I'd definitely like to see the pangolin. Also interested in any rare reptiles they might have. It seems like they used to have some interesting stuff back in the day.
Brookfield Zoo Brookfield Zoo News 2022
- Thread starter pachyderm pro
- Start date
I'd definitely like to see the pangolin. Also interested in any rare reptiles they might have. It seems like they used to have some interesting stuff back in the day.
Here is a brief list of notable reptiles plus where in the zoo they are located. The rarities I can think of off the top of my head are Orinoco crocodile (The Swamp), Gray's monitor (Reptiles and Birds), Papuan olive python (Reptile and Birds), ornate flying snake (Feathers and Scales), and frilled lizard (Australia House). There are a few notable amphibians as well, namely Chinese giant salamander (The Swamp), Texas Blind Salamander (in a very easy to miss tank near the end of the Living Coast) and Lake Titicaca frog (Reptiles and Birds).
I'd love to see a gray's monitor. I remember seeing caiman lizards for the first time at Brookfield a long time ago. Now they are relatively easy to find in the pet trade. It was a mind-blowing thing to see for me as a reptile enthusiast. I never even knew they existed. Did they ever have perenties, or am I imagining that?
A male addax was born on July 2nd:
Chicago Zoological Society - Addax—a Critically Endangered Antelope—Born at Brookfield Zoo
Chicago Zoological Society - Addax—a Critically Endangered Antelope—Born at Brookfield Zoo
Mr.Ivory
Well-Known Member
After a visit yesterday I came across a very strange sight a trio of Helmeted Guinea Fowl near the bison enclosure, I for didn't know the zoo had Guinea Fowl let alone having them be free-roaming. But in other news the giraffes were showing signs of mating though no mating occurred.
The guineafowl have been free roaming around the zoo for many years. I'm surprised you haven't seen them before.
That's good to hear - Ato and Arnietta have a breeding recommendation so hopefully Arnietta will fall pregnant soon. The zoo is also recommended to receive a new young female from another zoo to breed with Ato.
A few years ago they had two of the peahens hatch guinea eggs, and you'd see the mothers with all of their foster kids in tow.
On July 21st, the zoo announced they have acquired (0.5) domestic goats (breed(s) not specified) that were born in early April.
Log into Facebook
Log into Facebook
On July 22nd, the zoo announced that a (0.0.1) of the 5 Mexican grey wolf pups has passed away.
Log into Facebook
Log into Facebook
I visited Brookfield a week ago and I have to say that it was much more of a pleasant surprise than I expected. I recall the collection being impressive over 20 years ago, but I assumed that it had declined quite a bit more. I feel like I am wrong about that.
While I miss seeing animals like the topi (awesome to see), I think the zoo holds it's own very well without major species like elephants and nile hippos. I enjoyed the fact that there are many exhibit complexes where you'll see not only major species like giraffes in the savannah area, but also interesting smaller things like klipspringer, white throat monitors, and mongooses. There's a lot of that kind of contrast going on at this zoo. The forest was also great, as we got to see the pangolin (hiding in a box), and the sanzina boas, which are another favorite of mine that I rarely see. Two species of duikers on exhibit were a treat as well.
The reptile collection here is fantastic and it is spread throughout almost the entire zoo. There are at least 9 separate areas or buildings containing noteworthy reptiles. I was somewhat disappointed to see the old reptile house converted to an education building, however, the two reptile/bird buildings more than compensated for the loss. I particularly enjoyed the old perching bird house being mainly a reptile house with a large open air bird exhibit in the center. There were some real gems in there. A Gray's monitor, caiman lizards, helmeted iguanas, Corucia, and a really large reticulated python enclosure were all nice to see. It was a strange-ish building. I'm a native Cincinnatian, and the place made me recall the old Cincinnati bird house before it became Wings of the World. Before that it was Cincinnati's reptile house, and I imagine if it still were, it would look a lot like the obviously old but semi-repurposed feathers and Scales at Brookfield. Reptiles and Birds had a similar feel. Enclosures are modernized, but the age of the structures is still very apparent with a lot of retained character.
