(Crain's) — Lincoln Park Zoo is getting ready to close its popular penguin house, disbursing the birds to zoos elsewhere.
The zoo board is in the early stages of a capital campaign that also will update its landmark lion house.
"It's all in the conceptual stages," said a zoo spokeswoman, who said it was too early to put a price tag on the improvement efforts.
Work will begin on the Kovler Penguin-Seabird House as soon as zoo officials can find homes at other zoos and aquariums for the 22 penguins, 43 puffins and other sea birds now living there. The transfer will be easier on the birds during colder weather and could mean the polar birds will be gone before the annual ZooLights program, which runs from Nov. 26 to Jan. 2.
(Note: The Shedd Aquarium still has penguins if you need a waddling fix.)
Lincoln Park Zoo will have penguins again once a new home for the birds is built, but it's not yet known when that will be.
In a later stage of the capital campaign, zoo officials hope to redo (to some extent) the popular lion house, too. What it will look like and what the zoo can do to alter that historic building remains to be seen.
"In the lion house, we're constrained by landmark status," zoo Director Kevin Bell told me before the zoo was ready to announce the capital campaign. "We'd like more off-exhibit holding spaces (for the lion house); places for animals to breed and raise young. Sometimes you need off-exhibit space for that."
The revamp of the penguin house comes full circle for Mr. Bell, who oversaw the zoo's last capital campaign — a $125-million effort. As a young curator 31 years ago, he oversaw construction of the Penguin-Seabird House as well as the other bird facilities at the zoo.
As popular the penguins are, the facility must be closed and new one built. Age is taking its toll, acknowledges Mr. Bell.
"It's hard to believe 30 years have passed so quickly," he said. "I can honestly say I'm just as excited today about our plans as I was several decades ago when we laid the groundwork for the penguin house."
