Brookfield Zoo Brookfield Zoo News 2024

pinnipedpal93 said:
Time for my first post in the thread for my home zoo! I just so happened to be there today, and it was a good time, despite the ungodly amount of cicadas. Those little guys are pretty cute, but I felt like I was walking through a biblical plague :D Definitely saw a lot of freaked out kids, I felt a little bad for them.

I had a few questions about Pinniped Point (it will always be named that in my heart...:oops:) and wondered if you folks could answer:

  • How many grey seals are there? I know of Georgie, her pup, as well as Kiinaq, but I wasn't sure the others names.
  • Has the pup been given a name yet?
  • Before Georgie's most recent pup, who was the youngest seal? I have a memory (maybe about 10ish years ago?) of a smaller seal who routinely did figure 8s under the walkway bridge in Pinniped Point and was curious if that seal was one of the current animals if anyone has the faintest idea of who that could be, haha.
  • Not really a question but more of an observation: my boyfriend gifted me an adoption of Josephine, the California sea lion, and I find it hard to identify her. I know about the white mark near her eye, but I have yet to properly see it. The only way I've narrowed it down is (I think this is correct) she seems to be paired with her son and daughter quite frequently. Her son is a big beefy boy and that's the only way I can identify him, lol.
Lastly, an unrelated question but a question nonetheless:

I know the polar bear currently on display is not the same one I am about to ask about, but I saw the sign today in Great Bear Wilderness of the names of the zoo's past polar bears and I was reminded of something. Which polar bear was the one who feverishly paced back and forth repeatedly in the old bear grottos? I want to say I remember this as being around 2006-2007.

Thanks in advance, apologies for any confusion.
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Welcome to the forum! Not familiar enough with the pinnipeds to answer most of those questions, although as far as I'm aware the seal pup has not yet been named. The polar bears that lived in the grottos at that time were Hudson, Aussie and Arkie. The latter two have since passed away and Hudson was just a cub at the time. Hudson does frequently pace along the edge of the pools in the current enclosures however.

And yeah, I took a cicada to the face on my last visit. :p They were especially deafening near the northwest corner of the grounds by the addax and zebras.
 
pachyderm pro said:
Welcome to the forum! Not familiar enough with the pinnipeds to answer most of those questions, although as far as I'm aware the seal pup has not yet been named. The polar bears that lived in the grottos at that time were Hudson, Aussie and Arkie. The latter two have since passed away and Hudson was just a cub at the time. Hudson does frequently pace along the edge of the pools in the current enclosures however.

And yeah, I took a cicada to the face on my last visit. :p They were especially deafening near the northwest corner of the grounds by the addax and zebras.
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Thank you! That actually reminds me of something I meant to ask: the last few times I've been to Habitat Africa I noticed the addax's enclosures no longer have signs on them. Is that because of the aforementioned Savannah outlook, or is it because the wild horses used to be there? Or are they making a new sign?

Growing up, I usually only went to BZ maybe once a year, but since I've been going semi-regularly the last few months I tend to remember various things I normally wouldn't had I not gone as much.

I'm sorry, I tend to ramble and I also have so many questions!! :oops:
 
pinnipedpal93 said:
How many grey seals are there? I know of Georgie, her pup, as well as Kiinaq, but I wasn't sure the others names.
  • Has the pup been given a name yet?
  • Before Georgie's most recent pup, who was the youngest seal? I have a memory (maybe about 10ish years ago?) of a smaller seal who routinely did figure 8s under the walkway bridge in Pinniped Point and was curious if that seal was one of the current animals if anyone has the faintest idea of who that could be, haha.
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There are 6: Kiinaq, Georgie, Peanut, Celia, Fisher, and the newer pup.

Before Georgie's pup, the youngest was either Peanut or Celia (can't remember who was born first).

pinnipedpal93 said:
I know the polar bear currently on display is not the same one I am about to ask about, but I saw the sign today in Great Bear Wilderness of the names of the zoo's past polar bears and I was reminded of something. Which polar bear was the one who feverishly paced back and forth repeatedly in the old bear grottos? I want to say I remember this as being around 2006-2007.
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That would be Arki.
 
pinnipedpal93 said:
Thank you! That actually reminds me of something I meant to ask: the last few times I've been to Habitat Africa I noticed the addax's enclosures no longer have signs on them. Is that because of the aforementioned Savannah outlook, or is it because the wild horses used to be there? Or are they making a new sign?

Growing up, I usually only went to BZ maybe once a year, but since I've been going semi-regularly the last few months I tend to remember various things I normally wouldn't had I not gone as much.
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Which enclosures are the Addax in right now -- I believe for most of the last few years, the addax used to be furthest west, then zebra, then horses, then camels to the east, but then the recent camel yard was slated for development (either the Savanna or Australia related) and then the horses moved out so the camels could take their former enclosure. I wouldn't be surprised if there'd been more mixing. I'm still in the only once or twice a year club unfortunately.

