Brookfield Zoo Brookfield Zoo news 2025

Craig Billington said:
I went to Saturday’s (9/20) lecture series about the Tropical Forests at BZC. The talk was given by a Senior Animal Care Specialist (ACS) who works mainly with the gorillas. The talk really focused on the gorillas and transitioning them to the new exhibit. Here is a summary of things that I found interesting.

The indoor habitats have a layer of mulch 5ft deep on the floor. That is much deeper than I thought. It is tilled and turned over every morning.
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I had been wondering how deep the mulch actually went, very interesting!

The ceiling skylight panels over the dayrooms can open. They are usually closed if there is precipitation. Back in March when it snowed the ACS collected snowballs and threw them in the dayrooms. The gorillas were shocked by this.
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That sounds adorable! Hope if they do that again they can get some video.

It was expected the animals would destroy some of the plantings outdoors. This is viewed as ok and part of the animals using their space as they wish. The plantings will just regularly be replaced.
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Glad to know they will be replaced regularly. It made sense it wasn't an unforeseen circumstance as apes are famously destructive but who knew how long they intended to keep this up.

There is an animal training panel similar to the one by the bachelor habitat on the second level by the Kings Conservation area.

The old holding dens in TW don’t connect at all to the new animal areas in TF. To transfer the gorillas to the new building they had to be sedated and carried up and down stairs, elevators, and outside.
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All very interesting. Sounds like a ton of work was involved in moving them, which makes sense for gorillas.

There are 16 individual dens in TF.
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"Dens"?

Most of the transfer shoots are elevated and require climbing but there is a way ground level shoots can be installed for geriatric or animals with reduced mobility.
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Love future-proofing in exhibit design like this!

The gorillas moved into the new Gorilla Conservation Center (GCC) before any other animals moved. There is a central off exhibit area between TW Asia and Africa where the orangutans are on one side and African monkeys are on the other. This area needed to be renovated for the transfer shoots for the orangutans and gibbons. For this to happen the orangutans were moved into the old TW gorilla dens and 4 of the African monkeys were moved into the dayrooms in the GCC. It was not originally planned to move the monkeys here but it worked out well and allowed the ACS to get a better understanding of the features of the GCC and dayrooms for example how to use all the different shifting doors and tunnels.
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This is one of the most fascinating things you've passed on - so it's more of a happy accident the monkeys are using the exhibit part-time but it was beneficial for everyone, and it explains why it typically is four monkeys in there as I had been wondering if it was always the same individuals or some rotation with other members of their species. I had assumed there would be some bts changes to Tropic World but it's really cool to hear them formally explained like this.

Eventually these monkeys and gorillas may be put together in mixed species habitats.
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God, I'm really hoping for this. It would elevate the whole complex if they pull off three successful mixed habitats and really echo the spirit of Tropic World in a deeper way.

Jontu is 550lbs and is the largest gorilla this woman had ever worked with. In the new building he likes to watch the staff in the kitchen and do office work. He can view them (and visa versa) from the off-exhibit dayroom. He also has a tendency to sit in the transfer shoots and block the paths (seemingly unintentionally) from the other gorillas getting by. He doesn’t seem to mind when the females try to squeeze by.
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I did notice Jontu sitting in the transfer shoots on July 11 and felt he seemed to be watching the people nearby. One of the fascinating things about apes is how they sometimes seem to enjoy their human visitors.

All the males had been outside before at other zoos but none of the females had ever been outside. The females seemed the most shocked and excited to explore the outdoors especially younger ones. The first time it rained the females seemed absolutely shocked and in disbelief of what was happening. They wanted to escape the rain and come back inside. There is shelter outdoors but they really wanted to be indoors.
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I love stories like this. It's so interesting because we expect naturally animals will prefer being outdoors but no, they like the shade. I'm glad the gorillas enjoyed their experience coming outside for the first time.

The two bachelors were transported from Miami to Chicago on plane and truck awake, no sedation was done.

Despite coming from Miami the two brothers prefer air conditioning when it is hot and humid.

In TF ACS have much more access to all the animals during the day when they are on exhibit than in TW. Staff have begun using the training panel in the bachelor habitat already to work with the gorillas to present body parts and get used to medical equipment and procedures.
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Great that the new exhibit has made improvements for care staff. It's an aspect of renovating exhibit design that isn't always visible, accessibility for staff, but I think it's really cool personally to hear some about these improvements.

