Brookfield definitely acquired some echidna from Riverbanks at that time, but I'm not sure the context. My research shows that echidna were held in Australia House in the 1970s as well, but there's not much to say if they were held between then and the Riverbanks transfers. It's possible they were without them for a while or only briefly.
Brookfield Zoo Brookfield Zoo news 2025
- Thread starter MeiLover
- Start date
Thank you properly. I appreciate hearing about the giraffes especially.
I can't imagine it's feasible to give the otters access to the current exhibit but I do wonder if it could be done with the anteater? I mean, it couldn't use sky tunnels obviously, but for a couple years they did seem to move the anteater between Pachyderm House and Tropic World.
Thank you for clarifying.
I finally watched through the video - great stuff - and was writing for my notes and ended up transcribing Dr. Mike's full description of Gateway to Africa, and thought I would post for those who can't do the video:
"As we wrap up Bramsen Tropical Forests, we already hard at work on what comes next with Gateway to Africa, a multi-phase project that will remake thirty-five acres of the zoo's northwest quadrant into an African trek through savannahs and grasslands. And we are truly blessed with the space to grow and a beautiful tapestry to work with in terms of the landscape we have to build upon, and as we move designs forward, I hope you'll join us in creating that vision. I want you to picture a zoo where you feel transported to the African Savannah, where your view actually can extend to the horizon as you watch the sun set, and in front of that you'll see giraffes, kudu, nyala, ostrich, eland, gazelle, [photos of zebra are shown] and all of these animals together across a large, open expansive habitat. You'll hear elephants trumpet and you'll see them lingering by a water hole.
Elephants are a species that Chicagoans have not had in our city for over fifteen years and yet there's not a day goes by where someone doesn't stop us and ask us on grounds where our elephants are at. We are planning a dynamic and innovative habitat design for elephants that is over twenty times larger than what our elephants previously had at the zoo, a space that will be among the most dynamic, the largest and the most innovative of any zoo, with plenty of room for these incredible animals to roam. We believe passionately that every child in the state of Illinois deserves a chance to see a real elephant and to connect with these magnificent creatures.
Our plans will remake our 1930s Pachyderm building and blow fresh life back into it, creating an atrium where we can share conservation stories about the work the zoo does around the globe and to the north you'll gaze out this beautiful, expansive glass wall into a Savannah that's teeming with wildlife, to the south we'll welcome back Nile Hippo and crocodiles, two species that have been absent from Illinois for far too long, and we'll give guests the chance to see these incredible animals underwater in a whole new way. We'll be revealing more about this plan as we continue to progress with plans for everything from rhinos and cheetahs, but I'll leave you with a vision that sees a new home for our iconic male lions, Brutus and Titus, perched atop a rocky kopje looking over the entire Savannah... but none of this happens without all of us, and we need everyone in Chicago to truly lean in on this project."
A lot of this is information we already have available, but we do have a list of potential hoofstock species now, as well as the return of ostrich and a pretty strong, confident doubling down on elephants.Elephants are a species that Chicagoans have not had in our city for over fifteen years and yet there's not a day goes by where someone doesn't stop us and ask us on grounds where our elephants are at. We are planning a dynamic and innovative habitat design for elephants that is over twenty times larger than what our elephants previously had at the zoo, a space that will be among the most dynamic, the largest and the most innovative of any zoo, with plenty of room for these incredible animals to roam. We believe passionately that every child in the state of Illinois deserves a chance to see a real elephant and to connect with these magnificent creatures.
Our plans will remake our 1930s Pachyderm building and blow fresh life back into it, creating an atrium where we can share conservation stories about the work the zoo does around the globe and to the north you'll gaze out this beautiful, expansive glass wall into a Savannah that's teeming with wildlife, to the south we'll welcome back Nile Hippo and crocodiles, two species that have been absent from Illinois for far too long, and we'll give guests the chance to see these incredible animals underwater in a whole new way. We'll be revealing more about this plan as we continue to progress with plans for everything from rhinos and cheetahs, but I'll leave you with a vision that sees a new home for our iconic male lions, Brutus and Titus, perched atop a rocky kopje looking over the entire Savannah... but none of this happens without all of us, and we need everyone in Chicago to truly lean in on this project."
