This exhibit was the giraffe exhibit before the African Journey renovation and was extended into the current Plains. It has always been inhabited by Baringo giraffe, Grant's Gazelle and Ostriches since it opened in 2003. There have been two or three different bird species though, and I think an additional antelope at one point.
The old African Elephant exhibit was home to camels for a few years and then became an additional Black Rhinoceros habitat.
Lincoln Park Zoo has no immediate plans for a new Elephant habitat, and Brookfield Zoo seems to be on a permanent hiatus for exhibit construction, though both zoos hope to re-acquire elephants "in the future" and have re-stated this on multiple occasions.
Shanti, the breeding female asian elephant at Houston zoo was born at LPZ. She is the mother of Mac ( who died), Baylor, Tupelo and Duncan, who reside at Houston zoo. So LPZ actually did breed asian elephants once, though Shanti´s mother may have been loaned to another institution with a male asian elephant. I recently saw Shanti with her young at Houston zoo and was happy to see a native chicagoan who had adapted so well to life in the bayou city.
Two questions that always bother me about this complex is why is the savanna so small compared to other major zoos and why would a really outdated elephant exhibit in size and naturalism open in 2003. Yes it was before the wave of super modern spacious elephant exhibits but wouldn't a basic 1/3 acre yard have been way out of date by 2003?
Two questions that always bother me about this complex is why is the savanna so small compared to other major zoos and why would a really outdated elephant exhibit in size and naturalism open in 2003. Yes it was before the wave of super modern spacious elephant exhibits but wouldn't a basic 1/3 acre yard have been way out of date by 2003?
1. The savanna is probably small because the whole zoo is only about 30 acres so space is extremely tight.
2. Yes, the elephant space was outdated before it opened. A modern elephant exhibit would probably take up at 10 or 20% of the entire zoo's exhibit space.
