad thing unless we reach the point there are no extra polar bears left in US zoos which could very well arrive in ten years. Turning the bison yard into a caribou yard could be an impressive sight, although I imagine it could also be used for moose which might be more impressive, but isn't mentioned here. I wonder if other changes might occur?
North American Woodlands - We have a canid icon and basically nothing else? I can only speculate. Looks decent sized. I mean, I guess you could put in beavers, raccoons, lynx, possum, and skunk or something, take an approach similar to the Pritzer Family Children's Zoo at Lincoln Park, or put in some kind of moose exhibit, but it seems totally uneeded. Three North America complexes is a lot of investment for something the zoo doesn't need to 'fix'.
Summarizing the above developments, it looks like a three-pronged effort to create a massive North America campus, including the existing Great Bear Wilderness, Wolf Woods, Bald Eagle aviary, Swan Lake, and these three new complexes. This could be the realization of the North American Panorama dreamed about almost a century ago, and there's some brilliant ideas here. I could see some rearranging and treating it as one giant complex, and having Swan Lake in the center and the creek nearby is fantastic. I love the dedication to US hoofstock, too. It really feels on par with a lot of the Africa development - but both exhibits share a really fatal flaw for me, which is that we are expanding and improving the strongest aspects of the existing campus, and besides Pachyderm House, overlooking a lot of what is weak.
Let's look on. We only have icons for the below exhibits so I am basically speculating entirely.
South American Andean Lagoon - Okay, so we'll clearly have Andean Flamingo, but I can't guess at anything else. Are there other creatures that would fit into this space? Perhaps it will be a walkthrough aviary with additional birds? I'm spitballing. This feels really left field considering they just invested in Caribbean flamingo at the Formal Pool.
Amazon Waters - Snake icon. I want to assume it's an Anaconda but there's nothing to confirm. The Living Coast will be good as deprecated for a lot of people once the rocky shores aviary is duplicated/replaced by Coasts of the Americas. This has the potential to be a great building if they use "Amazon Rising" at the Shedd Aquarium as a guidepost and hopefully build on a little further. I wonder if any small primates or birds may be integrated with a 'canopy' or if they will stick to fish and aquatic reptiles? I could see some species moving from The Swamp, like the river stingrays. Caiman would be a smart bet. Arapiama, arowana and giant turtles would make sense - Milwaukee manages those in their reptile house built decades ago, couldn't be hard for Brookfield in a new facility.
South American Atlantic Forest & Pantanal - Capybara icon. My mind is racing with neotropical exhibits of similar theme elsewhere. My mind first goes towards Yorkshire's "Atlantic Forest" with tapirs, bush dog and maned wolf. Houston's pantanal has anaconda, anteater, capybara, howler, giant otter, currasow, jaguar, macaws, tamarins and tapir. Those both match the primary eco-region. Yorkshire's "South America" and London's "Rainforest Life" could blur in, with sloth, agouti, anteater, capybara, mara, tamandua, and more monkeys; and these are both walkthroughs and so something in that vein could be unique in an American zoo. "Spirit of the Jaguar" overlaps with jaguar, bush dogs, andean bear, and sloth while also adding several fish and so forth - these would all make great inspiration, but it's hard to say what the exhibit's goals really are.
I'm so glad to see South America complexes here! Finally, at long last!
Wildlife Discovery - Aeriel Adventure is almost certainly not an animal attraction.... but what is it?
The Great Beyond
It feels ungrateful to imply there is more to be done, but there always will be. The macaws need aviaries desperately. That is without much question. I'm glad that Desert's Edge and Clouded Leopard Rainforest will survive for some time, but I think both habitats/eco regions deserve better than the current holdings allow. Pallas' cats could easily be added to the Himalayan/Steppe development. The zoo's reptile and bird collection will eventually need new homes - perhaps is new staff buildings continue to be constructed further south as proposed here, some of the buildings surrounding 'Birds and Reptiles'/Perching Bird House can be re-integrated and create a bigger complex, and hopefully allow for more reptiles at least. I'd love to see Komodo dragon; I don't believe an adult specimen has ever been held at Brookfield. I'd also love to see more birds but it's harder to say how/where. The interior of Tropic World will need a refresh, too.