I asked about what the plan is for the old gorilla space at TW and this woman said she honestly didn’t know.
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Unfortunate there's not news on this front. I didn't expect a stealth announcement but hopefully an indication there were some plans being drawn up. I expect the habitat will stay empty through the winter at least now.

Both the family group and bachelors can use either dayroom or outdoor habitat.

Usually, the animals will have access to the outdoor and indoor habitats. If there is lightening, they must be inside. If it is <50°F or >90°F they make sure the animals have access to the indoor areas. Based on other outdoor gorilla habitats in the Midwest it is thought the gorillas, especially the younger ones, may venture out into the snow on sunny winter days.
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Neat to know the rough temperature ranges. I do think it's good to let them out on sunny winter days so they aren't spending months trapped inside.

The new public dayroom is about 2/3 the size of the TW public viewing habitat in terms of total space usable by the animals. There was a lot of space in the old TW habitat that the gorillas couldn’t use because of the water feature. The new dayroom has a much smaller footprint but has much more vertical space than TW.
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I didn't realize the water feature affected the gorillas' usable space, that's really interesting. It's easy to take the new vertical space for granted considering the upper floor design isn't accessible to guests but I'll take the care team's word for it and it's certainly visible in some of the photos we've seen posted.

From exposure to more sunlight the hair color of the gorillas is already beginning to change into more natural colors. For example, Jontu’s hair is turning redder on his head.
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Very cool to hear this. It's fascinating how being held indoors seems to affect the vibrancy of primates' coats, ie Golden lion tamarins as well.

Not much was said about the orangutans and gibbons other than that the orangutans had damaged the exhibit and it would need construction work. Crews would be coming in to do this sometime in the future.
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I don't blame the people at the event for this but a real shame so little information has been available about the orangutan/gibbon habitat thus far. I totally understand the logistics are complicated and will take time and hope they can get it done by next spring, but man, I also hope when we reach that point they might be able to share a little more about the challenges they encountered similar to the gorilla discussion here.

Sorry I didn't get more questions answered, others had questions and I didn't want to hog the Q/A time.
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Grateful for what you shared and from the sound of it, my questions would have probably not been able to be answered.

turkeyfox said:
Glad to see the preference for AC is universal among hominids.

Could bonobos come to fill that space? I know they won't but gosh we could use more bonobo holders in the AZA.
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As much as I'd love to see bonobos at Brookfield somehow, it wouldn't work without an additional outdoor space that doesn't exist. I think the only way you could justify holding apes in that sort of space again is if you had some kind of severely maladjusted circus/lab common chimpanzee group in need of urgent rescue and space, which is a long shot.

pachyderm pro said:
Considering the ring-tailed lemurs aren't moving back to the play zoo once the koalas leave, this scenario suddenly seems much more plausible. Hopefully they decide on something sooner than later. I'd really prefer if they didn't remain in Clouded Leopard Rainforest for the foreseeable future.
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If Brookfield were to put a large mixed group of lemurs in the former gorilla space, then perhaps Ramar's former habitat could be modified for Aye-aye...

Giraffeweevil04 said:
Basically yeah it’s the same kind of fence they had put up around Tropical Forests but yeah including the South American critters as well
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Very very intriguing if they've taken this final step. That would suggest construction is on an immediate horizon, I would think.

Thomas said:
Looks like they're about to get started with Gateway to Africa.
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I really hope so. The fences around the former hippo yard are ugly and the emptier the building gets the more I'd like to see the renovations move. The zoo seems very confident in their plans and has funding to start as soon as possible, and I think it's reasonable they could start on the northern Savannah changes sooner than the southern hippo/crocodile renovations. If they complete both sides of Pachyderm House over the next couple of years it'll already be a big step forward.
 
Here are more details on the new dolphin program I received from the member email:

Welcome to Dolphin Discovery at Dolphin Bay!

We're making a splash with a new dolphin show called Dolphin Discovery, set to debut on October 4 at the newly-named Dolphin Bay (formerly Seven Seas). The habitat has been renamed to recognize native habitats for bottlenose dolphins and the Zoo’s long-standing support for these wild populations, and the Dolphins in Action presentation will change to Dolphin Discovery — a transformed show inviting you to connect more deeply with this beloved species.