Tropic World was a bit disappointing, but it's what it is. it's become a big, nearly empty building. The African area was closed. I remember being overwhelmed by all of the animals on display the first time I saw this complex, but now it's limited to just a few species per geographic section. This may be for the best, but it's a bit off considering the original intent. The strangest thing to be is the Asian area, where the giant room has just otters, gibbons and orangutans, but the orangs are limited to what seems to be a small elevated island. I don't know if they can get down from there, but if they could they seemed uninterested. I wonder how much longer this building will be around.
Loved the swamp complex and another terrific little reptile collection. The highlight for me was a legit Amazon Basin emerald tree boa, the Ferrari of snakes, if you will, to reptile keepers such as myself. I've seen a lot of caninus in zoos, but not as many of the batesii subspecies. Basins are significantly more expensive to acquire, so the zoo either got one from a generous breeder, shelled out the cash, or had their own breeding group in house. Either way, beautiful and striking animal. The orinoco croc was a nice find in a great exhibit. I think the otter enclosure was pretty small. I'm surprised a species such as that isn't kept outdoors, to be honest.
I could go on. The antelope collection is diminished, but still very good. The elephant building is a conversation in and of itself. I had my 9 year old son with me. He was incredibly excited to see capybaras and tapirs. It was more exciting for him than any time he's seen elephants, to be honest. This may not be the norm, but I think zoos in need of space should consider the idea that keeping less common, unique animals may mitigate the perceived need to keep the big ABCs when it comes to public perception. Elephants are demanding. Common hippos are demanding. I feel like the idea that zoos can't be interesting to the general public without them may be a bit overwrought. As for the elephant building, it was yet another example of something that "downsized" but remained interesting. It could certainly use some updates, but overall it was enjoyable. The last thing I'll say is that the old hippo yards were quite a bit larger than I remember. Certainly not the worst I've seen. The indoor holding is another story.
In summary, Brookfield is still a zoo very much worth seeing for zoo nerds and the general public. It needs some work in many aspects, but remains quite relevant. A zoo with Brookfield's history is always something I'll be interested in seeing and learning more about.
While I miss seeing animals like the topi (awesome to see), I think the zoo holds it's own very well without major species like elephants and nile hippos. I enjoyed the fact that there are many exhibit complexes where you'll see not only major species like giraffes in the savannah area, but also interesting smaller things like klipspringer, white throat monitors, and mongooses. There's a lot of that kind of contrast going on at this zoo. The forest was also great, as we got to see the pangolin (hiding in a box), and the sanzina boas, which are another favorite of mine that I rarely see. Two species of duikers on exhibit were a treat as well.
The reptile collection here is fantastic and it is spread throughout almost the entire zoo. There are at least 9 separate areas or buildings containing noteworthy reptiles. I was somewhat disappointed to see the old reptile house converted to an education building, however, the two reptile/bird buildings more than compensated for the loss. I particularly enjoyed the old perching bird house being mainly a reptile house with a large open air bird exhibit in the center. There were some real gems in there. A Gray's monitor, caiman lizards, helmeted iguanas, Corucia, and a really large reticulated python enclosure were all nice to see. It was a strange-ish building. I'm a native Cincinnatian, and the place made me recall the old Cincinnati bird house before it became Wings of the World. Before that it was Cincinnati's reptile house, and I imagine if it still were, it would look a lot like the obviously old but semi-repurposed feathers and Scales at Brookfield. Reptiles and Birds had a similar feel. Enclosures are modernized, but the age of the structures is still very apparent with a lot of retained character.
Tropic World was a bit disappointing, but it's what it is. it's become a big, nearly empty building. The African area was closed. I remember being overwhelmed by all of the animals on display the first time I saw this complex, but now it's limited to just a few species per geographic section. This may be for the best, but it's a bit off considering the original intent. The strangest thing to be is the Asian area, where the giant room has just otters, gibbons and orangutans, but the orangs are limited to what seems to be a small elevated island. I don't know if they can get down from there, but if they could they seemed uninterested. I wonder how much longer this building will be around.
