Persephone
Well-Known Member
Lincoln Park ran out of stuff to buy with donor money. Brookfield's turn. I look forward to an exciting future until Lincoln Park finds more stuff to build.
Brookfield Zoo Brookfield Zoo poster-map (Curtis Wright Maps)
- Thread starter StoppableSan
- Start date
What does the line-up for Tropic World look like these days? A number of losses here would've been inevitable (e.g., sooty mangabeys), and the zoo did historically have problems with certain species hybridizing, so I'm curious what's left and/or what has left in recent years you'd like to return.
As of my visit last month it was the following:
South America: Black-handed Spider Monkey, Common Squirrel Monkey, Tufted Capuchin, Giant Anteater, Cotton-top Tamarin (temp. off-exhibit), Hoffman's Two-toed Sloth, Saffron Finch, Red-capped Cardinal, Green Honeycreeper, Silver-beaked Tanager
Asia: Bornean Orangutan, White-cheeked Gibbon, Asian Small-clawed Otter, Red-vented Bulbul, Beautiful Fruit dove, Jambu fruit dove
Africa: Western Lowland Gorilla, Angolan Colobus, Schmidt's Red-tailed Monkey, Red-billed Fire Finch, Blue-bellied Roller, White-headed Buffalo Weaver, White-cheeked Turaco
There is still a tremendous amount to see and do at Brookfield, and I definitely don't want to downplay that there is still a lot to experience. Still, for me, what underlines Brookfield's sense of decline is not a lack of species overall but the overall sense of empty space, largely because the negatiive and positive collection changes have not really affected the overall layout of the facility. The major gains in the last several years, like the flamingo, tufted capuchin, sand cat, toco toucan, red-legged seirema, and Kemp's ridley sea turtle, cape barren goose, even the short-lived pygmy slow loris exhibit, even the pangolin, have all utilized existing spaces. In contrast, it's worth keeping in mind that for the losses of congo buffalo, elephants, common hippopotamus, aardvark, baboon, mandrill, vampire bat, ostrich, baird's tapir, possibly walrus, and more, we've gained no new exhibits or brand new species in those particular spaces, though some have been reused for species already in the collection. The bear grottos and ridge exhibit has been empty for going on fifteen years and have left the southeastern portion of the zoo entirely skippable if you aren't doing upcharge attractions. The vampire bat alcove in the Living Coast and the former aardvark building were not converted for new species; the former was filled in and the latter blocked off. The total amount of species in the hoofstock yards has declined considerably. The former baboon exhibit is a play space and while turtles are coming later this year, it's not happened yet. We also lost red panda which were a fairly recent addition. The reptile building became much-needed office space - completely understandable and probably unavoidable, fine by itself, but unfortunately a forerunner for a lot of these subsequent changes of animal spaces into empty or non-animal spaces.
It's not the same as losing species because you're replacing them with superior exhibits or new species; in Brookfield's case the exciting gains don't feel like they relate to the negative changes that came beforehand, they feel more incidental. The zoo has built back up it's reptile collection very impressively in the last decade (after letting it dwindle quite low!) and I'm more pleased about that than it sounds, but I hope this would have happened regardless if the zoo kept half of those species mentioned above.
It's not the same as losing species because you're replacing them with superior exhibits or new species; in Brookfield's case the exciting gains don't feel like they relate to the negative changes that came beforehand, they feel more incidental. The zoo has built back up it's reptile collection very impressively in the last decade (after letting it dwindle quite low!) and I'm more pleased about that than it sounds, but I hope this would have happened regardless if the zoo kept half of those species mentioned above.
I agree with much of what you've written here.
FWIW, I was very pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed my visit to Brookfield last summer. There's plenty to see that's not run-of-the-mill. There's also a lot of history that's still functional in some meaningful way. The species list is certainly smaller, but it's hardly boring.
I agree about the emptiness as well. It felt like an entire side of the zoo was nearly empty with the exception of Fragile Kingdom. The more exhibit-heavy side has white a bit, but it's odd to see an area as barren as the old bear grottoes.
In my opinion, unfortunately or fortunately depending on perspective, a decline in animal numbers is inevitable for all major zoos. I think maintaining a fuller zoo for the foreseeable future will mean larger exhibits for fewer species and more usable space.
It's wild to see what look like drawings of caiman in the South American section.
Definitely the case. I think a great contrasting example is nearby Lincoln Park Zoo -- while they have also seen some reduction in species with the closure of two former exhibits (the former Bear Line, the Penguin-Seabird House) they still utilized the space to make expansive new habitats for Polar bears, African penguins, and Japanese macaque, so the zoo still feels full and complete. The losses were directly offset by gains in the same spaces and nothing was left empty or underused afterward.
The sad but also somewhat impressive thing about Brookfield is that very few species losses in the last twenty years can be chalked up directly to new developments -- a northern gray wolf survived Wolf Woods' renovation and ibex persisted briefly after Great Bear Wilderness, they still had homes for these animals. I think Andean bear is the main exception to mind, and whatever may have still been in the Children's Zoo when it was converted into Wild Encounters. Baboon Island remained empty for a while after the baboons loss and was not renovated with any intent to include animal attractions, though Dr. Mike is adding the turtle habitats.
It really is. I wonder if they were indeed held there. I do want to mention I've never found a contemporary source indicating they were actually present, though sources do indicate it was intended.
Their prices seem really excessive, but I guess that's to be expected with any "antique dealer" type place.
I don't know if this is newsworthy, but it's moreso an interesting look at Brookfield Zoo's history (from Curtis Wright Maps, there's some genuine artistry here!). Here are some highlights, although this may just be me discovering stuff about the zoo's history for myself, hopefully I'm not preaching to the choir.
- If there's anything I missed, feel free to let me know!
This map is fun to look at. Thanks for posting it.
In the lower section of the dolphin stadium it looks like there is an aquarium. Does anybody know how extensive the aquarium was? What kind of species did they keep there? I can't tell from the map.
Yeah, I've put it on a wishlist for myself even though I lack the wall space but I'm having a lot of trouble imagining purchasing it or receiving it as a gift considering the price.
According to the 1980 guidebook:
"In the north corridor of the main building there are large aquaria showing spade fish, piranhas and tropical marine fish. In the south corridor, a wide variety of salt-water fish and other creatures are displayed, including sea turtles, eels and lion fish."
I wish I had more information to offer, but all of my other sources focus nearly exclusively on the dolphins and Olga.
An additional note on reviewing the map over recent days, but there is zero reference or representation of "The Ridge", the exhibit behind the Bear Grottos. This habitat was referenced in the 1980 guidebook quoted above and at the time still acted as a secondary exhibit for Siberian ibex when they needed to be separated for breeding purposes. Every source subsequent this map seems to exclude this habitat completely (I was not aware of it as a child) although it held Dall Sheep at some time and again held Ibex around 2010. There is some discussion and photos here.