The macaws near the Nature Plaza are moved to an off-show space around 4:00 PM no matter if they’re indoors or out. The ones in the aviary may be a different story.
Brookfield Zoo Brookfield Zoo news 2025
- Thread starter MeiLover
- Start date
When I visited today, a construction crew was back, making alterations to the outdoor exhibit. Until they resolve the issues they’ve encountered, I wouldn’t expect the orangutans to be back outside. I spoke with a zookeeper, and they basically said the orangutans are teaching them what needs to be changed in the exhibit. I know the orangutans pulled the wires out of one of the security cameras and broke off one of the lighting rods on top of the exhibit poles. Nothing major, but I would expect some modifications in the coming weeks.
Really appreciate the insight here and it's interesting to hear about the challenges. I think orangutans are a lot more destructive than most people can appreciate despite their gentle nature and this definitely supports that.
To clarify my comment slightly, it was more about not seeing the animals at all than not seeing them specifically outside.
The koalas will leave the zoo at the end of October. Southern tamanduas will take over the exhibit following their departure.
Brookfield Zoo saying goodbye to koalas, welcoming jellyfish and anteaters
Brookfield Zoo saying goodbye to koalas, welcoming jellyfish and anteaters
I'll miss Willum and Brumby - it's been great to have koalas in Chicago and at one of my home zoos. The setup was awkward but they added a splash of new life to the Hamill Family Play Zoo. I did really hope to see a proper feeding sometime, which didn't work out. I'm hopeful the zoo is viewing their stay as successful and remains committed to adding Koalas to the permanent collection when they update the Australia House in the future, although that may be far off now.
I was expecting Ringtail Lemur to take over their former home but moving in Tamandua would have easily been my next choice. I think they're a really underrated species, very kid-friendly between their primate-like arboreal nature and very anteater features, and it's always bugged me the zoo hasn't had them on display, so I do look forward to seeing them. I do hope long-term h that Tamandua, Lemur and Koala remain in the collection but all end up in better spaces.
What is the current psittacine collection like that has now been sent off to an indoor exhibit under complete wing-clipping regime. I definitely agree with you and @JVM that it sends the wrong signal to the general public and is kind of a negation of improvements in psittacine husbandry and animal welfare/well-being. I would say ... there is a definite case for a free-flight macaw and/or amazon parrot aviary and show flock behaviour and ... bonding, mutual preening and with that *** fingers crossed *** mating and nesting behaviour for the species they eventually choose to exhibit.
I’m visiting today and they are out. Kecil (the adolescent male) is already destroying things.
New ape exhibits essentially go through trial by fire - it's ape proof until you put the ape in it! Nothing more fun than dismantling and damaging everything they can!
Koalas could return in the future Australia expansion.I'll miss Willum and Brumby - it's been great to have koalas in Chicago and at one of my home zoos. The setup was awkward but they added a splash of new life to the Hamill Family Play Zoo. I did really hope to see a proper feeding sometime, which didn't work out. I'm hopeful the zoo is viewing their stay as successful and remains committed to adding Koalas to the permanent collection when they update the Australia House in the future, although that may be far off now.
I was expecting Ringtail Lemur to take over their former home but moving in Tamandua would have easily been my next choice. I think they're a really underrated species, very kid-friendly between their primate-like arboreal nature and very anteater features, and it's always bugged me the zoo hasn't had them on display, so I do look forward to seeing them. I do hope long-term h that Tamandua, Lemur and Koala remain in the collection but all end up in better spaces.
Thank you for reporting. I do think it's very interesting they seem to be coming off display indoors while they work on Tropical Forests as well. I probably won't make it back until later in fall but hopefully they have enough time to acclimate that by next summer I'll be able to see them outside.
I find it amusing that orangutans seem to always be the cleverest and most destructive when their public image seems to portray them as the gentlest and least dangerous of the great apes. It certainly reinforces why zoos often have to make primate exhibits out of strong materials!New ape exhibits essentially go through trial by fire - it's ape proof until you put the ape in it! Nothing more fun than dismantling and damaging everything they can!
Yes, they are currently expected to and I'm hopeful that remains the plan.
Craig Billington
Well-Known Member
This was posted on this site the other day:
NEW Tropical Forests | Zoo Tours - ZooChat
NEW Tropical Forests | Zoo Tours - ZooChat
CarnotaurusSastrei
Well-Known Member
Apologies if this is a bit of an odd question, but does anyone know what tortoise species is on display next to the Papuan olive python in the reptiles and birds building? I was just there earlier today, and the electronic signage seemed to be frozen on the information for the python.
Craig Billington
Well-Known Member
I'm attending a lecture at the Zoo on Saturday about the Tropical Forests. If given the opportunity I plan to ask a couple of questions...
What is the plan for the old gorilla habitat in TW?
