Brookfield Zoo, also known as the Chicago Zoological Park, is a
zoo
A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes.
The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoo ...
located in the
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
suburb of
Brookfield, Illinois
Brookfield (formerly Grossdale) is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, located west of downtown Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 19,476. The city is home to the Brookfield Zoo.
Geography
Brookfield is located at ...
. It houses around 450 species of animals in an area of . It opened on July 1, 1934, and quickly gained international recognition for using
moats and ditches instead of cages to separate animals from visitors and from other animals. The zoo was also the first in
America to exhibit
giant pandas
The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear (or simply the panda), is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its bold black-and-white coat and rotund body. The name "giant panda" is sometimes use ...
, one of which (
Su Lin) has been
taxidermied
Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body via mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the proc ...
and put on display in Chicago's
Field Museum of Natural History. In 1960, Brookfield Zoo built the nation's first fully indoor
dolphin
A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the ...
exhibit, and in the 1980s, the zoo introduced Tropic World, the first fully indoor
rainforest simulation and the then-largest indoor zoo exhibit in the world.
The Brookfield Zoo is owned by the
Cook County Forest Preserve District and managed by the Chicago Zoological Society. The society sponsors numerous research and conservation efforts globally.
History
![Brookfield Zoo 1938 poster](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Brookfield_Zoo_1938_poster.jpg)
In 1919,
Edith Rockefeller McCormick
Edith Rockefeller McCormick (August 31, 1872 – August 25, 1932) was an American socialite, daughter of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller.
She and her husband Harold Fowler McCormick were prominent in Chicago society, supporting many ...
donated land she had received from her father as a wedding gift to the
Cook County Forest Preserve District for development as a zoological garden. The district added to that plot and in 1921, the Chicago Zoological Society was established. Serious construction did not begin until 1926, after a zoo tax was approved. Construction slowed during the Great Depression, but regained momentum by late 1931. Construction went on at an increased pace and the zoo opened on July 1, 1934. By the end of September 1934, over one million people had visited the new zoo; the four millionth visitor was just two years later.
The 1950s saw the addition of a veterinary hospital, a children's zoo, and the famous central fountain. The zoo went through a decline in the 1960s until a large bond issue from the Forest Preserve District, close attention to zoo governance, and visitor services saw the zoo recreate itself as one of the nation's best. Tropic World, the then-largest indoor zoo exhibit in the world, was designed by French architect Pierre Venoa and opened in three phases (
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
,
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
, and
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...
) between 1982 and 1984.
During the zoo's early decades, a narrow-gauge railroad existed, which carried guests around the outer perimeter of the park from the North Gate to the old Seven Seas
dolphin
A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the ...
habitat on the park's south end.
Bison lived on a small prairie on the west end of the park and could only been seen from the train, reminiscent of the Old West. The railroad was dismantled in the mid-1980s, although the pathways once used by the train still exist as roads for service vehicles, as does the North Gate station (since converted into a snack stand)
In the early 21st century, the zoo has undergone significant capital upgrades, constructing the Hamill Family Play Zoo, Regenstein Wolf Woods, butterfly tent, sheltered group catering pavilions, and the largest non-restored, hand-carved, wooden
carousel in the United States. Great Bear Wilderness, a new, $27.3 million sprawling exhibit for
grizzly
The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America.
In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...
and
polar bears, opened in 2010. The interiors of several existing buildings were reconfigured into immersion exhibits, based upon ecosystems rather than by
clades; these include the Living Coast (the shores of
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
and
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
), the Swamp, the Clouded Leopard Rain Forest, Desert's Edge, the African
Savanna
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland- grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...
and Forest, and
Australia House.
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.
Because of the expense of constructing Great Bear Wilderness and protests from
In Defense of Animals
In Defense of Animals (IDA) is an animal protection organization founded in 1983 in San Rafael, California, US. The group's slogan is "working to protect the rights, welfare, and habitats of animals".
IDA has become known, in particular, for its ...
over the deaths of the zoo's
African elephants, the Pachyderm House was closed for a year in 2011 for modifications and no longer exhibits
elephant
Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae ...
s or
river hippopotamuses.
