Brookfield Zoo Master Plan Discussion and Speculation

[PossumRoach]

I wonder what new species could be brought in for Tropic World once the additions are complete. 'Tragic World' is already very sparse, and the new exhibits will leave the indoor area pretty much completely empty.

I think the zoo will bring 3-10 new species, including a couple new primates for the complex. Brookfield has a good track record in the past 5 years of bringing in new species, including exciting and rare ones, and ones of conservation concern, so I think a little optimism is warranted.

As I have seen mentioned, I think Mandrills are a good candidate. They are big, colorful, and capable of filling some of the indoor space quite nicely.

Wolf's Guenon, Diana Monkey, and DeBrazza's Monkey are also likely African monkeys that are present in AZA institutions. Lesser Spot-nosed and Stuhlmann’s Blue Monkey are reach species, and I'm not so sure how their populations are doing, but they are also present in some numbers at AZA facilities. Baboon species probably would not do well in a mix, but I could see one in the current gorilla exhibit if a Mandrill doesn't go in there.

I do not know the layout of Tropic World or the structures within the enclosures, for I hadn't had the privelege to visit Brookfield zoo, but can't the zoo just use that sparse area to increase the living spaces of their Angolan Colobii, Schmidt's Red-tailed Guenons, and Allen's Swamp Monkeys?

 

[CMP]

I do not know the layout of Tropic World or the structures within the enclosures, for I hadn't had the privelege to visit Brookfield zoo, but can't the zoo just use that sparse area to increase the living spaces of their Angolan Colobii, Schmidt's Red-tailed Guenons, and Allen's Swamp Monkeys?

The space is already VERY large, larger than any other comparable exhibit for the species that I could find. While that is not a bad thing, it means that realistically there is space for adding new species, and really this is needed to fill in the current two Gorilla enclosures.

 

[birdsandbats]

I think it's likely that the reason the macaws will be on sticks is because the macaws they already have are flightless. Macaws live a long time, and many of the flightless macaws in zoos were pinioned long ago, and zoos are just stuck with them.

 

[Amphibiman]

As I have seen mentioned, I think Mandrills are a good candidate. They are big, colorful, and capable of filling some of the indoor space quite nicely.

I too have optimism that this will go in the right direction. If not immediately, it will lean into it and course correct. They seem to really have an ear out to the public now. I am disappointed in the macaw habitats, honestly. I am also disappointed in the location of the Eurasian Eagle Owl habitat, as it doesn't make much sense. Especially after it was stated in the interview how he didn't like how disjointed that portion of the zoo is and wanted to change it to an African savannah. Anyway, those gripes aside, I am excited for most of the new projects. Regarding Mandrills, I remember Brookfield had them in Tropic World at one point. Not sure why they were removed. Out of all of the primate species I have witnessed at the zoo, one thing was for sure, though. There was always at least ONE doing a "solo act" and there was always that one kid who would point it out to their mother. So, I am wondering if that may have had something to do with them being relocated. Complaints from parents?

 

[pachyderm pro]

Regarding Mandrills, I remember Brookfield had them in Tropic World at one point. Not sure why they were removed. Out of all of the primate species I have witnessed at the zoo, one thing was for sure, though. There was always at least ONE doing a "solo act" and there was always that one kid who would point it out to their mother. So, I am wondering if that may have had something to do with them being relocated. Complaints from parents?

I’m not sure why the mandrills were removed either, but I guarantee this was not the reason.

 

[Black Footed Beast]

I'm wondering if there might be some plans with the East Mall area and possibly making a Eurasian section there, I mean there are Amur Leopards, Amur Tigers, and Snow Leopards, who knows, maybe within the Master Plan they could revitalize that area as a home for the species that'll probably need a new area with the likely removal of the Hoofstock Yards and Pachyderm building, have one side for South American species and the other for Asian Species

 

[15399]

I think it's likely that the reason the macaws will be on sticks is because the macaws they already have are flightless. Macaws live a long time, and many of the flightless macaws in zoos were pinioned long ago, and zoos are just stuck with them.

