Content deleted Content added
m units |
m added missing negative that clearly should have been there, as indicated by context Tags: Mobile edit Mobile app edit iOS app edit App section source |
||
| (937 intermediate revisions by more than 100 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{short description|Zoo in Brookfield, Illinois, United States}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox zoo
|zoo_name = Brookfield Zoo Chicago
|image = brookfield-zoo.jpg
|image_caption = Brookfield Zoo Chicago, North Gate
|date_opened = {{start date and age|July 1, 1934}}
|___location = [[Brookfield, Illinois|Brookfield]], [[Illinois]], United States
|coordinates = {{Coord|41.832671|-87.833462|type:landmark|display=it}}
|area = {{Convert|235|acre|abbr=on}}
|annual_visitors = 2 million
|members = [[Association of Zoos and Aquariums|AZA]]<ref name="aza_list">
{{ZooOrg|aza|zoos|access-date=20 August 2011}}
</ref>
|website = {{URL|https://www.czs.org/BrookfieldZoo}}
|num_animals = 3,481
|num_species = 511
|publictransit = {{rint|bus|1}} [[Pace (transit)|Pace]]<br />{{rint|rail|1}} {{RouteBox|BNSF|BNSF Railway (Metra)|limegreen|white|bold=}} [[Hollywood (Metra station)|Hollywood]]
}}
'''Brookfield Zoo Chicago''', known until 2024 as simply '''Brookfield Zoo''', and also known as the '''Chicago Zoological Park''',<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Brookfield Zoo (Chicago Zoological Park) |url=http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/172.html |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Chicago |publisher=Chicago Historical Society }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Brookfield Zoo |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/81229/Brookfield-Zoo |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |date=5 January 2024 }}</ref> is a [[zoo]] located in [[Brookfield, Illinois|Brookfield]], Illinois. Brookfield Zoo is owned by the [[Forest Preserve District of Cook County]] and is managed by the Chicago Zoological Society. It is the largest zoo in the [[Chicago metropolitan area]] and houses approximately 511 species of animals in an area of {{Convert|216|acre}}.
Brookfield Zoo opened on July 1, 1934, and quickly gained international recognition for using [[moat]]s and ditches instead of cages.
The zoo was also the first in the United States to exhibit [[giant pandas]], one of which ([[Su Lin (1930s giant panda)|Su Lin]]<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Pandas Galore |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,759451,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100826082915/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,759451,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 26, 2010 |magazine=Time |date=1938-04-11 }}</ref>) has been [[taxidermy|taxidermied]] and put on display in Chicago's [[Field Museum of Natural History]]. In 1960 the zoo opened the first fully indoor [[bottlenose dolphin]] exhibit in the United States,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Poirier |first1=Sarah |title=The 17 Largest Zoos In The US Are A Must See For Animal Lovers |url=https://www.thetravel.com/largest-zoos-us-number-animals/#brookfield-zoo |website=The Travel|date=25 July 2019 }}</ref> and in the 1980s the zoo introduced the first fully indoor [[tropical rainforest]] simulation exhibit, which was the largest indoor zoo exhibit in the world at that time. It is often listed as one of the best zoos in the United States.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hood |first1=Rachael |title=26 Best Zoos in the U.S. |url=https://travel.usnews.com/gallery/the-best-zoos-in-the-us?slide=24 |publisher=[[US News]] |access-date=5 February 2025 |date=24 October 2024}}</ref>
==History==
===20th century===
[[File:Entrance, Brookfield Zoo, Chicago, ill (71966).jpg|thumb|left|Entrance to Brookfield Zoo Chicago, c. 1930s]]