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, which features a
red panda
The red panda (''Ailurus fulgens''), also known as the lesser panda, is a small mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. It has dense reddish-brown fur with a black belly and legs, white-lined ears, a mostly white muzzle ...
, a herd of
reindeer
Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 sub ...
, 2
Llama
The llama (; ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since the Pre-Columbian era.
Llamas are social animals and live with others as a herd. Their wool is soft ...
s,
Bennet's wallabies, 22
Nigerian dwarf goats, and a free-flight
parakeet
A parakeet is any one of many small to medium-sized species of parrot, in multiple genera, that generally has long tail feathers.
Etymology and naming
The name ''parakeet'' is derived from the French wor''perroquet'' which is reflected in ...
aviary.
The Pachyderm building also has a
pygmy hippo
The pygmy hippopotamus or pygmy hippo (''Choeropsis liberiensis'') is a small hippopotamid which is native to the forests and swamps of West Africa, primarily in Liberia, with small populations in Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Ivory Coast. It has ...
named 'Banana' who arrived at the zoo in May 2022 after an old female hippo passed away in June 2021.
The Brookfield Zoo is also known for its majestic fountain named after the 26th president of the United States,
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
. On some days, the fountain's spouting water can reach up to 60 feet high.
The zoo has been closed only five times in its history: On September 14, 2008, after damage from a weekend rainstorm; on February 2, 2011, after a major blizzard; on April 18–19, 2013, after flooding from a severe rainstorm; January 30–31, 2019, due to below-freezing temperatures; and from March 19 to July 1, 2020, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
.
Notable animals (past and present)
*
Ziggy
Ziggy is a masculine given name, often a diminutive form (hypocorism) of Zigmunt and other names. It is also a nickname. Notable people with the name include:
Nickname or hypocorism
* Ezekiel Ansah (born 1989), National Football League pla ...
was a 6.5
ton
Ton is the name of any one of several units of measure. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses.
Mainly it describes units of weight. Confusion can arise because ''ton'' can mean
* the long ton, which is 2,240 pounds
...
male
Asian elephant
The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus ''Elephas'' and is distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in the no ...
*
Binti Jua
Binti Jua (born March 17, 1988) is a female western lowland gorilla in the Brookfield Zoo, in Brookfield, Illinois, outside of Chicago, US. She received media attention after a situation in 1996 in which she tended to a three-year-old boy who had ...
is a female
western lowland gorilla
The western lowland gorilla (''Gorilla gorilla gorilla'') is one of two Critically Endangered subspecies of the western gorilla (''Gorilla gorilla'') that lives in montane, primary and secondary forest and lowland swampland in central Afri ...
*
Cookie, a
Major Mitchell's cockatoo
Major Mitchell's cockatoo (''Lophochroa leadbeateri''), also known as Leadbeater's cockatoo or the pink cockatoo, is a medium-sized cockatoo that inhabits arid and semi-arid inland areas of Australia, though it is seen regularly in other climat ...
, had been part of the zoo's collection since the opening in 1934 until his death in 2016.
Animal list
Australia House
Big Cats
Clouded Leopard Rain Forest
Desert's Edge
Feather & Scales
Free Flight Room
Frogs & Reptiles
Great Bear Wilderness
Habitat Africa! The Forest
Habitat Africa! The Savannah
Habitat Africa! (The Savannah) Kopje Free Flight Aviary
Hamill Family Play Zoo
Hamill Family Wild Encounters
Hoofed Animals
(The) Living Coast
Pachyderm House
Pinniped Point
*
California sea lion
The California sea lion (''Zalophus californianus'') is a coastal eared seal native to western North America. It is one of six species of sea lions. Its natural habitat ranges from southeast Alaska to central Mexico, including the Gulf of C ...
*
Gray seal
The grey seal (''Halichoerus grypus'') is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. In Latin Halichoerus grypus means "hook-nosed sea pig". It is a large seal of the family Phocidae, which are commonly referred to as "true seals" or " ...
Regenstein Wolf Woods
*
Mexican gray wolf
The Mexican wolf (''Canis lupus baileyi''), also known as the lobo,; nah, Cuetlāchcoyōtl is a subspecies of gray wolf native to southeastern Arizona and southern New Mexico in the United States, and northern Mexico; it also previously ranged ...