These new exhibits are also cheap to build, so while I don't support the further pinioning of parrots (some other types of birds I'm more on the fence about), if it can provide a good home for some already pinioned birds to live out their lives, I don't necessarily see anything wrong with building exhibits of that sort, provided they don't partake in pinioning more parrots in the future.

 

[Sheather]

I think it's likely that the reason the macaws will be on sticks is because the macaws they already have are flightless. Macaws live a long time, and many of the flightless macaws in zoos were pinioned long ago, and zoos are just stuck with them.

I've seen a lot of the macaws at Brookfield and they are kept wing-clipped, not pinioned.
Specifically they clipped most of the primaries except those at the tip, giving a loose illusion of full-wings to the casual observer.

 

[JVM]

I do not know the layout of Tropic World or the structures within the enclosures, for I hadn't had the privelege to visit Brookfield zoo, but can't the zoo just use that sparse area to increase the living spaces of their Angolan Colobii, Schmidt's Red-tailed Guenons, and Allen's Swamp Monkeys?

Currently this (or this if the former link isn't working) is the main space for those monkeys, and this is the notorious indoor gorilla habitat that will soon be open. They are separated under the bridge to prevent the gorillas and monkeys from entering each other's exhibits. It is fully possible to take down the bridge and open the area up fully to the monkeys. If there is one good thing to be said about the habitat, it is that the monkeys have a lot of room.

I'm wondering if there might be some plans with the East Mall area and possibly making a Eurasian section there, I mean there are Amur Leopards, Amur Tigers, and Snow Leopards, who knows, maybe within the Master Plan they could revitalize that area as a home for the species that'll probably need a new area with the likely removal of the Hoofstock Yards and Pachyderm building, have one side for South American species and the other for Asian Species

I have personally advocated for turning the space above and possibly including the east mall into new Asian hoofstock yards, placing them across from the predators. This is not unlike the proposal in the previous master plan and allows the wild horses and camels to remain at the zoo. The eurasian eagle owl would be a nice addition to this area.

I had always hoped/expected the South American animals to be moved south of Tropic World (outdoor exhibits but allowing them to rotate indoors again in my mind) which will now be the site of the native bird aviary,

 

[CMP]

I'm wondering if there might be some plans with the East Mall area and possibly making a Eurasian section there, I mean there are Amur Leopards, Amur Tigers, and Snow Leopards, who knows, maybe within the Master Plan they could revitalize that area as a home for the species that'll probably need a new area with the likely removal of the Hoofstock Yards and Pachyderm building, have one side for South American species and the other for Asian Species

This is what I thought initially as well.

I have personally advocated for turning the space above and possibly including the east mall into new Asian hoofstock yards, placing them across from the predators. This is not unlike the proposal in the previous master plan and allows the wild horses and camels to remain at the zoo. The Eurasian eagle owl would be a nice addition to this area.

Yes, I think that this might also be down the pipeline. The fact that they are placing the Owl aviary in this section seems to somewhat confirm that they may be planning for something like this, and I do think that it was intentional.

An 'Asian Highlands' complex here would work very well, I think. It would be a good place to keep the non-African hoofstock, and maybe even add some new species. It would also round out that end of the park, which is quite empty as is frequently mentioned.

 

[JVM]

An 'Asian Highlands' complex here would work very well, I think. It would be a good place to keep the non-African hoofstock, and maybe even add some new species. It would also round out that end of the park, which is quite empty as is frequently mentioned.

I know their previous master plan discussed a 'Siberian Rescue' theme with the addition of Takin, which Lincoln Park has been keeping for many years now as the population increases. They would fit either theme well. That plan also added reindeer to the area since it did not include Wild Encounters. The zoo also did not have horses in their collection at that time, I think.

I like to joke a lot about them bringing back Siberian Ibex which I know will never, ever happen, just because they are a historical species to the zoo with such relevant geography.