[[File:Zookeeper with baby animals, Brookfield Zoo, Brookfield, Illinois, 1940s (NBY 3103).jpg|thumb|Zookeeper with baby animals, c. 1940s]]
In 1919, [[Edith Rockefeller McCormick]] donated land she received from her father as a wedding gift to the Cook County Forest Preserve District for development as a zoological garden. The district added {{convert|98|acre|m2}} to that plot and in 1921 the Chicago Zoological Society was established. Construction did not begin until 1926 after a zoo tax was approved. Construction slowed during the onset of the [[Great Depression]], but regained momentum by late 1931. Construction went on at an increased pace<ref>{{cite news |title=50 CWA Workers Rush Construction on Brookfield Zoo |work=Chicago Daily Tribune |date=1933-12-31 |page=6 }}</ref> and the zoo opened on July 1, 1934.<ref>{{cite news |first=Katherine |last=Kelley |title=Brookfield Zoo Will Be Ready to Open July 1 |work=Chicago Daily Tribune |date=1934-01-18 |page=20 }}</ref> By the end of September 1934, over one million people had visited the zoo;<ref>{{cite news |title=Total of Brookfield Zoo Visitors Exceeds Million |work=Chicago Daily Tribune |date=1934-09-29 |page=5 }}</ref> reaching four million by 1936.<ref>{{cite news |title=Zoo's 4,000,000th Visitor |work=Chicago Daily Tribune |date=1936-09-08 |page=1 |quote=Phyllis Guren of Bemidji, Minn., the 4000000th visitor to the Brookfield zoo, with bicycle which was her reward. }}</ref>
The 1950s saw the addition of a [[veterinary hospital]],<ref>{{cite news |first=Louise |last=Hutchinson |title=Brookfield Zoo Hospital Gives Succor to Sick |work=Chicago Daily Tribune |date=1953-01-15 |page=S9 }}</ref> a children's zoo,<ref>{{cite news |first=Louise |last=Hutchinson |title=2 Kinds of Kids Ready for New Brookfield Zoo |work=Chicago Daily Tribune |date=1953-07-19 |page=NW6 }}</ref> and the Roosevelt Fountain, named for U.S. president [[Theodore Roosevelt]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Dedicate Theodore Roosevelt Fountain at Zoo |work=Chicago Daily Tribune |date=1954-05-15 |page=B7}}</ref> The zoo experienced a decline in the 1960s until a large bond issue from the Forest Preserve District allowed it to expand. The zoo opened the nation's first fully indoor [[dolphinarium]] in the 1960s.
In the early 1980s, the zoo constructed Tropic World, an indoor simulated tropical rainforest exhibit. Tropic World was designed by French architect Pierre Venoa and was completed in 1984.<ref>{{cite news |first=William |last=Presecky |title=Brookfield Zoo's Tropic World opens doorway to Asia |work=Chicago Tribune |date=1983-05-11 |page=SD3}}</ref> In 1996, a 3-year-old boy was injured when he fell into an enclosure within Tropic World. The incident gained worldwide attention after [[Binti Jua]], a female [[western lowland gorilla]], tended to the child until zoo staff rescued him.
===21st century===
[[File:Brookfield zoo fg10.jpg|thumb|The Seven Seas Dolphinarium, c. 2000]]
In the early 21st century, the zoo underwent upgrades including construction of the Hamill Family Play Zoo, a large [[wolf]] exhibit, an interactive [[butterfly]] tent, group catering pavilions, and the largest non-restored, hand-carved, wooden [[carousel]] in the United States. Great Bear Wilderness, a $27.3 million exhibit for [[grizzly]] and [[polar bear|polar]] bears, opened in 2010.<ref>{{cite news |title=Brookfield Zoo opening 7.5 acre 'Great Bear Wilderness' |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-bn-xpm-2010-04-18-28508853-story.html|work=Chicago Tribune |date=April 18, 2010 }}</ref> The interiors of several existing buildings were reconfigured into immersion exhibits based upon [[ecosystem]]s rather than by [[clade]]s. These included exhibits related to [[South American]] [[coast]]s, [[swamp]]s of the [[Southern United States]], and various exhibits related to [[desert]]s, the African [[savanna]], and the [[Australian Outback]].