Seven Seas
*
Atlantic bottlenose dolphins
(The) Swamp
Tropic World
Other Animals
*
American white pelican
*
Desert tortoise
The desert tortoise (''Gopherus agassizii''), is a species of tortoise in the Family (biology), family Testudinidae. The species is native to the Mojave Desert, Mojave and Sonoran Deserts of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexic ...
*
Domestic guineafowl
*
Glass bloodfin tetra
*
Indian peafowl
The Indian peafowl (''Pavo cristatus''), also known as the common peafowl, and blue peafowl, is a peafowl species native to the Indian subcontinent. It has been introduced to many other countries. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and ...
*
Neon tetra
The neon tetra (''Paracheirodon innesi'') is a Freshwater fish of the characin family (family Characidae) of order Characiformes. The type species of its genus, it is native to blackwater and clearwater streams in the Amazon basin of Sout ...
*
Radiated tortoise
The radiated tortoise (''Astrochelys radiata'') is a tortoise species in the family Testudinidae. Although this species is native to and most abundant in southern Madagascar, it can also be found in the rest of this island, and has been intro ...
*
Serpae tetra
*
Trumpeter swan
The trumpeter swan (''Cygnus buccinator'') is a species of swan found in North America. The heaviest living bird native to North America, it is also the largest extant species of waterfowl, with a wingspan of 185 to 250 cm (6 ft 2 in to 8 ft 2 ...
*
White stork
The white stork (''Ciconia ciconia'') is a large bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on the bird's wings. Adults have long red legs and long pointed red beaks, and measure on average from beak tip to e ...
Butterfly House
(species list tbc)
Former Holdings
Xtreme BUGS! (2012)
Dinosaurs Alive!, Series 1 (2009)
*
Allosaurus
''Allosaurus'' () is a genus of large carnosaurian theropod dinosaur that lived 155 to 145 million years ago during the Late Jurassic epoch ( Kimmeridgian to late Tithonian). The name "''Allosaurus''" means "different lizard" alludin ...
*
Apatosaurus
''Apatosaurus'' (; meaning "deceptive lizard") is a genus of herbivorous sauropod dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Jurassic period. Othniel Charles Marsh described and named the first-known species, ''A. ajax'', in 1877, ...
*
Baryonyx
''Baryonyx'' () is a genus of theropod dinosaur which lived in the Barremian stage of the Early Cretaceous period, about 130–125 million years ago. The first skeleton was discovered in 1983 in the Smokejack Clay Pit, of Surrey, England, in s ...
*
Deinonychus
''Deinonychus'' ( ; ) is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur with one described species, ''Deinonychus antirrhopus''. This species, which could grow up to long, lived during the early Cretaceous Period, about 115–108 million y ...
*
Dilophosaurus
''Dilophosaurus'' ( ) is a genus of theropod dinosaurs that lived in what is now North America during the Early Jurassic, about 193 million years ago. Three skeletons were discovered in northern Arizona in 1940, and the two best preserve ...
*
Huanghetitan
''Huanghetitan'' (meaning "Yellow River titan"), is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the early Cretaceous Period. It was a basal titanosauriform which lived in what is now Gansu, China.
History
The type species, ''Huanghetitan liujiaxiaens ...
*
Metriacanthosaurus
''Metriacanthosaurus'' (meaning "moderately-spined lizard") is a genus of metriacanthosaurid dinosaur from the upper Oxford Clay of England, dating to the Late Jurassic period, about 160 million years ago (lower Oxfordian).
History of discove ...
*
Omeisaurus
''Omeisaurus'' (meaning "Omei lizard") is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic Period (Bathonian-Callovian stage) of what is now China. Its name comes from Mount Emei, where it was discovered in the lower Shaximiao Formation o ...
*
Parasaurolophus
*
Protoceratops
''Protoceratops'' (; ) is a genus of small protoceratopsid dinosaurs that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous, around 75 to 71 million years ago. The genus ''Protoceratops'' includes two species: ''P. andrewsi'' and the larger ''P. hellenik ...