 

[StoppableSan]

Not entirely sure who brought up this idea before, if it was even brought up at all; I'd honestly be interested if Brookfield Zoo found a way to preserve the Fragile Kingdom exhibits (Fragile Desert and Fragile Rainforest) while introducing new species, reintroducing older ones, and prioritizing providing outdoor access/natural substrate to all animals involved. I think an overarching Asian/Middle-Eastern theme would actually be pretty unique, and would also open up more "unorthodox" avenues of exhibitry. In general, skylights would be added/enhanced along the existing building, while natural substrate could be added in order for the environments to be less sterile. As for going into specifics...

• Take all the explicitly African and North/South American critters out and move them over to other areas within the zoo, and replace them with Arabian and Middle Eastern species. Bringing critters like sand cats, black-backed jackal, rock hyrax, caracal and fennec foxes back to the zoo would be conducive to this idea, along with bringing in new species like Cairo spiny mouse, bushy-tailed jird, and pallid gerbil.
• Fragile Rainforest's species list could be maintained or even expanded upon wherever possible - bringing back northern tree shrew and placing them in the former Burmese python exhibit could be a start.
• As for the outdoor grottos, those could be evocative of the Himalayas - the zoo could maintain its tigers, snow leopards and sloth bears in this area, albeit in expanded yards (as long as they keep some level of moated viewing I'd absolutely be on board, but welfare improvements are welfare improvements), while red pandas could be moved over from Wild Encounters in this new space.

 

[Joseph G]

Not entirely sure who brought up this idea before, if it was even brought up at all; I'd honestly be interested if Brookfield Zoo found a way to preserve the Fragile Kingdom exhibits (Fragile Desert and Fragile Rainforest) while introducing new species, reintroducing older ones, and prioritizing providing outdoor access/natural substrate to all animals involved. I think an overarching Asian/Middle-Eastern theme would actually be pretty unique, and would also open up more "unorthodox" avenues of exhibitry. In general, skylights would be added/enhanced along the existing building, while natural substrate could be added in order for the environments to be less sterile. As for going into specifics...

• Take all the explicitly African and North/South American critters out and move them over to other areas within the zoo, and replace them with Arabian and Middle Eastern species. Bringing critters like sand cats, black-backed jackal, rock hyrax, caracal and fennec foxes back to the zoo would be conducive to this idea, along with bringing in new species like Cairo spiny mouse, bushy-tailed jird, and pallid gerbil.
• Fragile Rainforest's species list could be maintained or even expanded upon wherever possible - bringing back northern tree shrew and placing them in the former Burmese python exhibit could be a start.
• As for the outdoor grottos, those could be evocative of the Himalayas - the zoo could maintain its tigers, snow leopards and sloth bears in this area, albeit in expanded yards (as long as they keep some level of moated viewing I'd absolutely be on board, but welfare improvements are welfare improvements), while red pandas could be moved over from Wild Encounters in this new space.

Would love see all of those in Fragile Desert. Rock hyrax, fennec foxes and bats especially. There's no real "peak" excitement in the building anymore like there used to be with the fennec foxes. I'd love the final two windowed exhibits to be redone too. Maybe even fill the dead space between the bridge exhibits and the full bat-eared fox exhibit with small, windowed habitats.

There's not much I'd change in Fragile Rainforest. The former Burmese python exhibit does need something more exciting than the random rotation it's had over the last few years, and I wish the terrariums would include some more unique species. Wouldn't mind additional viewing of the clouded leopard habitat somehow. I previously loaded this thread with calls for an outdoor habitat for them, and maybe it would work with my idea below if the lions eventually move to Africa. But I do think it is one of the better clouded leopard exhibits in terms of climbing opportunities and different behaviors as it stands right now.

I would love for the grottos to be leveled to create a more immersive experience with an outdoor walkthrough. Envisioning something like a mix between Cleveland's Asian Highlands and Tiger Passage. Right now, the grottos face out to the west mall with a little wooded area between. I think expanding out that way and closing it into an immersive walkthrough area makes any future development on the west mall or even with the old bear grottos a little less awkward if either end up being habitats for different regions.