The zoo's [[reptile]] house, the first building to open in 1934, closed in 2005 and was converted into the Mary Ann McLean Conservation Leadership Center which does not display live animals, but it details the zoo's larger conservation mission.<ref>{{cite news |title=Brookfield Zoo's Reptile House transformed |url=https://www.rblandmark.com/2013/12/03/brookfield-zoos-reptile-house-transformed/|work=Riverside Brookfield Landmark |date=December 3, 2013 }}</ref>
In 2011, the zoo faced protests from [[In Defense of Animals]] over the deaths of their [[African elephant]]s, and as a result Brookfield Zoo currently displays neither [[elephant]]s or [[Nile hippopotamus]] (though the zoo's current master plan has both species expected to return in the coming years).<ref>{{cite news |title=Chicago's Last Elephant Leaves Brookfield Zoo |url=https://www.chicagoparent.com/things-to-do/attractions/last-elephant-leaves-brookfield-zoo/|work=Chicago Parent |date=September 23, 2010 }}</ref>
The Children's Zoo, which opened in August 1953, was dismantled in early 2013, and a new family-based series of exhibits known as Wild Encounters opened on the site on July 1, 2015.<ref>{{cite news |title=The former Brookfield's Children's Zoo has gone wild |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-brookfield-childrens-zoo-wild-encounters-20150701-column.html|work=Chicago Tribune |date=June 30, 2015 }}</ref>
The zoo has been closed only five times in its history: On September 14, 2008, after damage from a weekend rainstorm;<ref>{{cite news |title=Brookfield Zoo shuts down for 1st time |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2008-09-16-0809160158-story.html |work=Chicago Tribune |date=September 16, 2008 }}</ref> on February 2, 2011, after a major blizzard; on April 18–19, 2013, after flooding from a severe rainstorm;<ref>{{cite news |title=Brookfield Zoo To Reopen After Floods Begin Receding |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/brookfield-zoo-to-reopen-after-floods-begin-receding/ |work=CBS News |date=April 19, 2013 }}</ref> January 30–31, 2019, due to below-freezing temperatures;,<ref>{{cite news |title=Brookfield Zoo Plans to Close January 30 and 31 due to Weather |url=https://www.czs.org/Chicago-Zoological-Society/About/Press-room/2019-Press-Releases/Brookfield-Zoo-Plans-to-Close-January-30-and-31-du |work=Chicago Zoological Society |date=January 28, 2019 }}</ref> from March 19 to July 1, 2020, due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Brookfield Zoo reopens to members July 1; to the public July 8. Here's what will be different |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/river-forest/ct-nvs-ent-brookfield-zoo-0703-20200626-nncp7mxeqze2lgpqdnryyi5eva-story.htm |work=Chicago Tribune |date=June 26, 2020 }}</ref> and on January 12, 2024, due a winter storm.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Log in or sign up to view |url=https://m.facebook.com/login.php?next=https%3A%2F%2Fm.facebook.com%2Fstory.php%3Fstory_fbid%3Dpfbid029EkiQRJjXB95gN1dGhB1uz1bhCppFtw4vp4zcLJm8xsxwfP9Dh7mZKxJp8ooaLHMl%26id%3D100064876744677%26mibextid%3D2JQ9oc&refsrc=deprecated&_rdr |access-date=2024-01-14 |website=m.facebook.com |language=en}}</ref>
In September 2023, the zoo received the largest private donation in its history, $40 million, from an anonymous donor.<ref>{{cite news |title=Brookfield Zoo receives $40M, largest single donation in its history |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/brookfield-zoo-40m-donation/ |agency=CBS News Chicago}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Wetli |first1=Patty |title=Brookfield Zoo Has More Big News to Celebrate: A Record-Setting $40M Donation |url=https://news.wttw.com/2023/09/19/brookfield-zoo-has-more-big-news-celebrate-record-setting-40m-donation |agency=WTTW News}}</ref>
