Brookfield Zoo Brookfield Zoo News 2021
- Thread starter MeiLover
- Start date
Are they going to build a new exhibit for them or are they only going to keep them behind the scenes?
That is a terrible disappointment. Memphis did the same not too long ago so they must have had a valid reason. Perhaps they aren't doing well on public view?
I feel grateful to have gotten such great luck with pangolin for the few years it was on exhibit.
Whoopee.
No idea. There wasn’t anyone around I could ask.
Agreed. I was so excited to return to the building to see the pangolins, but alas, I was greeted by an empty exhibit instead.
That is a terrible disappointment. I'm sorry you did not get to see them, I would be very disappointed to come across that as I also have been eagerly waiting to go to habitat Africa the Forest. Now I feel awful that I missed the pangolin twice
.Are there any plans for any of the other zoos with pangolins for them to go on exhibit? I think I heard something about Columbus? If that is not the case then there are no pangolins on display in North America currently...
San Diego had them on the plans of their upcoming children's zoo opening in the Fall. From my understanding they are already on site. Besides that, no other zoos in America have them on display at the moment.Are there any plans for any of the other zoos with pangolins for them to go on exhibit? I think I heard something about Columbus? If that is not the case then there are no pangolins on display in North America currently...
I'll try and get to the zoo tomorrow and figure out whats going on here, as well some of the other questions that have popped up like the status of the giant anteaters and such.
Thank you, any answers to these questions will be very much appreciated. I think San Diego has had pangolins as ambassadors before, hopefully they will keep them in a publicly viewable exhibit.
Let’s get rid of a rare and underappreciated species. Good idea Brookfield, good idea.
Brookfield Zoo Visit Report: 06/12/21
Im currently on my phone typing this so please excuse any typos.
This was a bizarre visit. The first two hours were normal enough until It began to thunderstorm which led me to retreat to the African Forest house where I was trapped for about 40 minutes with no pangolin to keep me entertained. A tragedy. After a while I had gotten sick of waiting and decided to book it to the entrance. One of the ladies who were among those stuck in the forest house had trash bags thst she was gebrous enough to give to everyone to keep us dry. I shoved my camera under the trash bag after popping my head through the top. It was then when I began the long perilous trek towards the North Gate. The various hoofstock I passed were all a lot smarter then I was as they all retreated to cover. But while running out I realized I hadn’t seen Deserts Edge yet. With the North American challenge under way I needed to see the coati and ocelot to add to my total. So I decided to run over that way before leaving. I know I could have just gone next time I was there, but I am unnecessarily stubborn so I had different plans. I think at that point it really hit me what I was doing. There I was wearing a trash bag running through the Brookfield zoo in a thunderstorm to see a coati. This is the life I have chosen, it’s too late to turn back now.
Anyway, let’s address the most recent topic of conversation on this thread.
The Pangolin Predicament: During my extended time in the African forest house I witnessed an empty pangolin exhibit and it definitely stung seeing one of the coolest animals at the zoo gone. Luckily, there were two keepers around that were able to give me an explanation, well sort of. Apparently they are just off exhibit for breeding purposes, but this still confuses me. The zoo has at least a dozen animals behind the scenes for that purpose. They only displayed one at a time, so why are they all off exhibit? The zoo has made a pretty big deal out of them up to this point so I feel like they wouldn’t pull them off display unless they had a very serious reason. The keeper was unaware if this is a temporary or permanent move. I suppose all we can do is wait and see. And this wasn’t the only shake up in Habitat Africa...
Misc. Updates:
-The gaboon viper was also removed and has been replaced by a Madagascar tree boa.
-The red river hogs are no longer on exhibit in the yard with the nyala and crowned crane.
-The klipspringers are no longer signed in the yard with the gerenuk.
-The giant anteater is back on exhibit in Tropic World. Still no indication of the one in the pachyderm house.
-New glass has been installed in the meerkat and bat-eared fox exhibits. It’s now almost floor to ceiling.