Loved the swamp complex and another terrific little reptile collection. The highlight for me was a legit Amazon Basin emerald tree boa, the Ferrari of snakes, if you will, to reptile keepers such as myself. I've seen a lot of caninus in zoos, but not as many of the batesii subspecies. Basins are significantly more expensive to acquire, so the zoo either got one from a generous breeder, shelled out the cash, or had their own breeding group in house. Either way, beautiful and striking animal. The orinoco croc was a nice find in a great exhibit. I think the otter enclosure was pretty small. I'm surprised a species such as that isn't kept outdoors, to be honest.
I could go on. The antelope collection is diminished, but still very good. The elephant building is a conversation in and of itself. I had my 9 year old son with me. He was incredibly excited to see capybaras and tapirs. It was more exciting for him than any time he's seen elephants, to be honest. This may not be the norm, but I think zoos in need of space should consider the idea that keeping less common, unique animals may mitigate the perceived need to keep the big ABCs when it comes to public perception. Elephants are demanding. Common hippos are demanding. I feel like the idea that zoos can't be interesting to the general public without them may be a bit overwrought. As for the elephant building, it was yet another example of something that "downsized" but remained interesting. It could certainly use some updates, but overall it was enjoyable. The last thing I'll say is that the old hippo yards were quite a bit larger than I remember. Certainly not the worst I've seen. The indoor holding is another story.
In summary, Brookfield is still a zoo very much worth seeing for zoo nerds and the general public. It needs some work in many aspects, but remains quite relevant. A zoo with Brookfield's history is always something I'll be interested in seeing and learning more about.
I completely agree with everything you've said here. Brookfield's collection is huge and the zoo has made in an effort to go into more obscure species in recent years. I still don't understand why everyone has an obsession with Brookfield bringing back elephants when I think this would probably severely diminish the quality of the zoo.
I'm with you.
I don't know what the numbers would bear out, but I'm not sure what the overall financial benefit would be when it comes to obtaining elephants again. I know the initial exhibitry investment is huge if done well, and the maintenance over time is nothing cheap, either. If you live in the area, are just not going to go to the zoo if they don't have elephants? I guess it's possible, but there's still a huge number of species, megafauna included, on display.
I think sometimes the idea of zoo nerds getting sideways with institutions about diminished collections revolves around megafauna like elephants, polar bears or hippos being less prominent. I feel rather the opposite. Brookfield is just fine without elephants. My home zoo in Cincinnati would be just fine without bears. Unfortunately, I don't think zoo administrators see it that way.
I'd much rather see rare species in good exhibits than ABCs wedged into smallish ones. Too often anymore, I leave zoos feeling like their collections are just way too alike. Same animals everywhere with a bit of fluctuation and a few elderly rare stragglers scattered around. I definitely didn't feel that way at Brookfield. I like 6 hours away, and my first thought was that I couldn't wait to make another trip back next year.
Also, I'd be remiss if I didn't say how awesome I think the concept of the Australia house is. There was definitely some emptiness to it in some areas, but for the most part it was unique and very nice. I really like the setup of a herp/avian room of smaller displays leading into a larger series of indoor exhibits. Not to mention, just some really cool animals with echidna and wombats on display. Beats the brakes off of a kangaroo walk-thru and a zip line, lol. I was actually pleasantly surprised that Brookfield's large kangaroo yards weren't actually walk-thoughs.
I couldn't agree more with these sentiments. I've increasingly enjoyed each of my visits to Brookfield, and have expressed before how Brookfield is seemingly one of the few major NA zoos doing what we've all been clamoring for; more focus on non ABCs.
Edit: Cross post but I agree with the second post as well. Australia house is very good, especially considering they don't have koala, tree kangaroo, or Tasmanian devils (Or platypus of course)
First of all, let me just say that these are two excellently written posts from @groundskeeper24. Glad you enjoyed your visit and I concur with many of your thoughts. I have a few comments regarding some of the main points being discussed here.