*
Pteranodon
*
Stegosaurus
''Stegosaurus'' (; ) is a genus of herbivorous, four-legged, armored dinosaur from the Late Jurassic, characterized by the distinctive kite-shaped upright plates along their backs and spikes on their tails. Fossils of the genus have been fou ...
*
Triceratops
''Triceratops'' ( ; ) is a genus of herbivorous chasmosaurine ceratopsid dinosaur that first appeared during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous period, about 68 million years ago in what is now North America. It is one ...
*
Tyrannosaurus rex
''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosaurus'' live ...
*
Yangchuanosaurus
''Yangchuanosaurus'' is an extinct genus of metriacanthosaurid theropod dinosaur that lived in China from the Middle to Late Jurassic periods (Bathonian to Oxfordian stages), and was similar in size and appearance to its North American and Eu ...
Dinosaurs Alive!, Series 2 (2013)
*
Alxasaurus
''Alxasaurus'' (; meaning " Alxa lizard") is a genus of therizinosauroid theropod dinosaurs from the Early Cretaceous (Albian age) Bayin-Gobi Formation of Inner Mongolia.
History of discovery
The fossil remains were first discovered in 1988 a ...
*
Amargasaurus
''Amargasaurus'' (; "La Amarga lizard") is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous epoch (129.4–122.46 mya) of what is now Argentina. The only known skeleton was discovered in 1984 and is virtually complete, including a ...
*
Carnotaurus
''Carnotaurus'' (; ) is a genus of theropod dinosaur that lived in South America during the Late Cretaceous period, probably sometime between 71 and 69 million years ago. The only species is ''Carnotaurus sastrei''. Known from a single well-p ...
*
Confuciusornis
''Confuciusornis'' is a genus of basal crow-sized avialan from the Early Cretaceous Period of the Yixian and Jiufotang Formations of China, dating from 125 to 120 million years ago. Like modern birds, ''Confuciusornis'' had a toothless beak, b ...
*
Dyoplosaurus
''Dyoplosaurus'' (meaning “double-armoured lizard”) is a monospecific genus of ankylosaurid dinosaur from Alberta that lived during the Late Cretaceous (middle Campanian, ~76.5–75 Ma) in what is now the Dinosaur Park Formation. ''Dyoplosau ...
*
Gigantoraptor
''Gigantoraptor'' () is a genus of large oviraptorosaur dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period. It is known from the Iren Dabasu Formation of Inner Mongolia, where the first remains were found in 2005.
''Gigantoraptor'' wa ...
*
Kosmoceratops
''Kosmoceratops'' () is a genus of ceratopsid dinosaur that lived in North America about 76–75.9 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period. Specimens were discovered in Utah in the Kaiparowits Formation of the Grand Staircase–Es ...
*
Microraptor
''Microraptor'' (Greek, μικρός, ''mīkros'': "small"; Latin, ''raptor'': "one who seizes") is a genus of small, four-winged dromaeosaurid dinosaurs. Numerous well-preserved fossil specimens have been recovered from Liaoning, China. They ...
*
Olorotitan
''Olorotitan'' was a genus of lambeosaurine duckbilled dinosaur from the middle or latest Maastrichtian-age Late Cretaceous, whose remains were found in the Udurchukan Formation beds of Kundur, Amur River Region, Far Eastern Russia. The type, ...
*
Pachycephalosaurus
*
Shantungosaurus
*
Sinosauropteryx
''Sinosauropteryx'' (meaning "Chinese reptilian wing", ) is a compsognathid dinosaur. Described in 1996, it was the first dinosaur taxon outside of Avialae (birds and their immediate relatives) to be found with evidence of feathers. It was cover ...
*
Spinosaurus
''Spinosaurus'' (; ) is a genus of spinosaurid dinosaur that lived in what now is North Africa during the Cenomanian to upper Turonian stages of the Late Cretaceous period, about 99 to 93.5 million years ago. The genus was known first f ...
*
Styracosaurus
*
Tuojiangosaurus
''Tuojiangosaurus'' (meaning "Tuo River lizard") is a genus of herbivorous stegosaurian dinosaur from the Late Jurassic Period, recovered from the Upper Shaximiao Formation of what is now Sichuan Province in China.