What percentage of time or what conditions do various species have access to the outdoor habitats?
How are things progressing with the orangutans and gibbons using the outdoor habitat?
How long is it anticipated that the vegetation will take to mature to give the exhibit a lush forest feel?
Are there other questions folks on here would like me to try to get answers for?
What is the plan for the old gorilla habitat in TW?
What percentage of time or what conditions do various species have access to the outdoor habitats?
How are things progressing with the orangutans and gibbons using the outdoor habitat?
How long is it anticipated that the vegetation will take to mature to give the exhibit a lush forest feel?
Are there other questions folks on here would like me to try to get answers for?
I checked from my last few visits and I have no photos of tortoises in the Reptiles and Birds building, which is not terribly helpful. I know Home’s Hinge-back Tortoise and Texas Tortoise have been kept there in the past, and the Home's have been there fairly consistently, and the Texas Tortoise used to be mixed with a different reptile.
These are excellent questions.
If it's not much trouble, I'd be interested if you could also ask about reintroducing previous species to the main Tropic World Africa exhibit (Mandrill, Swamp monkey, mangabey, etc.) and about Ramar's former retirement home? I realize the zoo is unlikely to have plans for Ramar's exhibit especially if they haven't figured out the main gorilla habitat yet, so it's not a super high priority question, but it's another empty space they could consider filling.
Craig Billington
Well-Known Member
I went to Saturday’s (9/20) lecture series about the Tropical Forests at BZC. The talk was given by a Senior Animal Care Specialist (ACS) who works mainly with the gorillas. The talk really focused on the gorillas and transitioning them to the new exhibit. Here is a summary of things that I found interesting.
The indoor habitats have a layer of mulch 5ft deep on the floor. That is much deeper than I thought. It is tilled and turned over every morning.
The ceiling skylight panels over the dayrooms can open. They are usually closed if there is precipitation. Back in March when it snowed the ACS collected snowballs and threw them in the dayrooms. The gorillas were shocked by this.
It was expected the animals would destroy some of the plantings outdoors. This is viewed as ok and part of the animals using their space as they wish. The plantings will just regularly be replaced.
There is an animal training panel similar to the one by the bachelor habitat on the second level by the Kings Conservation area.
The old holding dens in TW don’t connect at all to the new animal areas in TF. To transfer the gorillas to the new building they had to be sedated and carried up and down stairs, elevators, and outside.
There are 16 individual dens in TF.
Most of the transfer shoots are elevated and require climbing but there is a way ground level shoots can be installed for geriatric or animals with reduced mobility.
The gorillas moved into the new Gorilla Conservation Center (GCC) before any other animals moved. There is a central off exhibit area between TW Asia and Africa where the orangutans are on one side and African monkeys are on the other. This area needed to be renovated for the transfer shoots for the orangutans and gibbons. For this to happen the orangutans were moved into the old TW gorilla dens and 4 of the African monkeys were moved into the dayrooms in the GCC. It was not originally planned to move the monkeys here but it worked out well and allowed the ACS to get a better understanding of the features of the GCC and dayrooms for example how to use all the different shifting doors and tunnels.
Eventually these monkeys and gorillas may be put together in mixed species habitats.
Jontu is 550lbs and is the largest gorilla this woman had ever worked with. In the new building he likes to watch the staff in the kitchen and do office work. He can view them (and visa versa) from the off-exhibit dayroom. He also has a tendency to sit in the transfer shoots and block the paths (seemingly unintentionally) from the other gorillas getting by. He doesn’t seem to mind when the females try to squeeze by.
All the males had been outside before at other zoos but none of the females had ever been outside. The females seemed the most shocked and excited to explore the outdoors especially younger ones. The first time it rained the females seemed absolutely shocked and in disbelief of what was happening. They wanted to escape the rain and come back inside. There is shelter outdoors but they really wanted to be indoors.
The two bachelors were transported from Miami to Chicago on plane and truck awake, no sedation was done.
Despite coming from Miami the two brothers prefer air conditioning when it is hot and humid.
In TF ACS have much more access to all the animals during the day when they are on exhibit than in TW. Staff have begun using the training panel in the bachelor habitat already to work with the gorillas to present body parts and get used to medical equipment and procedures.
I asked about what the plan is for the old gorilla space at TW and this woman said she honestly didn’t know.
Both the family group and bachelors can use either dayroom or outdoor habitat.
Usually, the animals will have access to the outdoor and indoor habitats. If there is lightening, they must be inside. If it is <50°F or >90°F they make sure the animals have access to the indoor areas. Based on other outdoor gorilla habitats in the Midwest it is thought the gorillas, especially the younger ones, may venture out into the snow on sunny winter days.
The new public dayroom is about 2/3 the size of the TW public viewing habitat in terms of total space usable by the animals. There was a lot of space in the old TW habitat that the gorillas couldn’t use because of the water feature. The new dayroom has a much smaller footprint but has much more vertical space than TW.