As a result of this private donation, the zoo utilized the money to fund their newest expansion to Tropic World, this being Tropical Forests.<ref>{{cite news |title=Brookfield Zoo's largest ever donation will fund 'Tropical Forest' habitats |url=https://www.rblandmark.com/2024/02/20/brookfield-zoo-celebrates-90th-anniversary-with-ferris-wheel/|work=Riverside-Brookfield Landmark |date=October 11, 2023}}</ref> Said expansion will not only provide outdoor exhibits for [[monkeys]], [[gorillas]], and [[orangutans]] alike, but also providing them with new indoor exhibits as well.<ref>{{cite news |title=JAMES & ELIZABETH BRAMSEN TROPICAL FORESTS |url=https://www.brookfieldzoo.org/BramsenTropicalForests|work=Brookfield Zoo Chicago}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Western Lowland Gorillas Explore New Indoor Habitat in the James & Elizabeth Bramsen Tropical Forests at Brookfield Zoo Chicago |url=https://www.brookfieldzoo.org/2025-release-bramsen-tropical-forests|work=Brookfield Zoo Chicago |date=March 31, 2025}}</ref> There is also a plan of introducing two new bachelor gorillas to the existing dynamic, originally from [[Zoo Miami]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Meet the Bachelors: Western Lowland Gorillas Shango and Barney to Make New Home at Brookfield Zoo Chicago |url=https://www.brookfieldzoo.org/getdoc/72821f05-41ab-4486-890d-0d7881edf984/2025-Bachelor-Troop.aspx|work=Brookfield Zoo Chicago |date=May 2, 2025}}</ref> The opening date is currently yet to be announced. Tropical Forests is a part of Brookfield Zoo Chicago's current master plan.
In 2024, a [[ferris wheel]] was set up near the east mall to celebrate the zoo's 90th anniversary. It has returned for the 2025 season.<ref>{{cite news |title=Brookfield Zoo celebrates 90th anniversary with Ferris wheel |url=https://www.rblandmark.com/2024/02/20/brookfield-zoo-celebrates-90th-anniversary-with-ferris-wheel/|work=Riverside-Brookfield Landmark |date=February 20, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Brookfield Zoo drops second annual summer concert lineup |url=https://www.rblandmark.com/2025/04/24/concert-summer-lineup-brookfield-zoo-second-annual/|work=Riverside-Brookfield Landmark |date=April 24, 2025}}</ref>
==Notable animals (past and present)==
*[[Binti Jua]] is a female [[western lowland gorilla]] who tended to a three-year-old child that fell into her exhibit in 1996.
*[[Cookie (cockatoo)|Cookie]], a [[Major Mitchell's cockatoo]], had been part of the zoo's collection since the opening in 1934, until his death in 2016.
*[[Ziggy (elephant)|Ziggy]] was a 6-ton male [[Asian elephant]] who was chained in the Pachyderm House for three decades, due to him attacking his keeper in 1941.
== Exhibits ==
{{more citations needed section|date=July 2025}}
*'''Amazing Arachnids!''' (2018): Blue femur beauty tarantula, [[Pterinopelma sazimai|Brazilian blue violet tarantula]], [[Lasiodora parahybana|Brazilian pink bloom tarantula]], [[Brazilian red and white tarantula]], [[Theraphosa stirmi|Burgundy goliath birdeater]], Columbian pumpkin patch tarantula, [[Chaco golden knee]], Chilean gold dust spider, [[Aphonopelma gabeli|Chiricahuan grey]], [[Tliltocatl albopilosus|Curly hair tarantula]], [[Desert hairy scorpion]], Dictator scorpion, [[Orphnaecus philippinus|Dwarf Philippine tangerine]], [[Emperor scorpion]], [[Grammostola iheringi|Entre