The zoo could really use nocturnal primates as well. It's a shame potto are a pretty dead end population or I'd think they could possibly fit in Gateway to Africa somewhere. Shame there's nowhere a 'basement' could be built like Omaha and London's nocturnal houses. Aye-aye and fossa could make a neat pairing for a Madagascar House. We need more large chelonians. Asian Steppe could use some expansion - camels, horses, maybe markhor?
My dream exhibit is still a Gelada Reserve-inspired African Highlands and Deserts which still feels very possible, and I think there is a lot of room for a Southeast Asian or Australasian exhibit. A smaller Australasian exhibit with cassowary, kiwi, birds of paradise and tree kangaroo would be really unique and bring back species that were previously held but left the zoo.
Feasibility
I cannot tell you how excited I was about the news when it dropped in the morning, but by the late afternoon, some skepticism started to sink in. I am a little bothered how much of the nearer projects feel more like trying to fix what are already the strongest parts of the facility - the excellent Africa exhibits (though including the ailing Pachyderm House) and overriding the very strong Living Coast to move the penguins. The emphasis on mixed savannas and rotational yards sounds exciting at first, but very few zoos actually make any good use of rotational exhibits no matter how much they are promoted, so it could very well be a gimmick that doesn't go anywhere. See Toyota Elephant Passage, for example, which promotes that all three Asian pachyderms rotate; but the tapir usually stays in one place. Hippopotamus are basically impossible to keep in this day and age and are starting to make elephants look easy in comparison. There's a lot that can go wrong in the near future... and meanwhile, the bear grottos will still be empty and ugly. The old lion grotto will be emptied, adding to how dead the east side is. The amphitheater's success depends on use. Has the zoo determined they can actually obtain congo buffalo and sun bear or are they adding 'filler'? If the current developments cost $500, how much will Phase 3 developments demand? Gateway to Africa will take ten years to complete alone, and that's an optimistic forecast when there's no guarantee it won't be delayed or funding may cut... I honestly wish my buzz hadn't ended as fast as it did.
The new North Gate Plaza sounds pretty good. I like that, like Milwaukee, we're trying to eliminate queues. I'm a little unclear if the entry tunnel will survive but the overpass sounds fantastic and a wetland is a cool idea, looks to manage the water issues that have been discussed before.
Outstanding move making the conservation hubs visible. Reminds me of the labs at the the Field Museum where you can watch scientists actually work with fossils. It's a great way to make the nitty-gritty of science work more accessible and potentially more appealing, and add something to see as opposed to these buildings looking like wasted space to the average visitor.
Bear Grottos being reinvigorated is well overdue, and it's great to think about seeing red pandas and wolverines at the zoo, both popular and active small carnivores that can make better use of the renovated space, and to see sloth bears bringing the space back to its original pur-- SUN BEARS!???
This is going to sound silly on my part, but it hadn't occured to me that it was very intentional to set the amphitheater away from animal exhibits. That's smart. All of these animals at the current grottos deserve the better habitats that appear planned for them, but I'm still pretty bummed to imagine taking animals away from the eastern side of the zoo, and someday the Fragile Kingdoms' species will need outdoor space.
Great to hear a new, permanent butterfly house is coming. While butterfly houses aren't as much my thing as some, they are popular, make great field trips and walkthrough habitats, and it'll be cool it's not seasonal. Maybe add a turtle or a bird or two.
Just in terms of the planning book, I love the globe with highlighted relevant regions, although the lack of representation for the southeast Asian rainforest feels really weird. I get why - they are drawing attention to zones specifically in the new ecoregions section, while this habitat's representation is existing spaces in the eastern side of the zoo and more broken up, plus Tropical Forests' orangutan enclosure, but it does feel odd.