I was in the Grand Rapids area on vacation and decided to check out the John Ball Zoo. I was inspired to visit after watching the zoo tours videos lol. It was quite nice! It's kinda cool to check out a zoo that's more modern(ish) after basically only visiting Brookfield for my whole life. However, the thing that stood out to me the most is their gorgeous exhibit landscaping(exept in the sad Americas section). the climate is basically the same as Brookfield's and yet most of the enclosures in Brookfield besides from the wolf enclosure are grassy lawns with sandy areas. in comparison John ball is lush and green, with tons of plant work everywhere. it felt like I was in a tropical forest, despite being in Michigan.
The main reason why I'm making this post is because of their Chimp exhibit, their 'Mokomboso Valley' opened in 2001 is miles better than the 2025 Tropic forests. I think I was just brain washed into hyping up the exhibit thanks to the stagnation of the rest of the zoo but wow I can't believe the difference. This is the main view and I would say it expands 100 feet in either direction from what is shown and in addition it has a terraced design and the floor is probably 30 foot down. The size is like both bachelor and family troop exhibits combined. And honestly this picture doesn't do it justice(I found this on zoochat), when I saw it today it was much more lush and the plants where in full bloom. Im not sure whether it looks like this because of the age or because the zoo properly planted the enclosure but the difference is wild. I don't understand how the zoo was comfortable with showing us what they did. like I like the Tropic Forest's but compared to a enclosure opened 24 years prior it just fails. I wish they turned the other grassy mall into a pollinator garden if they really wanted and let the Tropic forests take as much room as needed. I would have loved for them to go wild with planting the enclosures especially considering the animals like privacy and it really enhances the forestry feel. It really doesn't take much to make an exhibit pretty. If anyone has ever played 'Planet zoo' they know the answer is to spam foliage lol! oh, side note for some reason they were playing the planet zoo sound track through the speakers, was kinda random lol. I just hope that the Tropic forests were just a growing pain of the renovation. something that the CEO had to compromise on to make the full vision come to life. because if this is the type of energy he brings to everything else I wont be pleased :/.
The main reason why I'm making this post is because of their Chimp exhibit, their 'Mokomboso Valley' opened in 2001 is miles better than the 2025 Tropic forests. I think I was just brain washed into hyping up the exhibit thanks to the stagnation of the rest of the zoo but wow I can't believe the difference. This is the main view and I would say it expands 100 feet in either direction from what is shown and in addition it has a terraced design and the floor is probably 30 foot down. The size is like both bachelor and family troop exhibits combined. And honestly this picture doesn't do it justice(I found this on zoochat), when I saw it today it was much more lush and the plants where in full bloom. Im not sure whether it looks like this because of the age or because the zoo properly planted the enclosure but the difference is wild. I don't understand how the zoo was comfortable with showing us what they did. like I like the Tropic Forest's but compared to a enclosure opened 24 years prior it just fails. I wish they turned the other grassy mall into a pollinator garden if they really wanted and let the Tropic forests take as much room as needed. I would have loved for them to go wild with planting the enclosures especially considering the animals like privacy and it really enhances the forestry feel. It really doesn't take much to make an exhibit pretty. If anyone has ever played 'Planet zoo' they know the answer is to spam foliage lol! oh, side note for some reason they were playing the planet zoo sound track through the speakers, was kinda random lol. I just hope that the Tropic forests were just a growing pain of the renovation. something that the CEO had to compromise on to make the full vision come to life. because if this is the type of energy he brings to everything else I wont be pleased :/.
John Ball Zoo is on the list of those I'd like to visit, and almost did during my recent Michigan trip, so I do genuinely appreciate the insight, and there's not a lot of great chimpanzee exhibits so it's cool to see one of the better examples. I would encourage you to do a full zoo review if you can. I'm slow at mine but they can be very rewarding once completed. The exhibit reminds me a lot of Saint Louis but more lush than that as well.
You sound very harsh on yourself here. Tropical Forests is still an improvement on the ape habitats that existed at Brookfield before it was built and that's an objective good. The existence of superior facilities elsewhere doesn't need to cancel that out, and there are lots of inferior facilities too, especially for orangutan.