Me personally, I'd love to see elephants at the zoo again. I understand the opposition to it, but they are always a favorite at every zoo I visit. It's very much possible as well, with more than enough space for it and public support for such a project would be through the roof. I can affirm that the locals are very vocal about wanting the zoo to have elephants again, so I would imagine there would be some donors willing to make sizable contributions to a new elephant complex. The zoos new director has also recently expressed interest in bringing back elephants if it proved to be financial viable. However, in spite of everything I just mentioned, I am still not confident that this will ever come to fruition. The expense of exhibiting elephants combined with an extremely limited population are two hurdles that stand in the zoos way. Add opposition from activists on top of that and I seriously doubt the zoo will see this headache as a worthy investment. I love elephants and would be elated to see them eventually return, but with each passing year the prospect of elephants in Illinois seems more and more unlikely.
Now with all of that said, in the event plans for elephants are scrapped for good, I honestly won't be all that disappointed. This gives the zoo additional space and resources to bring in even more oddities. It's funny you bring up collections which have diminished their rarities and pivoted to revolve around popular megafauna, as I was just talking about this exact topic yesterday on another thread. Brookfield has done a really good job of bringing in some unusual species over the last few years and it really hasn't gotten enough credit for it until recently. That's why Habitat Africa: The Forest is one of my favorite exhibits, as it specifically focuses on unusual species that most of the general public have no idea exist. If my fellow Chicagoans really want to see elephants, Milwaukee and Indianapolis are only a day trip away.
I would still like to see some more ABC species be added though, as Brookfield is a huge zoo that has potential to house many additional megafauna. Hippos are tentatively slated to return which would be awesome. Koalas have also been discussed which would certainly be a great addition to an already fairly diverse Australian collection. I am also really hoping for more primates, as it has been noted that Tropic World feels less and less exciting as times go on. There are also plans for new antelope paddocks, so some new and unusual African hoofstock species would be fantastic as well. I just hope that the zoo doesn't go down the route of zoos like Cincinnati and focuses too heavily on ABCs and scales back its collection of smaller rarities in the process.
Anyway, we'll have the answers to all of this by early next year when the new master plan is finally revealed. I've been waiting for this thing to be released for the better part of three years now, so the day it gets announced will be a huge event for yours truly. The one thing I'm really hoping for are large new exhibit complexes that focus on uncommon species and environments, such as Andean Foothills, Papua New Guinea, Madagascar, etc. I think that may be the path I want to see Brookfield take: a major zoo that specializes in unique animals big and small, alongside a steady amount of charismatic megafauna.
Me personally, I'd love to see elephants at the zoo again. I understand the opposition to it, but they are always a favorite at every zoo I visit. It's very much possible as well, with more than enough space for it and public support for such a project would be through the roof. I can affirm that the locals are very vocal about wanting the zoo to have elephants again, so I would imagine there would be some donors willing to make sizable contributions to a new elephant complex. The zoos new director has also recently expressed interest in bringing back elephants if it proved to be financial viable. However, in spite of everything I just mentioned, I am still not confident that this will ever come to fruition. The expense of exhibiting elephants combined with an extremely limited population are two hurdles that stand in the zoos way. Add opposition from activists on top of that and I seriously doubt the zoo will see this headache as a worthy investment. I love elephants and would be elated to see them eventually return, but with each passing year the prospect of elephants in Illinois seems more and more unlikely.
Now with all of that said, in the event plans for elephants are scrapped for good, I honestly won't be all that disappointed. This gives the zoo additional space and resources to bring in even more oddities. It's funny you bring up collections which have diminished their rarities and pivoted to revolve around popular megafauna, as I was just talking about this exact topic yesterday on another thread. Brookfield has done a really good job of bringing in some unusual species over the last few years and it really hasn't gotten enough credit for it until recently. That's why Habitat Africa: The Forest is one of my favorite exhibits, as it specifically focuses on unusual species that most of the general public have no idea exist. If my fellow Chicagoans really want to see elephants, Milwaukee and Indianapolis are only a day trip away.