Rios tarantula]], [[Stromatopelma calceatum|Feather leg baboon tarantula]], [[Hadogenes troglodytes|Giant flat rock scorpion]], [[Poecilotheria vittata|Ghost ornamental tarantula]], [[Goliath birdeater|Goliath bird-eating tarantula]], [[Theraphosa apophysis|Goliath pinkfoot tarantula]], [[Davus pentaloris|Guatemalan tiger rump tarantula]], [[Tapinauchenius plumipes|Mahogany tree spider]], [[Avicularia metallica|Metallic pink toe tarantula]], [[Mexican fireleg tarantula]], [[Mexican red knee tarantula]], [[Augacephalus ezendami|Mozambique golden baboon tarantula]], Olive keeled flat rock scorpion, Ornamental baboon tarantula, [[Peacock tarantula]], Purple earth tarantula, Purple tree spider, Rameshwaram Temple tarantula, Skeleton leg tarantula, South Vietnam blue tarantula, Stripe knee tarantula, [[Tailless whip scorpion]], Tiger rump tarantula, Venezuelan suntiger tarantula, [[Vinegaroon]], [[Wolf spider]], and Yellow-backed ornamental tiger tarantula.<ref>{{cite news |title=New Brookfield Zoo Exhibit Highlights 'Amazing Arachnids' |date=2018 |first=Alex |last=Ruppenthal |url=https://news.wttw.com/2018/05/29/new-brookfield-zoo-exhibit-highlights-amazing-arachnids |publisher=[[WTTW]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Amazing Arachnids |year=2018 |url=https://www.czs.org/Arachnids |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613210415/https://www.czs.org/Arachnids |archive-date=2018-06-13 |publisher=Chicago Zoological Society}}</ref>
*'''Australia''': [[Red-necked wallaby|Bennett's wallabies]], [[brush-tailed bettong]], [[Cape Barren goose]], [[emu]]s, [[frilled lizard]], [[green tree python]]s, [[Kookaburra|laughing kookaburras]], [[short-beaked echidna]]s, [[southern hairy-nosed wombat]]s, [[western grey kangaroo]]s, and [[woma python]]s.
*'''Big Cats''': [[Lion|African lions]], [[Amur tiger]]s, [[sloth bear]]s, and [[snow leopard]]s.
*'''Clouded Leopard Rain Forest''': [[Asian small-clawed otter]]s, [[binturong]]s, [[clouded leopard]], [[emperor newt]]s, [[Prevost's squirrel]], and [[ring-tailed lemur]]s.
*'''Desert's Edge''': [[Amur leopard]]s, [[Arabian sand cat]]s, [[bat-eared fox]]es, [[Damaraland mole-rat]]s, [[Cape porcupine]]s, [[meerkat]]s, [[naked mole rat]]s, [[Pallas cat]], [[small-spotted genet]], and [[white-nosed coatimundi]]s.
*'''Feather and Scales''': [[Andean condor]]s, [[Andean cock-of-the-rock]], [[blue-billed curassow]], [[crested wood partridge]], [[Poison dart frog|yellow-headed dart poison frogs]], [[double-striped thick-knee]]s, [[Gambel's quail]]s, [[greater roadrunner]]s, [[green aracari]]es, [[boa constrictor]]s, [[Giant girdled lizard|sungazers]], [[Gaboon viper|western Gaboon viper]], and [[Victoria crowned pigeon]].
*'''Formal Pool''': [[American white pelican]].
*'''Great Bear Wilderness''': [[American bison]], [[bald eagle]]s, [[brown bear]]s, and [[polar bear]]s.
*'''Habitat Africa: The Forest''': [[African dwarf crocodile]], [[Black and rufous sengi|black and rufous giant elephant shrew]], [[Northern red-billed hornbill|African red-billed hornbill]], [[okapi]]s, [[red-flanked duiker]]s, [[red river hog]]s, [[white-bellied pangolin]]s, and [[yellow-backed duiker]]s.
*'''Habitat Africa: The Savannah''': [[African wild dog]]s, [[dwarf mongoose]]s, [[grey crowned crane]]s, [[klipspringer]]s, [[Kirk's dik-dik]], [[nyala antelope]], and [[reticulated giraffes]].
*'''Hamill Family Nature Plaza''' (seasonal): [[Blanding's turtle]], [[common musk turtle]], [[eastern box turtle]], [[ornate box turtle]], [[painted turtle]], [[red-eared slider turtle]], [[spotted turtle]], and [[three-toed box turtle]].