I do want to point out that the Conservation Framework references seals, addax, and painted dogs, which are not mentioned in the plan otherwise, alongside pangolin which will receive new investment and bongo, elephant and hippo which will not arrive until during the plan, so I would assume there is some plan for those first three species to stay. It also is the only place that I saw mention Andean Flamingo, the presumably future residents of the South American Andean Lagoon!
Part of why I am bringing up the Conservation Framework here is because it's clear there will be a lot of animal species and smaller spaces not explicitly mentioned, epsecially during Gateway to Africa -- though the plan seems light on birds, reptiles and small mammals, and overly focused on megafauna, the exclusion of painted dogs and ungulates, for example, indicates this is not a reflection that only species mentioned will be included, and if these larger animals are missing then it makes a little more sense that birds, reptiles and small mammals will likely still be included and are just being left unmentioned. I assume some of this is to allow flexibility should something fall through, and some is to focus on what will sell to mainstream investors.
The discussion of routes is interesting. I wonder what Twilight Safari here entails -- later hours or a tour at sunset in the summer? Unmentioned elsewhere but buried in discussion of the routes is mention of a new exterior otter habitat in the north-south mall, off the Swamp. Very proud to see this crazy-not-crazy idea come to life. I have previously advocated an otter exhibit on the malls on one occasion and when discussing the Cook County Conservation Hub I also brought up the possibility of an outdoor otter exhibit. Like penguins, otters make great welcoming animals and can be very active, and the existing space is on the small side. Smart choice.
Pacific Coasts and Australia
Pacific Coasts of the Americas looks like it will unify the zoo's California sea lion with a new penguin exhibit, and it looks like both will have indoor and outdoor spaces. I'm really glad to see the free-flying birds will move up there with penguins. I wonder if other aspects of the Living Coast may move here as well - it's such a great exhibit and I'd really hate to see it all end up on the chopping block. Still, that's not as- oh my god, what is that dolphin exhibit?? It's like a beautiful aviary but dolphins in the shallows and natural plants and I'm a little in love. Reading the text and proximity of discussion, I initially thought this would all be one exhibit, but the maps later seem to show these separate by the north lot and refer to the dolphin development as "From the Gulf to the Coast". No mention of seals during the initial section, but later on, during the Framework. I hope they include a tunnel like that at Saint Louis.
The Australia renovation is promising but this is the one habitat I expected visuals that they seem to be missing. A full and improved koala habitat is more than welcome and it will breathe a lot of life in the zoo's Australia collection to add more birds to the area, and-- Tasmanian devils!? Now, that's super exciting! What a dream! Brookfield hasn't held the species in decades and our Australia has lacked any real predator representation. There is no mention of existing species like geese, kookaburra, echidna or bats, all of which I hope and expect will remain, and I admit I was really hoping we would see tree kangaroo affirmed after Puzzle's sad passing. I also held out a little hope for the return of some other Australasian birds (cassowary, kiwi) that have left the collection. Still, the vagueness of this plan makes me hope some of these ideas might still be on the drawing board for the future.
Gateway to Africa
For the Gateway to Africa section, we have beautiful renderings of elephants (back at long last!) with room to swim, and what will easily be one of the best hippopotamus exhibits in the country, with what looks to me like plenty of room to graze and fantastic underwater viewing, built off historic Pachyderm House from the looks of it! Nile crocodiles next door is an excited choice as the zoo is currently lacking in large reptile displays. The renovated Pachyderm House space alarmed me for a minute, as I thought the trademark arches were being eliminated, only to realize the viewing area depicted is where the current stalls are located, and the arches will remain. I notice gemsbok in the mixed Savanna.... probably just lazy, reused clip art, but!
Savannah Passage looked like it had the potential to be something amazing. The existence of multiple transfer corridors is a step beyond the typical mixed Savannah setup and should hopefully allow a pretty liberal mix of hoofstock, but also it sounds like potentially easy separation and isolation for species like Grevy's Zebra that may need that. I love how the zoo is preserving the existing eco-buildings for Habitat Africa while altering the outdoor landscaping, though I am curious if small changes may be made, such as changing the indoor Klipspringer exhibits. No sign of the Aardvark House/Small Antelope building, presumably because Dr. Mike is waiting to inform me personally before any public announcements.