-The small tortoise yard in the formal pool seems to be a goner as well. All of the signs are gone and several mounds of dirt filled the small exhibit.
-There was some construction going on between The Swamp and the Wildlife Trading Post Gift shop, probably just general repairs.
-Saw some mating behavior with the giraffes and okapis. Hoping for another calf for both species.
I’m glad the anteater is still around, bit otherwise it really seems like things just keep getting more and more empty. Here. This has to be like the 93rd time I’m reiterating myself at this point, but man the zoo is looking more and more like a shell of its former self with every passing visit. With the pangolins MIA from public view, that’s another huge highlight gone. I’m sure the zoo must have a valid reason as again I doubt they would remove a species they made a real thing out of unless they a had a very good reason why. Regardless, I look forward to seeing new management coming in soon, hopefully with a more ambitious vision for the zoo.
Im currently on my phone typing this so please excuse any typos.
This was a bizarre visit. The first two hours were normal enough until It began to thunderstorm which led me to retreat to the African Forest house where I was trapped for about 40 minutes with no pangolin to keep me entertained. A tragedy. After a while I had gotten sick of waiting and decided to book it to the entrance. One of the ladies who were among those stuck in the forest house had trash bags thst she was gebrous enough to give to everyone to keep us dry. I shoved my camera under the trash bag after popping my head through the top. It was then when I began the long perilous trek towards the North Gate. The various hoofstock I passed were all a lot smarter then I was as they all retreated to cover. But while running out I realized I hadn’t seen Deserts Edge yet. With the North American challenge under way I needed to see the coati and ocelot to add to my total. So I decided to run over that way before leaving. I know I could have just gone next time I was there, but I am unnecessarily stubborn so I had different plans. I think at that point it really hit me what I was doing. There I was wearing a trash bag running through the Brookfield zoo in a thunderstorm to see a coati. This is the life I have chosen, it’s too late to turn back now.
Anyway, let’s address the most recent topic of conversation on this thread.
The Pangolin Predicament: During my extended time in the African forest house I witnessed an empty pangolin exhibit and it definitely stung seeing one of the coolest animals at the zoo gone. Luckily, there were two keepers around that were able to give me an explanation, well sort of. Apparently they are just off exhibit for breeding purposes, but this still confuses me. The zoo has at least a dozen animals behind the scenes for that purpose. They only displayed one at a time, so why are they all off exhibit? The zoo has made a pretty big deal out of them up to this point so I feel like they wouldn’t pull them off display unless they had a very serious reason. The keeper was unaware if this is a temporary or permanent move. I suppose all we can do is wait and see. And this wasn’t the only shake up in Habitat Africa...
Misc. Updates:
-The gaboon viper was also removed and has been replaced by a Madagascar tree boa.
-The red river hogs are no longer on exhibit in the yard with the nyala and crowned crane.
-The klipspringers are no longer signed in the yard with the gerenuk.
-The giant anteater is back on exhibit in Tropic World. Still no indication of the one in the pachyderm house.
-New glass has been installed in the meerkat and bat-eared fox exhibits. It’s now almost floor to ceiling.
-The small tortoise yard in the formal pool seems to be a goner as well. All of the signs are gone and several mounds of dirt filled the small exhibit.
-There was some construction going on between The Swamp and the Wildlife Trading Post Gift shop, probably just general repairs.
-Saw some mating behavior with the giraffes and okapis. Hoping for another calf for both species.
I’m glad the anteater is still around, bit otherwise it really seems like things just keep getting more and more empty. Here. This has to be like the 93rd time I’m reiterating myself at this point, but man the zoo is looking more and more like a shell of its former self with every passing visit. With the pangolins MIA from public view, that’s another huge highlight gone. I’m sure the zoo must have a valid reason as again I doubt they would remove a species they made a real thing out of unless they a had a very good reason why. Regardless, I look forward to seeing new management coming in soon, hopefully with a more ambitious vision for the zoo.
Brookfield Fan
Active Member
I'd imagine the anteater was just moved from the pachyderm house to Tropic World.