*'''Hamill Family Play Zoo''': [[Four-toed hedgehog|African hedgehog]]s, [[barred tiger salamander]]s, [[Blanding's turtle]]s, [[Sternotherus odoratus|musk turtles]], [[boa constrictor]]s, [[Cichlid|African cichlids]], [[honeybee]]s, [[koala]]s, [[Madagascar hissing cockroach]]es, [[Plymouth Rock chicken]]s, [[red-legged seriema]], [[toco toucan]]s, and [[Wyandotte chicken]]s.<ref>{{cite news |title=Brookfield Zoo Chicago Offers Exciting Fall Lineup |url=https://www.brookfieldzoo.org/Brookfield-Zoo-Chicago-Offers-Exciting-Fall-Lineup|work=Brookfield Zoo Chicago |date=August 24, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Brookfield Zoo Chicago Welcomes Koalas |url=https://www.brookfieldzoo.org/Brookfield-Zoo-Chicago-Welcomes-Koalas|work=Brookfield Zoo Chicago |date=April 16, 2024}}</ref>
*'''Hamill Family Wild Encounters''': [[Nigerian dwarf goat|Goat]]s, [[llama]]s, [[parakeet]]s, [[reindeer]], and [[Red-necked wallaby|Bennett's wallabies]].
*'''Hoofed Animals''': [[Addax]]es, [[Bactrian camel]]s, and [[Grevy's zebra]]s.
*'''Macaws''': [[Blue-and-yellow macaw]]s, [[scarlet macaw]]s, and [[hyacinth macaw]]s.<ref>{{cite news |title=Meet the Macaws! |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRBWaOQ4UPU|work=Brookfield Zoo Chicago |date=June 17, 2024}}</ref>
*'''North American Prairie Aviary''': [[Cattle egret]], [[greater prairie chicken]], and [[sandhill crane]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Brookfield Zoo Chicago's New North American Prairie Aviary Showcases Native Birds |url=https://www.brookfieldzoo.org/Brookfield-Zoo-Chicago%E2%80%99s-New-North-American-Prairie-Aviary-Showcases-Native-Birds|work=Brookfield Zoo Chicago |date=July 25, 2024}}</ref>
*'''Pachyderms''': [[Capybara]]s, [[Galapagos tortoise]], and [[Eastern black rhinoceros]].
*'''Regenstein Wolf Woods''': [[Mexican wolf|Mexican wolves]].
*'''Reptiles and Birds (Perching Bird House)''': [[Pygmy falcon|African pygmy-falcon]]s, [[Argus monitor]]s, [[Bali myna|Bali starlings]], [[bay-headed tanager]]s, [[blue throated macaw]], [[curl-crested aracari]], [[Red-and-green macaw|green-winged macaws]], [[Jamaican iguana]], [[Kingfisher|Micronesian kingfishers]], [[paradise tanager]]s, [[reticulated python]], [[tawny frogmouth]]s, [[turquoise tanager]]s, and [[veiled chameleon]].
*'''Salt Creek Wilderness''': [[Trumpeter swans]].
*'''Sea Lion Cove''': [[California sea lion]]s, [[grey seal]]s.
*'''Seven Seas''': [[Bottlenose dolphin]]s.
*'''The Living Coast''': [[Axolotl]]s, [[blue tang]], [[clownfish]], [[cownose ray]]s, [[dwarf seahorse]]s, [[gray gull]]s, [[Humboldt penguins]], [[Inca tern]]s, [[Kemp's ridley sea turtle]], [[leopard shark]]s, [[moon jellyfish]], and [[moray eel]]s.
*'''The Swamp''': [[American flamingo]]s, [[Blanding's turtle]], [[great egret]]s, [[little blue herons]], [[North American river otter]], [[roseate spoonbill]]s, [[scarlet ibis]], [[snowy egret]]s, and [[white ibis]].