Keeping the existing buildings with superior outdoor exhibits, anyway, is very much the best of both worlds there, and based on the diagram it looks like we have a much-needed new lion exhibit, and-- Cheetah?? A very exciting addition, but-- new Pygmy Hippo habitats? Bongo Forest?? Some kind of new pangolin-- CONGO BUFFALO??? Now that's something I did not expect. I know the species persists in the UK and apparently Florida, but I figured Brookfield would never want to go back!
Everything outdoors at Habitat Africa looks likely to remain, and the unlabeled smaller paddocks there I assume are existing forest hoofstock spaces. No mention of red river hogs, duikers, dik-dik, even okapi nor hypothetical warthogs, tells me there are probably going to be smaller exhibits that are simply not marked for intensive planning purposes. I was pretty worried about the painted dogs until I noticed them on the framework page, and I think I see their viewing cabin. I'd love to see an additional African monkey or two mixed in with the buffalo or pygmy hippo as they were at Ituri Forest. (I know, broken record, but I'd like the zoo to integrate primates outside Tropic World.)
So by 2025, we'll have completed 'Phase I' and move on to 'Phase II', which will including the 'Southwest Australian Provinces' project, North Gate Arrival Plaza, all four regions of Gateway to Africa, which is incredibly ambitious -- just completing this will reinvent the zoo's entire northwestern region and restore several extremely popular species and draw in tons and tons of guests who probably haven't visited in a long time. I have brought up before - to non-zoo nerds, Brookfield often isn't all that impressive considering it's hindered accessibility. Elephants, koalas, nile crocodiles, and hippopotamus will draw a huge contrast with Lincoln Park and draw people who already visit the latter facility. They will also allow the zoo to sell more merchandise of these species and promote programs around them. I think the intent is to use these more popular and charismatic megafauna to kickstart funding for subsequent projects. Pacific Coasts of the Americas, focused on penguins and pinnipeds, is next.
I gotta admit, it's very satisfying to see elephants still in the master plan. They were my favorite animal as a child and seeing them in Chicago again would feel like such a homecoming. I was overjoyed to see them, especially the beautiful rendering. I really thought when the master plan came out we'd be having a different conversation.
There is reason to be cautious, as Habitat Africa was meant to be a five-phased plan including situtunga, leopard and more that never came to be, but if we can at least cross the second phase, it will still be a radical reinvention of the campus that will draw a ton of visitors. I do wonder how long they expect these projects to take in total and if the Gateway projects will be constructed at once or separately? It does say 'four regions'. It does feel though, almost designed to be broken up between the 'South African Forests' and 'African Savannah' developments. I suspect 'East African Forests' will overlap with the Savannah construction, since it focuses a lot on Pachyderm House, but I'm unsure how 'Central African Forests' will fit in.
I also like how this will lead visitors directly towards Tropical Forests Africa and the gorillas, allowing them to feel sort of gently integrated into the overall Africa focus.
The Chicago Tribune reports the zoo expects to begin the next phase in 2034, so everything above is expected to complete within the next ten years, presumably as part of the $500 million package they are currently funding, and everything below will be the next phase.
Asian Steppe and the Himalayas
The Asian Steppe rendering is impressive with snow leopard and takin in a predator/prey display, something modern zoos seem to have mostly moved on from, so that could be quite impressive. I welcome takin; though it is a species I might have once complained about, the zoo has been in desperate need of a caprid of some kind for years. It's one of those staple groups that I don't mind missing in a small zoo but in larger, world-class facilities feels too overlooked; and even sadder when Brookfield had a long, rich history with sheep and ibex.