John Ball's chimp exhibit is a little over 11,000 square feet based on my measurements, smaller than Brookfield's gorilla exhibits which are each approximately 13,000 square feet respectively. Also keep in mind the landscaping has had 20+ years to establish compared to the month or so that the Tropical Forests enclosures have had. Indeed it's a nice exhibit that's planted quite well, but I find this to greatly undersell what Brookfield has put together.I was in the Grand Rapids area on vacation and decided to check out the John Ball Zoo. I was inspired to visit after watching the zoo tours videos lol. It was quite nice! It's kinda cool to check out a zoo that's more modern(ish) after basically only visiting Brookfield for my whole life. However, the thing that stood out to me the most is their gorgeous exhibit landscaping(exept in the sad Americas section). the climate is basically the same as Brookfield's and yet most of the enclosures in Brookfield besides from the wolf enclosure are grassy lawns with sandy areas. in comparison John ball is lush and green, with tons of plant work everywhere. it felt like I was in a tropical forest, despite being in Michigan.
The main reason why I'm making this post is because of their Chimp exhibit, their 'Mokomboso Valley' opened in 2001 is miles better than the 2025 Tropic forests. I think I was just brain washed into hyping up the exhibit thanks to the stagnation of the rest of the zoo but wow I can't believe the difference. This is the main view and I would say it expands 100 feet in either direction from what is shown and in addition it has a terraced design and the floor is probably 30 foot down. The size is like both bachelor and family troop exhibits combined. And honestly this picture doesn't do it justice(I found this on zoochat), when I saw it today it was much more lush and the plants where in full bloom. Im not sure whether it looks like this because of the age or because the zoo properly planted the enclosure but the difference is wild. I don't understand how the zoo was comfortable with showing us what they did. like I like the Tropic Forest's but compared to a enclosure opened 24 years prior it just fails. I wish they turned the other grassy mall into a pollinator garden if they really wanted and let the Tropic forests take as much room as needed. I would have loved for them to go wild with planting the enclosures especially considering the animals like privacy and it really enhances the forestry feel. It really doesn't take much to make an exhibit pretty. If anyone has ever played 'Planet zoo' they know the answer is to spam foliage lol! oh, side note for some reason they were playing the planet zoo sound track through the speakers, was kinda random lol. I just hope that the Tropic forests were just a growing pain of the renovation. something that the CEO had to compromise on to make the full vision come to life. because if this is the type of energy he brings to everything else I wont be pleased :/.
You're right that the exhibit could've been planted better though -- both within and around the enclosures. The plants will grow in with age, but I have concerns about how much damage the primates will do to them beforehand. Somebody sent me a photo last week of one of the trees in the monkey exhibit and it's looking pretty rough. Guess that's what happens when you unleash 10 rambunctious spider monkeys onto fresh landscaping. The only way this could've been avoided is if the zoo followed the lead of David Hancocks, the man behind Woodland Park's world changing gorilla exhibit, and left the enclosures empty for a year before introducing the animals so that the landscape could establish properly. Given the circumstances here that wasn't really an option.
Regardless, several weeks out and I remain very happy with how things ended up. Each species is utilizing the features in their exhibits exactly as intended and it's given me full confidence in future projects. It's wait and see as far the vegetation goes, but I have faith things will continue to grow in nicely given how the pollinator gardens are progressing.
Nile Hippo Expert
Well-Known Member
Does anyone know when the African expansion with the elephants is starting construction and when it will be completed?
No info out on either yet.
Haliaeetus
Well-Known Member
Craig Billington
Well-Known Member
I visited the Tropical Forests again on Saturday and there were a few things I noticed that I hadn't the first time I went. There are smaller swing poles in between the larger bamboo poles. I had to go back and look at my photos from my first visit to see if they were there originally there or just added. They were there and somehow I missed them. There are several northern catalpa trees planted on the outskirts of the orangutan exhibit and by their transfer shoots. I think this is a good choice as these trees can get very large, have very large leaves, and will provide good shade, give the appearance of more "jungle" vegetation, and obscure infrastructure once mature. On the underside of the transfer shoots to the bachelor area there is information describing gorilla locomotion for example they can move up 25 mph and stand on 2 legs.
It is surprising how much concrete, steel poles, cables, netting and other "back of the yards" infrastructure is visible especially when viewed from the path to the north by the pollinator garden. No doubt some of this will be obscured as the vegetation matures but there are design solutions that could have greatly reduced it. For example the concrete walls could have easily been obscured by mounding or sloping up the landscaping surrounding them or making more of the concreate appear to be artificial rocks.
With that said the vegetation is already starting to establish more since my first visit and look less manicured and more wild.