I would still like to see some more ABC species be added though, as Brookfield is a huge zoo that has potential to house many additional megafauna. Hippos are tentatively slated to return which would be awesome. Koalas have also been discussed which would certainly be a great addition to an already fairly diverse Australian collection. I am also really hoping for more primates, as it has been noted that Tropic World feels less and less exciting as times go on. There are also plans for new antelope paddocks, so some new and unusual African hoofstock species would be fantastic as well. I just hope that the zoo doesn't go down the route of zoos like Cincinnati and focuses too heavily on ABCs and scales back its collection of smaller rarities in the process.
Anyway, we'll have the answers to all of this by early next year when the new master plan is finally revealed. I've been waiting for this thing to be released for the better part of three years now, so the day it gets announced will be a huge event for yours truly. The one thing I'm really hoping for are large new exhibit complexes that focus on uncommon species and environments, such as Andean Foothills, Papua New Guinea, Madagascar, etc. I think that may be the path I want to see Brookfield take: a major zoo that specializes in unique animals big and small, alongside a steady amount of charismatic megafauna.
One can dream, and if done the way Brookfield has with The Swamp, or any of the other roughly geographically based exhibits, it would be spectacular. I'm fearful, however, that the new direction may be more ABC and megafauna based, just because that is the way most other institutions in NA are headed right now.
The upcoming Tropic World renovations could be very telling if more species are brought in or not. Regardless I'm still excited for that project, LPZ has shown us what good great ape exhibits can look like in the Chicago area.
On July 28th, it was announced that a (1.0) African painted dog named Kashyyyk/Kash has been transferred to the Audobon Zoo in Louisiana.
Audubon Zoo - African Painted Dog Kashyyyk Joins the Pack | Facebook | By Audubon Zoo | A new African painted dog has joined the pack - say hello to Kashyyyk! Kashyyyk or "Kash" is a two-year-old male that came to Audubon Zoo from...
Audubon Zoo - African Painted Dog Kashyyyk Joins the Pack | Facebook | By Audubon Zoo | A new African painted dog has joined the pack - say hello to Kashyyyk! Kashyyyk or "Kash" is a two-year-old male that came to Audubon Zoo from...
Logic would validate your fears of ABC blandness in the future, but I think finances may inhibit that idea to some degree.
As myself and others have pointed out, elephants are a major expense both in initial construction and maintenance. Hippos are stupid expensive when it comes to a good sized exhibit with the pretty viewing window that everyone wants plus a filtration system. Add to that the fact that both species need to be provided with large amounts of indoor area to be properly managed, and that's a tough as for a zoo that's run by the forest service.
Primate renovations aren't cheap either. This adds another layer with these projects occurring simultaneously. I don't really expect a diverse collection even after Tropic World is renovated. I think that's a thing of the past for that building. That's a positive for the animals, I suppose, but the structure itself is pretty bland without the vibrance of so many species.
I think Brookfield could do very well by just filling in some minor gaps. I'd love to see species added back to the Australia house. Koalas, Tasmanian devils, maybe even freshwater crocs in the area that holds water, would be neat additions that don't take up loads of space.
One thing the zoo definitely has going for it is an abundance of unused space. It kind of amazed me to see all of the big and open underdeveloped pieces of land between exhibits. If they had the funding, they could do whatever they wanted, to be honest. That's the whole issue in my limited experience with this zoo. They're plenty good at exhibitry thematics, and diversity of collection and they have no shortage of raw acreage, they just need the money to enact whatever the vision may be. If they had it, they'd have developed more by now and they wouldn't have had to bail species in the past to save money.
As for ABCs, even with the absence of elephants, the zoo doesn't seem overly lacking in that department. They have giraffes, rhinos, gorillas, orangutans, 3 bear species, most major big cats, and pinnipeds. They also have other less-ABCish megafauna like tapirs, okapis, and pygmy hippos. Few zoos actually have all 4 of the main herbivorous megafauna, so it's not really a huge point of weakness if you compensate in other areas. Just my opinion, of course.