The "Winter Experience Plan" gives some more information, but besides the three big cats and Takin, there appears to be nothing, and nearby structures seem earmarked for the other nearby developments, including the cafe, so it feels like there's very room to add any birds, reptiles or small mammals, and cramped between the expansive Africa section and future North America develpments, it feels like there's no room to grow either. Asia is a massive continent and even the Himalayan region can go a bit bigger than this, but it feels like a much smaller part of campus compared to the other four continents, Clouded Leopard Rainforest, Desert's Edge a little, and the Bear Grottos will feature representatives but are older exhibits, ditto for the species that will remain confined to the interior of Tropic World like the otters and gibbon.
The exhibit looks great and I am supportive of giving the big cats new homes and the addition of takin to the collection, just very uncertain about its overall placement in the grand scheme of things.
Phase III
Phase III, breaking ground from "2034 onward" per the Chicago Tribune, will be the amphitheater, the Central Asian Steppe, the Our Rivers to the Gulf dolphin pond, as well as the North and South American developments, and the Hamill Family Wild Encounters and Bear Grotto expansions. I'm really, really disappointed to see the last one down here. I think reinvigorating the unused Bear Grottos should be a priority; they have stood empty for way too long, in my opinion, far, far, too long, and it doesn't infringe on any of the existing projects unless you count the current presence of sloth bear at Big Cat Walkway. Why wait another ten years? It's not as if the existing Africa and Savanna sections are the weakest part of the zoo most in need of update.
It's also a little disappointing the incredible dolphin habitat is this far off. It seems to have a theoretical tie to Coasts of the Americas and the image is included alongside that complex. I did figure it would be a further off project because of the recent Seven Seas renovation, but I also find disappointing that one of the most innovative concepts they are promoting is the furthest in the future.
So let's talk about what's left off:
North American Grasslands - A little-known exhibit concept, "Brookfield's Western Frontier", from the 60s/70s seems to roar back to life. Definitely would welcome pronghorn and elk to the zoo, and a new bear exhibit isn't unwelcome. I'm not sure the bison need a new habitat but I can see the logic in conjunction wih the below Tundra/Taiga exhibit.
Tundra/Taiga - Well, if North American Grasslands happens, it's smart to make some little changes to Great Bear Wilderness. More space for polar bears isn't a bad thing unless we reach the point there are no extra polar bears left in US zoos which could very well arrive in ten years. Turning the bison yard into a caribou yard could be an impressive sight, although I imagine it could also be used for moose which might be more impressive, but isn't mentioned here. I wonder if other changes might occur?
North American Woodlands - We have a canid icon and basically nothing else? I can only speculate. Looks decent sized. I mean, I guess you could put in beavers, raccoons, lynx, possum, and skunk or something, take an approach similar to the Pritzer Family Children's Zoo at Lincoln Park, or put in some kind of moose exhibit, but it seems totally uneeded. Three North America complexes is a lot of investment for something the zoo doesn't need to 'fix'.
Summarizing the above developments, it looks like a three-pronged effort to create a massive North America campus, including the existing Great Bear Wilderness, Wolf Woods, Bald Eagle aviary, Swan Lake, and these three new complexes. This could be the realization of the North American Panorama dreamed about almost a century ago, and there's some brilliant ideas here. I could see some rearranging and treating it as one giant complex, and having Swan Lake in the center and the creek nearby is fantastic. I love the dedication to US hoofstock, too. It really feels on par with a lot of the Africa development - but both exhibits share a really fatal flaw for me, which is that we are expanding and improving the strongest aspects of the existing campus, and besides Pachyderm House, overlooking a lot of what is weak.
Let's look on. We only have icons for the below exhibits so I am basically speculating entirely.
South American Andean Lagoon - Okay, so we'll clearly have Andean Flamingo, but I can't guess at anything else. Are there other creatures that would fit into this space? Perhaps it will be a walkthrough aviary with additional birds? I'm spitballing. This feels really left field considering they just invested in Caribbean flamingo at the Formal Pool.
