With the recent announcement of Brookfield Zoo's master plan, much of the zoo community was left shocked and delighted with the ambitious future that was outlined. However, nothing is ever perfect and I'm sure everyone familiar with the zoo has at least one thing they would've done differently. This is not a thread meant for genuine questions and speculation (there is already one), but rather personal ideas and concepts that you would have implemented to change the master plan, no matter how big or small they may be. I have a few ideas I will share, here is the first:
Southeast Quadrant: Bear Grottos, Wild Encounters and Play Zoo
I have intently mixed feelings regarding the bear grotto redevelopment. Utilizing the historic rock faces as a backdrop to naturalistic enclosures is a terrific idea and the planned species would make excellent additions, however I feel there is a lack of focus and the enclosures would be pretty small for these species. Here's what I would do: Consolidate the planned five habitats into three and remove sun bear and wolverine. This leaves two enclosures for already planned sloth bear and red panda, plus a third for another species I’ve selected: yellow-throated marten. They continue with the loose theme of medium-sized Asian carnivores and are a rare and active species that would utilize the space well year-round. There is only one holder in the US currently, but if interest is there imports are realistically possible.
While the bear grottos would still act as an indirect expansion of Wild Encounters, I also see potential to redevelop a portion of the existing Wild Encounters space. From my experience the llama and reindeer enclosures don’t have very high visitor retention and with caribou slated to eventually be exhibited elsewhere, it makes sense to redevelop this portion of the area. My idea is to replace both of these yards with glass-fronted exhibits for wolverine and fisher. This would add two fun and engaging species in this children ceterned portion of the zoo. As a bonus, it would give zoo nerds an incentive to actually visit this area.
Then there’s the play zoo. I do see additional potential here for some future upgrades:
-Once the koalas move out, I hope that the changes they’ve made will give the lemurs an expanded enclosure when they move back. Removing the glass partitions in both the indoor and outdoor enclosures would effectively double the space the lemurs had previously. Throw down a layer of substrate and place additional climbing structures and you have a substantial upgrade.
-Move the toucans and seriemas to a new aviary in one of the future South American exhibits. I’m glad they are here, but they would fit better in a themed area. In their place, my idea is to create a mixed-species animal ambassador habitat with prehensile-tailed porcupine, tamandua and two-toed sloth. All of these species are already at the zoo and the first two have been displayed at the play zoo off and on in the past. It would be more appropriate to see them here and would make for a dynamic exhibit. While plans for an indoor toucan/sereima exhibit have seemingly been abandoned, it would be wise to add one here replacing the kitchen space and adjacent nook.
-Restore the former domestics room at the back of the building. They could either bring back all of the pets like guinea pigs, hamsters, corn snakes, geckos, etc, or they could turn it into something totally different like a mini insectarium.
-With the chicken coop being added soon, it would be excellent to further revitalize the outdoor play zoo spaces with additional enclosures and interactive areas. They seem rather forgotten in recent years. Maybe a small Illinois farm could be created with the chickens, plus ducks, rabbits, pigs, etc.
It remains unclear when or if the planned eagle owl aviary will be added North of the play zoo. It isn't explicitly discussed anywhere in the master plan, but is marked on the map. Hopefully an aviary will be added to the space to bring an additional enclosure to the area, but instead of owls I have something different in mind: a pheasantry. One or two species of pheasants (potentially alongside smaller birds) could be exhibited in the space, loosely connected to the Asian species exhibited at the grottos and would shine the spotlight on a bird that’s recognizable but seldom highlighted in zoos.
Overall, these changes would lead to a more dynamic children’s experience in this part of the campus with an emphasis on interactive exhibits, animal ambassadors, and “cute” small/medium sized mammal species. That’s already the direction they’re heading, but these tweaks would really tie everything together nicely. Here’s a visual I put together (I forget to swap out the owl label for pheasant):
Southeast Quadrant: Bear Grottos, Wild Encounters and Play Zoo
I have intently mixed feelings regarding the bear grotto redevelopment. Utilizing the historic rock faces as a backdrop to naturalistic enclosures is a terrific idea and the planned species would make excellent additions, however I feel there is a lack of focus and the enclosures would be pretty small for these species. Here's what I would do: Consolidate the planned five habitats into three and remove sun bear and wolverine. This leaves two enclosures for already planned sloth bear and red panda, plus a third for another species I’ve selected: yellow-throated marten. They continue with the loose theme of medium-sized Asian carnivores and are a rare and active species that would utilize the space well year-round. There is only one holder in the US currently, but if interest is there imports are realistically possible.
While the bear grottos would still act as an indirect expansion of Wild Encounters, I also see potential to redevelop a portion of the existing Wild Encounters space. From my experience the llama and reindeer enclosures don’t have very high visitor retention and with caribou slated to eventually be exhibited elsewhere, it makes sense to redevelop this portion of the area. My idea is to replace both of these yards with glass-fronted exhibits for wolverine and fisher. This would add two fun and engaging species in this children ceterned portion of the zoo. As a bonus, it would give zoo nerds an incentive to actually visit this area.
Then there’s the play zoo. I do see additional potential here for some future upgrades:
-Once the koalas move out, I hope that the changes they’ve made will give the lemurs an expanded enclosure when they move back. Removing the glass partitions in both the indoor and outdoor enclosures would effectively double the space the lemurs had previously. Throw down a layer of substrate and place additional climbing structures and you have a substantial upgrade.
-Move the toucans and seriemas to a new aviary in one of the future South American exhibits. I’m glad they are here, but they would fit better in a themed area. In their place, my idea is to create a mixed-species animal ambassador habitat with prehensile-tailed porcupine, tamandua and two-toed sloth. All of these species are already at the zoo and the first two have been displayed at the play zoo off and on in the past. It would be more appropriate to see them here and would make for a dynamic exhibit. While plans for an indoor toucan/sereima exhibit have seemingly been abandoned, it would be wise to add one here replacing the kitchen space and adjacent nook.
-Restore the former domestics room at the back of the building. They could either bring back all of the pets like guinea pigs, hamsters, corn snakes, geckos, etc, or they could turn it into something totally different like a mini insectarium.
-With the chicken coop being added soon, it would be excellent to further revitalize the outdoor play zoo spaces with additional enclosures and interactive areas. They seem rather forgotten in recent years. Maybe a small Illinois farm could be created with the chickens, plus ducks, rabbits, pigs, etc.
It remains unclear when or if the planned eagle owl aviary will be added North of the play zoo. It isn't explicitly discussed anywhere in the master plan, but is marked on the map. Hopefully an aviary will be added to the space to bring an additional enclosure to the area, but instead of owls I have something different in mind: a pheasantry. One or two species of pheasants (potentially alongside smaller birds) could be exhibited in the space, loosely connected to the Asian species exhibited at the grottos and would shine the spotlight on a bird that’s recognizable but seldom highlighted in zoos.
Overall, these changes would lead to a more dynamic children’s experience in this part of the campus with an emphasis on interactive exhibits, animal ambassadors, and “cute” small/medium sized mammal species. That’s already the direction they’re heading, but these tweaks would really tie everything together nicely. Here’s a visual I put together (I forget to swap out the owl label for pheasant):