 

[Amphibiman]

There are roughly 9 exhibits within Desert's Edge at the moment. The meerkats, porcupine, mole rats, ocelot, coati, bat-eared foxes, genet and black-footed cat (I haven't been able to make it out there this year, so the species may have changed, but that is from what I recall the exhibits within the building). There are a couple of large gaps where there are no exhibits and just rock work between the bridge where the ocelot and coati are exhibited and then a shorter one between the genet and the black-footed cat exhibits. If this were to be changed to an Asian desert sort of exhibit, that would be a prime opportunity to try and insert some smaller terraria into the walls to lessen that dead space. Especially since a lot of the wildlife from those regions tend to be smaller. I have been trying to look into species that would be a good fit for an Asian desert retheme of the building and a lot of them look to be hard to acquire here in North America or are too large for the exhibits within the building, as it is not an overly large exhibit. I remember being wowed when I was a child seeing this place and thinking it was huge, but now seeing it as an adult I realize it was just my tiny eyes at the time. I would love for this to be redone as an Asian desert exhibit to hopefully tie in with an eventual Asian retheming of this entire area in the future, but I worry about whether or not they will be able to find enough suitable species to exhibit, even with just the 9 exhibits. I could be wrong and there are people who are way more knowledgeable about this than me, so if I am please let me know. Thank you!

 

[tigris115]

So with the new Tropic World expansion, will there be an indoor exhibit space for the great apes? Because it gets cold in Chicago and it'd be ideal to have an indoor viewable area for them in the winter.

 

[pachyderm pro]

So with the new Tropic World expansion, will there be an indoor exhibit space for the great apes? Because it gets cold in Chicago and it'd be ideal to have an indoor viewable area for them in the winter.

A new gorilla house is being built adjacent to Tropic World which will include two publicly viewable dayrooms. The orangutans will still utilize their existing indoor exhibit.

 

[JVM]

Is it to be understood at this point that there won't be any major changes to Tropic World's interior structure besides the newly added Gorilla Center? I noticed no such changes in the plans but I was hopeful.

 

[pachyderm pro]

Is it to be understood at this point that there won't be any major changes to Tropic World's interior structure besides the newly added Gorilla Center? I noticed no such changes in the plans but I was hopeful.

Nothing has been revealed regarding changes to the interior beyond the gorillas being replaced by African monkeys. It's possible interior renovations will be done as part of a later phase, but nothing has been discussed as of yet.

 

[JVM]

Nothing has been revealed regarding changes to the interior beyond the gorillas being replaced by African monkeys. It's possible interior renovations will be done as part of a later phase, but nothing has been discussed as of yet.

It feels unlikely at this stage, but I hope it is something they give serious consideration towards.

Most of the concepts that have occupied my mind in the past are almost certainly incompatible with the current plans to add a local bird aviary south of the exhibit, but I often imagined as a child adding ground-floor viewing (this was back when the exhibit included pachyderms and the anteater, although I still think it would be useful) or adding more terrariums and small exhibit spaces for small mammals and reptiles and such that can't be held in the main exhibit. I also had those elaborate fantasies of adding outdoor areas on both sides of the exhibit for more tropical animals. I have also sometimes wished they could do something different with the ugly orangutan island to make it feel more natural as part of the Asia section. I do really wish there was a way to make it an orangutan/gibbon mixed habitat or to introduce another animal or primate.

Almost all of those are outlandish as all heck, but even adding better windows/viewing to the old gorilla bachelor exhibit or the former loris exhibit would still be a welcome improvement. I think both of those exhibit spaces have been rendered somewhat useless partly for how easy to miss they are due to the lack of viewing, although the old bachelor exhibit will very likely be gone in the new construction and closing of the round path, I suspect?

 

[Tapir Master]

With the recent news of the zebra and addax hoofstock yards being demolished, you think it’s all going to tie in to the future Habitat Africa expansion?