*'''Tropic World''': [[Angola colobus]], [[Asian small-clawed otters]], [[Boat-billed heron]], [[Black-handed spider monkey]], [[Bornean orangutan]]s, [[collared mangabey]]s, [[cottontop tamarin]]s, [[giant anteater]]s, [[Geoffroy's spider monkey]]s, [[golden lion tamarin]]s, [[Hoffmann's two-toed sloth]], [[mandrill]]s, [[northern white-cheeked gibbons]], [[Red-tailed monkey|Schmidt's red-tailed guenon]], [[squirrel monkey]]s, [[sooty mangabeys]], [[tufted capuchin]], [[crested capuchin]], and [[western lowland gorilla]]s.
==Notable staff==
Chicago cartoonist [[John T. McCutcheon]] was the president of the Chicago Zoological Society from 1921 until 1948 and oversaw the zoo's construction, opening and its early years, including helping it through the war years, when the zoo saw a decrease in attendance.
[[Grace Olive Wiley]] briefly worked as a reptile curator at the zoo in 1935.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Miscellany: Apples |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,749140,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111222071450/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,749140,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 22, 2011 |magazine=Time |date=1935-09-30 }}</ref>
[[George B. Rabb]] was the director from 1976 until 2003, having originally worked as a researcher and an assistant to the director.
== Conservation programs ==
Brookfield Zoo Chicago has a conservation project in Punta San Juan, Peru. Disney World partnered with the zoo by giving a $25,000 grant assigned specifically to the work in Punta San Juan, Peru, which helped the Chicago Zoological Society conservationists gain clearance into the highly restricted and protected area. The CZS has hired multiple people that already worked for the reserve to help build a conservation research team. Samples are taken from wildlife such as [[South American sea lion]]s, [[Inca tern]]s, [[Peruvian booby|Peruvian boobies]], [[guanay cormorant]]s, [[Grey gull]]s, and the endangered [[Humboldt penguin]]s. The team uses the information they gathered to research the environment, observe the species, and monitor populations. Project results further knowledge about the ocean and help save endangered species. Team members also continuously have groups of children, of varying ages, go out to clean up garbage that accumulates on the beaches of Punta San Juan from the Pacific Ocean.<ref>{{cite news |last=Gregory |first=Ted |title=Brookfield Zoo's Quiet Crusade: Saving Wildlife on the Peruvian Coast |work=Chicago Tribune |date=December 22, 2015 |access-date=February 21, 2016 |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/globalcity/ct-brookfield-zoo-peru-marine-conservation-20151222-story.html}}</ref>
== Economics ==
[[File:Brookfield Zoo - Bucorvus (18047685300).jpg|thumb|[[Ground hornbill]] (''Bucorvidae'') with trainer]]
In 2014, revenue of Brookfield Zoo Chicago was made up by $26.6 million from admissions and guest services, $15.2 million from taxes, $11.5 million from membership dues, $11.5 million from contributions, sponsorships, and net assets released, and $1.2 million from investments and other income. Expenses in 2014 included $15.7 million for admissions and guest services, $15 million for animal collections and conservation programs, $10.7 million for care of buildings and grounds, $7.9 million for management and general, $5.9 million for public education and communications, $3.8 million for marketing and public relations, $3.4 million for fundraising, and $1.4 million for membership. Revenue totaled $66 million and spending totaled $63.8 million during 2014.<ref name=":0">Chicago Zoological Society. "2014 Annual Report." N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2016. https://www.czs.org/getmedia/48420feb-fb4d-489c-81e5-16c88c67f214/2014-CZS-Annual-Report.aspx {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151020222739/http://www.czs.org/getmedia/48420feb-fb4d-489c-81e5-16c88c67f214/2014-CZS-Annual-Report.aspx |date=2015-10-20}}</ref>