It is good to see the anteater mystery (Somewhat?) solved. Hopefully the pangolins can go back on exhibit at some point, I wonder what sort of circumstances that would require. And I very much wish some funding will shift from LPZ at this point because they really can't do to much more on the small area there and Brookfield has so much more potential some extra funding could provide. Hopefully new leadership can help secure more funding and wealthy donors for projects.
Agreed.
There’s not much else Lincoln Park can do other than change up the Hoofstock section. It’s certainly Brookfield that needs more donors than ever if it means he’s y improvements.
While I’m glad that the pangolin is still around, I am curious if their breeding attempts of the species will be successful or not. Glad that the anteater is back where it truly belongs in its original exhibit. Now all we need is the Pygmy hippo back in the Tropic World once the African section fully reopens.
Technically I could see Lincoln Park doing something with their primate house, as they do have a good collection. Not sure how that would work out though since they have minimal space.
I would also think the primate house needs to go as well. Not destroyed but I would like to see the interior gutted and turned into something like a flooded forest or Madagascar exhibit. That and the hoofstock loop are both far from bad and thankfully all of the truly outdated areas have been dealt with at this point, but I still think for Lincoln Park to reach its true potential they will need to be dealt with down the line. Considering the Pride of Chicago is wrapping up soon I doubt this will happen for at many more years, and that is completely fine as the zoo has done an exceptional job revamping the rest of their black marks and they deserve some time off from being a construction zone.
The space taken up by the hoofstock loop is enough for a fairly large elephant complex, so if Lincoln Park really wants to twist the knife into Brookfield's side they can
.[QUOTE="Tapir Master, post: 1319661, member: 17092" Now all we need is the Pygmy hippo back in the Tropic World once the African section fully reopens.[/QUOTE]
I disagree. Tropic World is not an ideal home for the pygmy hippo as keeping it indoors year round has proven to be an insufficient way to exhibit them. Why do you think they were moved to the pachyderm house in the first place? The zoos last one is extremely old anyway. There is no reason to change her environment right now considering her advanced age.
I would also think the primate house needs to go as well. Not destroyed but I would like to see the interior gutted and turned into something like a flooded forest or Madagascar exhibit. That and the hoofstock loop are both far from bad and thankfully all of the truly outdated areas have been dealt with at this point, but I still think for Lincoln Park to reach its true potential they will need to be dealt with down the line. Considering the Pride of Chicago is wrapping up soon I doubt this will happen for at many more years, and that is completely fine as the zoo has done an exceptional job revamping the rest of their black marks and they deserve some time off from being a construction zone.
The space taken up by the hoofstock loop is enough for a fairly large elephant complex, so if Lincoln Park really wants to twist the knife into Brookfield's side they can
I disagree. Tropic World is not an ideal home for the pygmy hippo as keeping it indoors year round has proven to be an insufficient way to exhibit them. Why do you think they were moved to the pachyderm house in the first place? The zoos last one is extremely old anyway. There is no reason to change her environment right now considering her advanced age.
Gutting all the camels, Grevy’s zebras, and other hoofstock foe elephants would be the biggest sacrifice Lincoln Park would do in their future. While it’s true the entire loop on its own is big enough for elephants as it’s, it would need a huge donor to change almost everything to suit them. Trails, enrichments, watering hole, you name it. Never really thought of the ape house being tweaked. It is true the more I look at it the inside didn’t age well. Maybe make some room for the extra chimps they have, though it would take a lot of restructuring.
And whoops, never knew the hippo’s an old girl. That’s just me wanting the floors of the Tropic World to be more lively. She’s free to hang out in her current pachyderm exhibit as much as she wants for her final years.
The primate house as in outdoor spaces. Even if they where rotational, I wouldn’t mind seeing them outside more. There doesn’t happen to be a Lincoln park hopes, dreams or whatever thread does there…
Ah. Seeing more than the gibbons outside would be a nice change.
Today I spotted 2 spoonbill chicks in the Swamp. Not rare or endangered or anything but still nice to catch a glimpse.