I'm sorry, I tend to ramble and I also have so many questions!! :oops:
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You're in good company here, haha!
 
JVM said:
Which enclosures are the Addax in right now -- I believe for most of the last few years, the addax used to be furthest west, then zebra, then horses, then camels to the east, but then the recent camel yard was slated for development (either the Savanna or Australia related) and then the horses moved out so the camels could take their former enclosure. I wouldn't be surprised if there'd been more mixing. I'm still in the only once or twice a year club unfortunately.
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When I went today, I didn't go down to the very end of Habitat Africa but if I recall correctly, and based on when I did go all the way down in February:

The zebras are now in the last two habits furthest west. I'm 90% sure they have access to both yards like they did in their old enclosures. I'm not really sure why they're so far from the giraffes now. The camels were in their new enclosure (the horses old one that you mentioned) and the addax were in the remaining habitat.
 
The zoo’s mobile app is now available. From their email newsletter:

“Just in time for the summer season, Brookfield Zoo Chicago has launched a NEW mobile app! Available for free download on iOS and Android, and other major smartphone platforms, this ultimate guide will allow you to prepare for your upcoming adventure to the Zoo with the app’s features, including a GPS-enabled digital map, an up-to-date list of daily activities, and links to purchase tickets. You can even plan your Zoo day and build an itinerary to check out all of your favorite animals, Zoo Chats, and attractions! Plus, use the app to be notified about exclusive offers, mobile order from our restaurants, and find out more info about the 3,000+ animals residing at the Zoo. Download the app today!”
 
MeiLover said:
The zoo’s mobile app is now available. From their email newsletter:

“Just in time for the summer season, Brookfield Zoo Chicago has launched a NEW mobile app! Available for free download on iOS and Android, and other major smartphone platforms, this ultimate guide will allow you to prepare for your upcoming adventure to the Zoo with the app’s features, including a GPS-enabled digital map, an up-to-date list of daily activities, and links to purchase tickets. You can even plan your Zoo day and build an itinerary to check out all of your favorite animals, Zoo Chats, and attractions! Plus, use the app to be notified about exclusive offers, mobile order from our restaurants, and find out more info about the 3,000+ animals residing at the Zoo. Download the app today!”
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Does it contain a full updating species list similar to SheddGo?
 
This would explain why when I went on Sunday, I was having trouble finding the map on the website. They're probably expecting you to download the app to get it. I know they have the QR codes but when I was trying to get a look at the map, we were already far away from the QR codes I noticed near the North Gate.

Unless it's there on the main page now and I didn't see it, that's also entirely possible. :D
 
pinnipedpal93 said:
This would explain why when I went on Sunday, I was having trouble finding the map on the website. They're probably expecting you to download the app to get it. I know they have the QR codes but when I was trying to get a look at the map, we were already far away from the QR codes I noticed near the North Gate.

Unless it's there on the main page now and I didn't see it, that's also entirely possible. :D
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It’s always been available on the “visit” tab.
 
I messed around with the app a little bit earlier. I would post pictures, but unfortunately my post count isn't high enough yet.

Coincidentally I have a trip coming up with some family members so in the app I decided to make a mock itinerary for the day. It lets you add people to the plan and then you can pick that person's interests, so it adds those exhibits/habitats/attractions/etc to a map you can use and see exactly where they are.

I like that you can add Zoo Chats and feedings to a "plan", as I've never been able to remember when each one is. The only time I catch those are entirely by chance.

My only gripe (which isn't much to begin with, and I imagine very common in these kinds of apps) is that a good portion of things they link to in the app just send you to the website in your browser.

I also think it'd be nice if the map you get after making a plan created an actual visible path on it, like how some users here have drawn out their own path for their trips. It's more or less a glorified Google Maps set up with the locations marked with a dot/symbol with a little bit of info if you click it.
 
I ageee with @pinnipedpal93 's suggestions about displaying a path and criticism of the website links - it cancels out some of the benefit of an app to redirect especially if wifi is an issue in a situation. I think it's a great app but these would improve it.

I hope this inspires them to add more feedings and chats... I bet it would make a lot of people happy if they could get an alert for the pangolin feeding time!
 
Per the Daily Herald, there's long-term plans to display koalas at the renovated Australia House as a permanent addition.

“We do have plans to reinvigorate or re-imagine our Australian area of the zoo in the future, and we are hoping that koalas could potentially be a mainstay for the zoo in the future,” said Mark Wanner, Brookfield’s associate vice president of animal care and conservation.

“It’s an iconic Australian species that we're hoping gets our guests excited about the future of our Australian ideas,” Wanner said.
 
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