In 2010, Governor [[Pat Quinn (politician)|Pat Quinn]] granted Brookfield Zoo Chicago $15.6 million to aid repairing and remodeling many parts of the zoo. This included updating the north entrance to the zoo on 31st Street and Golfview Avenue.<ref>Smith, Katie. "Gov. Quinn Gives $15.6 Million to Brookfield Zoo, Which Is Criticized by Animal Rights Groups for Its Elephant Conditions." Gov. Quinn Gives $15.6 Million to Brookfield Zoo, Which Is Criticized by Animal Rights Groups for Its Elephant Conditions." January 12, 2010. Accessed February 28, 2016. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160513025935/http://newsarchive.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news-153397-print.html |date=2016-05-13}}</ref>
The CZS has hosted several fundraising events, Wines in the Wild and Wild Wild Whirl, where they collected various donations ranging in totals from $130,000 to $1.5 million.<ref>Litas, Lee A. "'Wines in the Wild' Raises $130,000 for Brookfield Zoo". Western Springs, The Doing. Chicago Tribune, 23 Nov. 2015. Web. 11 Feb. 2016. http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/western-springs/lifestyles/ct-dhd-faces-brookwine-tl-1203-20151120-story.html.</ref><ref>Pioneer Press. "Brookfield Zoo Celebrates a Wild Wild Whirl". Western Springs, The Doing. Chicago Tribune, 7 May 2015. Web. 11 Feb. 2016. http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/western-springs/lifestyles/ct-dhd-trend-zoowhirl-tl-0507-20150507-story.html.</ref>
A total of 808 volunteers help the zoo with 74,401 community service hours which equates to $1.86 million of work.<ref name=":0" />
Economic movement approaches $150 million, 2,000 jobs, 580 volunteers, and around 2 million visitors every year.<ref>"Chicago Zoological Society - Economic Impact." Chicago Zoological Society - Economic Impact. 2014. Accessed February 27, 2016. https://www.czs.org/Chicago-Zoological-Society/Community-Impact/Economic-Impact.</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Uphues |first1=Bob |title=Cool weather, rain means fewer visitors to Brookfield zoo |url=https://www.rblandmark.com/2011/06/28/cool-weather-rain-means-fewer-visitors-to-brookfield-zoo/ |agency=Riverside-Brookfield Landmark |publisher=Growing Community Media}}</ref><ref>"BE OUR GUEST" Brookfield Zoo Chicago. Accessed June 17, 2025. https://www.brookfieldzoo.org/beourguest</ref>
== Gallery ==
<gallery>
Hamill Family Play Zoo entrance.jpg|Hamill Family Wild Encounters entrance
Brookfield zoo 0294.jpg|[[Black rhino|Rhino]] exhibit
Humboldt Penguins 0132.JPG|[[Humboldt penguin]]s at the Living Coast exhibit
Giraffe 0073.JPG|[[Giraffe]]s (''Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata'')
Breathin - Flickr - Oddernod.jpg|[[Gorilla]] at the zoo
Brookfield zoo 0219.jpg|[[Orangutan]]s
File:Aza (18047594330).jpg|[[Amur leopard]]
Peacock at Chicago Brookfield Zoo.jpg|[[Peacock]] near pond
Mossy Polar Bear (4845557464).jpg|[[Polar bear]] exhibit
Brookfield Zoo (3750396591).jpg|Zebra feeding on hay
Dolphin Show 1 (2996196450).jpg|[[Bottlenose dolphin|Dolphin]] show
Brookfield zoo fg06.jpg|[[American alligator]] (''Alligator mississippiensis'')
Old_Exit_Turnstiles,_Brookfield_Zoo.png|Old exit turnstiles at the North Gate
Brookfield Zoo Bull Statue.png|Bull statue near the North Gate at Brookfield Zoo Chicago
Dolphin statue in front of Seven Seas, Brookfield Zoo.png|Dolphin statue in front of Seven Seas, Brookfield Zoo Chicago
</gallery>
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
{{Commons category|Brookfield Zoo Chicago}}
*{{Official website|https://www.czs.org/BrookfieldZoo}}
{{Brookfield, Illinois}}
{{Zoos of Illinois}}
{{authority control}}
[[Category:Zoos in Illinois]]
[[Category:Parks in Cook County, Illinois]]
[[Category:Brookfield, Illinois]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Cook County, Illinois]]
[[Category:1934 establishments in Illinois]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Cook County, Illinois]]
[[Category:Educational organizations established in 1934]]
[[Category:Zoos established in the 1930s]]
| |||