Brookfield Zoo Brookfield Zoo news 2025
- Thread starter MeiLover
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Brookfield Zoo Chicago Visit Report 01/01/2025
Started off the new year right with a trip to the zoo. It was a terrific visit with a lot of activity for the off-season. Here are a few updates:
Updates:
-Brush-tailed bettongs are now on-exhibit in the Australia House.
-The zoo no longer has ocelots. One of the Pallas’ cats has moved into their former enclosure.
-Mikey, the gray seal pup born last year, has moved to a different facility
-There are now a total of eight greater prairie-chickens on-exhibit in the prairie aviary.
-The Mexican beaded lizard exhibit in Reptiles and Birds is empty and awaiting new inhabitants.
-The bumblebee toad and western hognose snake exhibits in Feathers and Scales were empty.
-A new perimeter fence has gone up around the outdoor turtle enclosures.
-The wading birds have still not been introduced to the renovated swamp aviary, besides the flamingos.
-The juvenile Papuan olive python exhibited in The Swamp has moved to the Australia House. Their previous enclosure is being renovated for wood turtles.
Tropical Forests Construction Updates:
-In the South American monkey enclosure, landscaping has begun. Looks like the exhibit will have an incline away from the viewing area. Multiple live trees have been planted, some of which are quite tall.
-Here’s a look at one of the primary gorilla viewing areas adjacent to the new building. You can see the openings of transfer chutes that the gorillas will use to get from their holding areas to the outdoor enclosure(s).
-And here’s the progress on one of the gorilla enclosures.
Animal Highlights
-The highlight of the day was getting an up-close view of the baby binturongs born last summer. This was by far the most active I’ve ever seen these guys and the babies were adorable. One was scaling the mesh right by the visitor area, while the other was wrestling with its mom. Rarely do I ever see the zoo’s binturongs at all, so this was a real treat.
-Both of the small-spotted genets were incredibly active and great fun to watch. The one in the play zoo had an affinity for my sunglasses, following them intently. Such a wonderful species.
-It was terrific to finally see a large flock of prairie-chickens on-show after just seeing one or two individuals since the aviary opened. They all seemed much more comfortable and congregated near the front of the aviary where some nest boxes have been placed. Interestingly, the cranes and egrets were off-exhibit, not sure why.
Started off the new year right with a trip to the zoo. It was a terrific visit with a lot of activity for the off-season. Here are a few updates:
Updates:
-Brush-tailed bettongs are now on-exhibit in the Australia House.
-The zoo no longer has ocelots. One of the Pallas’ cats has moved into their former enclosure.
-Mikey, the gray seal pup born last year, has moved to a different facility
-There are now a total of eight greater prairie-chickens on-exhibit in the prairie aviary.
-The Mexican beaded lizard exhibit in Reptiles and Birds is empty and awaiting new inhabitants.
-The bumblebee toad and western hognose snake exhibits in Feathers and Scales were empty.
-A new perimeter fence has gone up around the outdoor turtle enclosures.
-The wading birds have still not been introduced to the renovated swamp aviary, besides the flamingos.
-The juvenile Papuan olive python exhibited in The Swamp has moved to the Australia House. Their previous enclosure is being renovated for wood turtles.
Tropical Forests Construction Updates:
-In the South American monkey enclosure, landscaping has begun. Looks like the exhibit will have an incline away from the viewing area. Multiple live trees have been planted, some of which are quite tall.
-Here’s a look at one of the primary gorilla viewing areas adjacent to the new building. You can see the openings of transfer chutes that the gorillas will use to get from their holding areas to the outdoor enclosure(s).
-And here’s the progress on one of the gorilla enclosures.
Animal Highlights
-The highlight of the day was getting an up-close view of the baby binturongs born last summer. This was by far the most active I’ve ever seen these guys and the babies were adorable. One was scaling the mesh right by the visitor area, while the other was wrestling with its mom. Rarely do I ever see the zoo’s binturongs at all, so this was a real treat.
-Both of the small-spotted genets were incredibly active and great fun to watch. The one in the play zoo had an affinity for my sunglasses, following them intently. Such a wonderful species.
-It was terrific to finally see a large flock of prairie-chickens on-show after just seeing one or two individuals since the aviary opened. They all seemed much more comfortable and congregated near the front of the aviary where some nest boxes have been placed. Interestingly, the cranes and egrets were off-exhibit, not sure why.