It is surprising how much concrete, steel poles, cables, netting and other "back of the yards" infrastructure is visible especially when viewed from the path to the north by the pollinator garden. No doubt some of this will be obscured as the vegetation matures but there are design solutions that could have greatly reduced it. For example the concrete walls could have easily been obscured by mounding or sloping up the landscaping surrounding them or making more of the concreate appear to be artificial rocks.
With that said the vegetation is already starting to establish more since my first visit and look less manicured and more wild.
Craig Billington
Well-Known Member
This guy must be on this site...these videos are really well done.
The channel is run by @ZooNerd1234 .
I second this. Thank you!
Craig Billington
Well-Known Member
I second this. Thank you!
You do great work!
Dwarf mongoose pups were born last month and are on-exhibit in the kopje building.
Some updates on Tropical Forests from my brief visit this afternoon and talking with keepers:
-The gorillas have began rotating between the different spaces. Today the family troop was indoors while the bachelor boys had access to both outdoor exhibits -- one stayed in the overhead chutes and the other lounged in the middle of the larger yard.
-The recently installed ropes connecting the orangutan and gibbon spaces in Tropic World have been removed. Not sure why exactly, but that was short-lived...
-The crested capuchins stopped getting along so they've been split up. There's now two capuchin groups that rotate indoors, each with one tufted capuchin and one crested capuchin. Keepers have been hesitant to introduce them to the outdoor exhibit since they're significantly outnumbered by the ten spider monkeys, but are hoping to attempt it next year.
-It sounds like the squirrel monkeys will remain in Tropic World for the time being. A keeper mentioned that the holes in the mesh are large enough for babies to get through.
-The monkeys have already wrecked two of the live trees and the gorillas have torn apart some bushes, but generally speaking, I was pleasantly surprised how much better the landscaping looks just one month after opening. As the plants have grown in the manicured lawn appearance has faded, making for a more wild/untamed looking environment. Can't wait to see how much growth occurs over the next year. Below I've attached some photos to best illustrate the comparison.
July
August
July
August
-The gorillas have began rotating between the different spaces. Today the family troop was indoors while the bachelor boys had access to both outdoor exhibits -- one stayed in the overhead chutes and the other lounged in the middle of the larger yard.
-The recently installed ropes connecting the orangutan and gibbon spaces in Tropic World have been removed. Not sure why exactly, but that was short-lived...
-The crested capuchins stopped getting along so they've been split up. There's now two capuchin groups that rotate indoors, each with one tufted capuchin and one crested capuchin. Keepers have been hesitant to introduce them to the outdoor exhibit since they're significantly outnumbered by the ten spider monkeys, but are hoping to attempt it next year.
-It sounds like the squirrel monkeys will remain in Tropic World for the time being. A keeper mentioned that the holes in the mesh are large enough for babies to get through.
-The monkeys have already wrecked two of the live trees and the gorillas have torn apart some bushes, but generally speaking, I was pleasantly surprised how much better the landscaping looks just one month after opening. As the plants have grown in the manicured lawn appearance has faded, making for a more wild/untamed looking environment. Can't wait to see how much growth occurs over the next year. Below I've attached some photos to best illustrate the comparison.
July
August
July
August
Attachments
I'm glad to hear the Kopje building has reopened.
Really cool to hear the gorillas are being rotated throughout both outdoor enclosures and the new indoor. It'll add a lot of interest to see the animals in different spaces over different days, but it's also not a drastic approach where you would be unable to sign the exhibit properly as some rotational primate exhibits. I wonder if the zoo will give consideration to letting the African monkeys use one or either gorilla exhibit outdoors part-time in the future.
Hopefully they return in the future. Maybe it's to help keep the orangutan focused to explore the outdoor areas?
I'm sorry to hear about the capuchins needing a separation. It's interesting that the zoo is concerned about them interacting with the spider monkeys due to the larger group. I hadn't thought that might be an issue. Is acquiring more capuchins an option?
Bit of a shame the squirrel monkey won't be coming outside soon as I'm really looking forward to when they do, but that's an understandable reason. Most of us wouldn't want monkey youngsters getting out into the visitor areas... the zoo might need to restrict breeding if they get outdoor access then, it sounds?
The side by side photos are very convincing. The orangutan improvement is very impressive. It doesn't look very much like a lawn at all anymore - it's been a month and it's already getting rather lush with lots of shrubbery. I know a lot of us wish there were more trees but