Brookfield Zoo The Current State of Brookfield Zoo

I think it's an idea many zoos in colder climates had--until standards came to demand outdoor enclosures for those animals that would normally be outside. Then the problem--for all our earliest zoos--became what to do with those beautiful-but-antiquated buildings now designated as historic landmarks that can't be structurally changed or demolished. It would not only be nice to keep a touch of the past, it's legally required! It can be such a difficult fight--like NZP's expansion of its 1930s Elephant House into a usable facility--that some zoos simply let the buildings sit as storage or used for offices. Bronx's Madagascar managed to make use of the historic Lion Building, but it has several historic buildings not currently used for animals. Adaptation of historic structures without breaking the bank is a particular interest, and I hope to see the Brookfield Zoo someday soon and see how they meet this challenge!
 
One question:. I saw the words Elephant Trails back in the Master Plan. Was there consideration of bringing elephants back to Brookfield?
 
AmbikaFan said:
One question:. I saw the words Elephant Trails back in the Master Plan. Was there consideration of bringing elephants back to Brookfield?
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That is the dream, but if we were to bring elephants back to Brookfield, it would definitely be way into the future.
 
Well, someone thought up a name and included it in a Master Plan! That's heading in the right direction at least.
 
I do enjoy Brookfield's bulk of indoor exhibits during bitterly cold winter visits, there is a lot to see regardless of the weather.
 
As someone that always found Brookfield better than Lincoln Park, I can’t deny that they’ve been losing against the latter for a while.

If it’s not the grottos that they have to repurpose, it’s the Pachyderm House than may need drastic changes. Bringing back the Nile hippopotamus would be nice, the elephant should probably get its own standalone exhibits that should have the same quality as San Diego’s elephant exhibit. It may be expensive, but enough funding should help.
 
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