During every show, Dolphin Discovery will introduce you to each dolphin’s unique personality and communication style in real time. Reimagined with new technology and innovations, the mission-forward show will include live demonstrations and the first-ever video integration, featuring exclusive footage from the Zoo's Sarasota Dolphin Research Program — the world's longest-running study of dolphins in the wild!

The Dolphin Discovery show is scheduled to launch on October 4 with daily times at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. through November 19. It will then be available daily at 11:30 a.m. on Mondays through Wednesdays in late November and December. Additional information about dolphin experiences during Holiday Magic will be coming soon!
 
Nile Hippo Expert said:
Does the zoo plan to transfer the rhino out or do they plan to keep her during construction?
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I do not know the zoo's plans but I do know from previous public keeper chats that Layla's nasal problems are complicated to treat. I was told somethibg to the effect that if Brookfield didn't have an onsite hospital her health problems would be prohibitively difficult to manage, and it was part of why she hadn't been sent out previously. She would probably need to be sent to a facility with an animal hospital based on this.
 
ZooNerd1234 said:
The Seven Seas is being rebranded as Dolphin Bay, with a new dolphin show, Dolphin Discovery, set to premiere on October 4. Yet another name change that seems somewhat unnecessary (Pinniped Point)...
Brookfield Zoo Chicago - Dolphin Discovery
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It's an odd and unnecessary change, especially as the 'Seven Seas' name has a lot of history at the zoo, dating back to the original 1960s dolphinarium before the wholly new building was constructed. My suspicion between the changes of 'Sea Lion Cove', 'Dolphin Bay' and (years earlier) 'Clouded Leopard Rainforest' is some greater effort to make the exhibit names indicative of their animal residents for casual guests. For the aquatic exhibits I also will continue to use the old names because they feel less 'generic'.

pachyderm pro said:
The rhino, capybara and tortoise icons have been removed from the map. The pachyderm house is now listed as being fully closed for renovations.

https://www.brookfieldzoo.org/custom.czs/files/e2/e245d2dd-fd92-47cb-90f2-6d1ca19f71d6.jpg
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Finally got a good look at this. The new names are here. They also look to have removed polar bear for some reason, even though the zoo remains fairly committed to the species. Moved the penguins a bit south, too.

I hope the zoo is able to formally announce Gateway to Africa construction at the Pachyderm House site sooner instead of later. It's very possible they just leave Pachyderms "under renovation" for much longer until they get there, but I think they might as well get that ball rolling and start building excitement and further fundraising soon. The core concept is already in the public Master Plan document so it's not like they need to keep much of a secret, and while Tropical Forests did just open in July, it's fall now and it won't reach it's full potential for a while, and I'm not sure the current fundraising campaign for a just-opened exhibit can stay relevant.
 
JVM said:
I do not know the zoo's plans but I do know from previous public keeper chats that Layla's nasal problems are complicated to treat. I was told somethibg to the effect that if Brookfield didn't have an onsite hospital her health problems would be prohibitively difficult to manage, and it was part of why she hadn't been sent out previously. She would probably need to be sent to a facility with an animal hospital based on this.
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Any idea if it would be even feasible to have her breed and calve at Brookfield (it has been a good few years since a black rhino calf has seen the Midwest lights...)?
 
Some observations from today (my apologies if something was repeated a few months back. My memory is kind of foggy on what has been reported already)

-Amigo the wolf passed away last fall (I think this was reported already)

-Heidi the orangutan is now with Kecil’s group.

-Alligator lizards are now on display in the swamp.

-Was surprised to learn the zoo has 6-7 binturong as that was the amount I counted my last visit. Was also surprised to see three ringtail lemurs as I though we only had 2

passed up reptiles and bird houses and living coast
 
The zoo recently sent out some fundraising letters, and while there isn't exactly new information hidden inside, there is a sentence of interest: "Whether it's our new 'grapes for apes' garden or bold plans for a reimagined African Savannah habitat, we are dreaming big about the future - and we are able to do this because of friends like you"

While this could easily be viewed as a reference to the master plan I think it's a further signal they will be starting work on Pachyderm House renovations in the near future and that the beginning of the Savannah transformation will be the first phase. My big question is whether this will develop concurrently with hippos.
 
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