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Yellow-billed Stork is an extremely cool species!
A bottlenose dolphin calf is expected this summer.
Brookfield Zoo expecting first bottlenose dolphin birth in a decade
Brookfield Zoo expecting first bottlenose dolphin birth in a decade
Perhaps the renovated Seven Seas habitat might of helped the Dolphins in reproducing again?
What do you think?
Awesome news! This will be Allie's fourth calf and her first in a decade too. Fingers crossed for a positive result and a healthy calf this year.
Hopefully some of the other girls are pregnant too. All of the females last conceived 2013/2014 and the rest are all younger than Allie, so there shouldn't be any issues there.
Mikey was transferred to the Maritime Aquarium on December 4th, 2024
Via Facebook: 3.2K views · 80 reactions | New year, new friends! We are thrilled to welcome Mikey, a grey seal, into Pinniped Cove! Mikey is the first grey seal to call the Maritime Aquarium home. Make sure to give Mikey a warm welcome during your next visit! | The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk
and NOAA's Marine Mammal Inventory Report
I was able to visit the zoo on Saturday. I arrived at the pangolin enclosure at 3:26 expecting feeding time to be 3:30 but the food was already out and the pangolin was eating. I'd guess feeding started at 3:20 or 3:15. Still I got a good view of the pangolin before she went back in her bucket.
The zoo staff at the exhibit said that Brookfield has 13 pangolins and only the one I saw is on display, the other 12 are exclusively behind the scenes. The one on display is female. The only other zoo with pangolins is Gladys Porter and all of theirs are behind the scenes. This is probably not new information but it’s nice to hear it “from the horses mouth” so to speak.
The zoo staff at the exhibit said that Brookfield has 13 pangolins and only the one I saw is on display, the other 12 are exclusively behind the scenes. The one on display is female. The only other zoo with pangolins is Gladys Porter and all of theirs are behind the scenes. This is probably not new information but it’s nice to hear it “from the horses mouth” so to speak.
I agree, it's always fun to hear from the zookeepers themselves. I believe the individual on display is named Kara.
It's been rewarding to see the zoo's efforts with pangolins finally start to pay off. Somewhere around 14 individuals were initially imported in 2016 and while there was some early breeding success, those numbers dwindled to the single digits by 2020. However, it seems the zoo has cracked the code with four successful births in the last three years and no additional deaths. Not sure if these numbers are sustainable enough to spread out the population to other facilities, but it becomes increasingly more likely with each passing year.
Artist@BZ
New Member
Good to read all the updates about the zoo. Is there any information about the Galapagos tortoises? The Pachyderm house has been closed for some time and I expect it will not be open; from what I've been told, it's part of the 15-year renovation plan. Wondering if the tortoises have been sent away (like Bananas, the pygmy hippo)?
I was told by a keeper during Banana’s farewell party that the tortoises were staying and would be moved to a different area of the zoo.
Chicago Brookfield Zoo was among one of the first zoos to hatch out Galapagos tortoises in the 1990's, even though these turned out to be hybrids between various species (the islands had 14 - possible 15 - with 12 still extant as of today...).
NOTA BENE: Not bred ... here, bc out on loan.
The current Galapagos tortoises are sub-adults and of the Volcan Darwin Chelonoidis microphyes species. They will be repaired once adult...., however the genetics base remains thin within AZA zoos for now.
Link to a recent 2021 talk at CBZ!:
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This is what I wonder too, perhaps more space and better environment should encourage more dolphin breeding in a quicker way.
The new river exhibit with the dolphins is my most anticipated expansion, even if it'll take a decade for completion.
Their space didn’t increase, it was only the rocks on the inside of the main poolthat changed.
Artist@BZ
New Member
I was reading through some older posts, thank you for listing the zoo's animals, new and past, as of 2024's end. Are the tapirs gone? I had seen them outside in the fall, but not recently. I assumed it was because of the cold. If not, do you think the zoo might be emptying out the pachyderm house, as part of the 15-year plan?
The tapirs are indeed gone. The entire north side of the pachyderm house has been vacated in preparation for the upcoming renovation of the building as part of the Gateway to Africa project.
Artist@BZ
New Member
Thanks, that’s unfortunate. I’m guessing then the capybaras are gone also? Along with the tortoises? They were so great to draw.