Amazon Waters - Snake icon. I want to assume it's an Anaconda but there's nothing to confirm. The Living Coast will be good as deprecated for a lot of people once the rocky shores aviary is duplicated/replaced by Coasts of the Americas. This has the potential to be a great building if they use "Amazon Rising" at the Shedd Aquarium as a guidepost and hopefully build on a little further. I wonder if any small primates or birds may be integrated with a 'canopy' or if they will stick to fish and aquatic reptiles? I could see some species moving from The Swamp, like the river stingrays. Caiman would be a smart bet. Arapiama, arowana and giant turtles would make sense - Milwaukee manages those in their reptile house built decades ago, couldn't be hard for Brookfield in a new facility.
South American Atlantic Forest & Pantanal - Capybara icon. My mind is racing with neotropical exhibits of similar theme elsewhere. My mind first goes towards Yorkshire's "Atlantic Forest" with tapirs, bush dog and maned wolf. Houston's pantanal has anaconda, anteater, capybara, howler, giant otter, currasow, jaguar, macaws, tamarins and tapir. Those both match the primary eco-region. Yorkshire's "South America" and London's "Rainforest Life" could blur in, with sloth, agouti, anteater, capybara, mara, tamandua, and more monkeys; and these are both walkthroughs and so something in that vein could be unique in an American zoo. "Spirit of the Jaguar" overlaps with jaguar, bush dogs, andean bear, and sloth while also adding several fish and so forth - these would all make great inspiration, but it's hard to say what the exhibit's goals really are.
I'm so glad to see South America complexes here! Finally, at long last!
Wildlife Discovery - Aeriel Adventure is almost certainly not an animal attraction.... but what is it?
The Great Beyond
It feels ungrateful to imply there is more to be done, but there always will be. The macaws need aviaries desperately. That is without much question. I'm glad that Desert's Edge and Clouded Leopard Rainforest will survive for some time, but I think both habitats/eco regions deserve better than the current holdings allow. Pallas' cats could easily be added to the Himalayan/Steppe development. The zoo's reptile and bird collection will eventually need new homes - perhaps is new staff buildings continue to be constructed further south as proposed here, some of the buildings surrounding 'Birds and Reptiles'/Perching Bird House can be re-integrated and create a bigger complex, and hopefully allow for more reptiles at least. I'd love to see Komodo dragon; I don't believe an adult specimen has ever been held at Brookfield. I'd also love to see more birds but it's harder to say how/where. The interior of Tropic World will need a refresh, too.
The zoo could really use nocturnal primates as well. It's a shame potto are a pretty dead end population or I'd think they could possibly fit in Gateway to Africa somewhere. Shame there's nowhere a 'basement' could be built like Omaha and London's nocturnal houses. Aye-aye and fossa could make a neat pairing for a Madagascar House. We need more large chelonians. Asian Steppe could use some expansion - camels, horses, maybe markhor?
My dream exhibit is still a Gelada Reserve-inspired African Highlands and Deserts which still feels very possible, and I think there is a lot of room for a Southeast Asian or Australasian exhibit. A smaller Australasian exhibit with cassowary, kiwi, birds of paradise and tree kangaroo would be really unique and bring back species that were previously held but left the zoo.
Feasibility
I cannot tell you how excited I was about the news when it dropped in the morning, but by the late afternoon, some skepticism started to sink in. I am a little bothered how much of the nearer projects feel more like trying to fix what are already the strongest parts of the facility - the excellent Africa exhibits (though including the ailing Pachyderm House) and overriding the very strong Living Coast to move the penguins. The emphasis on mixed savannas and rotational yards sounds exciting at first, but very few zoos actually make any good use of rotational exhibits no matter how much they are promoted, so it could very well be a gimmick that doesn't go anywhere. See Toyota Elephant Passage, for example, which promotes that all three Asian pachyderms rotate; but the tapir usually stays in one place. Hippopotamus are basically impossible to keep in this day and age and are starting to make elephants look easy in comparison. There's a lot that can go wrong in the near future... and meanwhile, the bear grottos will still be empty and ugly. The old lion grotto will be emptied, adding to how dead the east side is. The amphitheater's success depends on use. Has the zoo determined they can actually obtain congo buffalo and sun bear or are they adding 'filler'? If the current developments cost $500, how much will Phase 3 developments demand? Gateway to Africa will take ten years to complete alone, and that's an optimistic forecast when there's no guarantee it won't be delayed or funding may cut... I honestly wish my buzz hadn't ended as fast as it did.