From exposure to more sunlight the hair color of the gorillas is already beginning to change into more natural colors. For example, Jontu’s hair is turning redder on his head.
Not much was said about the orangutans and gibbons other than that the orangutans had damaged the exhibit and it would need construction work. Crews would be coming in to do this sometime in the future.
Sorry I didn't get more questions answered, others had questions and I didn't want to hog the Q/A time.
The indoor habitats have a layer of mulch 5ft deep on the floor. That is much deeper than I thought. It is tilled and turned over every morning.
The ceiling skylight panels over the dayrooms can open. They are usually closed if there is precipitation. Back in March when it snowed the ACS collected snowballs and threw them in the dayrooms. The gorillas were shocked by this.
It was expected the animals would destroy some of the plantings outdoors. This is viewed as ok and part of the animals using their space as they wish. The plantings will just regularly be replaced.
There is an animal training panel similar to the one by the bachelor habitat on the second level by the Kings Conservation area.
The old holding dens in TW don’t connect at all to the new animal areas in TF. To transfer the gorillas to the new building they had to be sedated and carried up and down stairs, elevators, and outside.
There are 16 individual dens in TF.
Most of the transfer shoots are elevated and require climbing but there is a way ground level shoots can be installed for geriatric or animals with reduced mobility.
The gorillas moved into the new Gorilla Conservation Center (GCC) before any other animals moved. There is a central off exhibit area between TW Asia and Africa where the orangutans are on one side and African monkeys are on the other. This area needed to be renovated for the transfer shoots for the orangutans and gibbons. For this to happen the orangutans were moved into the old TW gorilla dens and 4 of the African monkeys were moved into the dayrooms in the GCC. It was not originally planned to move the monkeys here but it worked out well and allowed the ACS to get a better understanding of the features of the GCC and dayrooms for example how to use all the different shifting doors and tunnels.
Eventually these monkeys and gorillas may be put together in mixed species habitats.
Jontu is 550lbs and is the largest gorilla this woman had ever worked with. In the new building he likes to watch the staff in the kitchen and do office work. He can view them (and visa versa) from the off-exhibit dayroom. He also has a tendency to sit in the transfer shoots and block the paths (seemingly unintentionally) from the other gorillas getting by. He doesn’t seem to mind when the females try to squeeze by.
All the males had been outside before at other zoos but none of the females had ever been outside. The females seemed the most shocked and excited to explore the outdoors especially younger ones. The first time it rained the females seemed absolutely shocked and in disbelief of what was happening. They wanted to escape the rain and come back inside. There is shelter outdoors but they really wanted to be indoors.
The two bachelors were transported from Miami to Chicago on plane and truck awake, no sedation was done.
Despite coming from Miami the two brothers prefer air conditioning when it is hot and humid.
In TF ACS have much more access to all the animals during the day when they are on exhibit than in TW. Staff have begun using the training panel in the bachelor habitat already to work with the gorillas to present body parts and get used to medical equipment and procedures.
I asked about what the plan is for the old gorilla space at TW and this woman said she honestly didn’t know.
Both the family group and bachelors can use either dayroom or outdoor habitat.
Usually, the animals will have access to the outdoor and indoor habitats. If there is lightening, they must be inside. If it is <50°F or >90°F they make sure the animals have access to the indoor areas. Based on other outdoor gorilla habitats in the Midwest it is thought the gorillas, especially the younger ones, may venture out into the snow on sunny winter days.
The new public dayroom is about 2/3 the size of the TW public viewing habitat in terms of total space usable by the animals. There was a lot of space in the old TW habitat that the gorillas couldn’t use because of the water feature. The new dayroom has a much smaller footprint but has much more vertical space than TW.
From exposure to more sunlight the hair color of the gorillas is already beginning to change into more natural colors. For example, Jontu’s hair is turning redder on his head.
Not much was said about the orangutans and gibbons other than that the orangutans had damaged the exhibit and it would need construction work. Crews would be coming in to do this sometime in the future.
Sorry I didn't get more questions answered, others had questions and I didn't want to hog the Q/A time.
Glad to see the preference for AC is universal among hominids.
Could bonobos come to fill that space? I know they won't but gosh we could use more bonobo holders in the AZA.
Given that Tropical Forests was built to give the zoos' existing apes outdoor access and given that capacity being filled by multiple gorilla troops and orangutans, highly unlikely. Could make a brilliant lemur exhibit though as discussed earlier!
Considering the ring-tailed lemurs aren't moving back to the play zoo once the koalas leave, this scenario suddenly seems much more plausible. Hopefully they decide on something sooner than later. I'd really prefer if they didn't remain in Clouded Leopard Rainforest for the foreseeable future.