Last edited:
Just adding my two cents here - it looks incredible, innovative (particularly the potentially revolutionary dolphin house, which reminds me of the manatees at Burgers), and would catapult Brookfield into the top of the world-class.
I'm with JVM and others above in being mildly sceptical of it all coming to fruition, I've seen too many zoo master-plans get watered down etc. I would be delighted to be proved wrong and have to book another trip to one of my favourite US cities.
Another question - would dolphins not kill wading birds?
I'm with JVM and others above in being mildly sceptical of it all coming to fruition, I've seen too many zoo master-plans get watered down etc. I would be delighted to be proved wrong and have to book another trip to one of my favourite US cities.
Another question - would dolphins not kill wading birds?
Last edited:
I don't think they would; especially captive born dolphins. It's a learned behavior and even in the case of captive orcas, is only done by very few who have learnt how to bait wild birds.
It shouldn't be much of an issue imo, but it remains to be seen I guess as this exact mix of a cetacean and wading birds hasn't been attempted in captivity yet.
Quite frankly there are two things I want to see come to fruition the most out of all of this. Dolphins and elephants. The dolphins desperately need a new space, considering theirs seems to be stuck in the 80s. The elephants would be a massive win for zoos in general, since when was the last time a zoo in North America gained elephants? Skepticism is starting to set in, but I hold out hope for the zoo being able to complete this master plan.
CMTM
Well-Known Member
"Everything is a toy if you play with it" - Dolphins
I can't help but feel this is an overly-pessimistic view of things. You are right that Habitat Africa is already a high quality part of the zoo that isn't in dire need of upgrades, but you know what is? The pachyderm house. It has been a serious concern for the zoo for years -- there's a reason the interior has been closed for over a year and will probably never reopen before renovations are complete. That's the main reason this project is occurring so early, not to mention the outdated row of hoofstock paddocks along 31st street. I want to see something done with the bears grottos as much as the next guy, but the zoo is obligated to address existing exhibits and infrastructure issues before getting to areas that have already been empty for years.
Some skepticism is perfectly valid, but even if things don't work out exactly as planned, better to dream big rather than sell yourself short out the gate. Maybe the rotational savannas and mixed-species elephant enclosures won't work out, but maybe they will. Maybe the amphitheater won't be used as often as intended, but maybe it will. Are forest buffalo and sun bears very likely? No, but everyone would've said the same thing about pangolins 10 years ago.
Point is anything can happen and personally I'm just impressed the zoo even has the ambitions to obtain these species and come up with these designs in the first place.And regarding the timeline, remember that the zoo has already secured $200 million in funding for this first phase of developments. If Gateway to Africa begins construction in 2026 as planned, whether it's done in phases or all at once, it'll probably be fully completed as soon as 2029. That leaves five more years to wrap up the other three phase 2 projects. Also, has it been stated if that $500 million price tag is just for phase 2 or for the entire master plan?
Do you know what the issues are with the interior of the pachyderm house? I haven’t seen anything said and while it feels old, it was renovated not all that long ago to allow guests to walk through the entirety of the center section, so I’ve been surprised it seems closed indefinitely despite those changes.
Somewhat relatedly, do you read the Winter Zoo plan as indicating that elephants will be off exhibit during the winter? Either way, their housing looks smaller than the current pachyderm house, which is a bit concerning in a climate where they could spend nearly half the year mostly indoors.
pinnipedpal93
Active Member
Loving all the announced changes. I do find it somewhat humorous that they're already re-theming Great Bear Wilderness, it's not especially old. Definitely needs it though.