Description
''Tuojiangosauru ...
*
Velociraptor
''Velociraptor'' (; ) is a genus of small dromaeosaurid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous epoch, about 75 million to 71 million years ago. Two species are currently recognized, although others have been assigned in the p ...
Dinosaurs Alive!, Series 3 (2017)
*
Ankylosaurus
''Ankylosaurus'' is a genus of armored dinosaur. Its fossils have been found in geological formations dating to the very end of the Cretaceous Period, about 68–66 million years ago, in western North America, making it among the last of the n ...
*
Dracorex hogwartsia
''Pachycephalosaurus'' (; meaning "thick-headed lizard", from Ancient Greek, Greek ''pachys-/'' "thick", ''kephale/'' "head" and ''sauros/'' "lizard") is a genus of pachycephalosaurid dinosaurs. The type species, ''P. wyomingensis'', is the only ...
*
Megalosaurus
''Megalosaurus'' (meaning "great lizard", from Greek , ', meaning 'big', 'tall' or 'great' and , ', meaning 'lizard') is an extinct genus of large carnivorous theropod dinosaurs of the Middle Jurassic period (Bathonian stage, 166 million years ...
*
Quetzalcoatlus
*
Utahraptor
''Utahraptor'' (meaning "Utah's thief") is a genus of large dromaeosaurid dinosaur that lived in North America during the Early Cretaceous period. It was a heavy-built, ground-dwelling, bipedal carnivore. It contains a single species, ''Utah ...
Dinosaurs Alive!, Series 4 (2020)
*
Argentinosaurus
''Argentinosaurus'' is a genus of giant sauropod dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous period in what is now Argentina. Although it is only known from fragmentary remains, ''Argentinosaurus'' is one of the largest known land animal ...
*
Azhdarcho
''Azhdarcho'' is a genus of azhdarchid pterosaur from the late Cretaceous Period of the Bissekty Formation (middle Turonian stage, about 92 million years ago) of Uzbekistan, as well as the Zhirkindek Formation of Kazakhstan. It is known from ...
*
Cryolophosaurus
''Cryolophosaurus'' ( or ; "CRY-oh-loaf-oh-SAWR-us") is a genus of large theropod dinosaur known from only a single species ''Cryolophosaurus ellioti'', from the early Jurassic of Antarctica. It was one of the largest theropods of the Early Jura ...
*
Datousaurus
''Datousaurus'' (meaning "chieftain lizard" or "big-head lizard"; originally named using the Malay ''datu'', after its Chinese nickname ''qiulong'' - literally "chieftain dragon" - but also a pun on its big head; ''da tou'' means "big head" in Ch ...
*
Gallimimus
*
Maiasaura
''Maiasaura'' (from the Greek ''μαῖα'', meaning "good mother" and ''σαύρα'', the feminine form of ''saurus'', meaning "reptile") is a large herbivorous saurolophine hadrosaurid ("duck-billed") dinosaur genus that lived in the area cur ...
*
Majungasaurus
''Majungasaurus'' (; ) is a genus of abelisaurid theropod dinosaur that lived in Madagascar from 70 to 66 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous Period, making it one of the last known non-avian dinosaurs that went extinct during the ...
*
Pentaceratops
''Pentaceratops'' ("five-horned face") is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsid dinosaur from the late Cretaceous Period of what is now North America. Fossils of this animal were first discovered in 1921, but the genus was named in 1923 when its ty ...
*
Rapetosaurus
''Rapetosaurus'' ( ) is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur that lived in Madagascar from 70 to 66 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous Period. Only one species, ''Rapetosaurus krausei'', has been identified.
Like other sauropo ...
*
Shunosaurus
''Shunosaurus'', meaning "shu lizard", is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from Late Jurassic ( Oxfordian) beds in Sichuan Province in China, approximately 159±2 million years ago. The name derives from "Shu", an ancient name for the Sichuan p ...
*
Tarchia
''Tarchia'' (meaning "brainy one") is a genus of herbivorous ankylosaurid dinosaur from the late Cretaceous of Mongolia.
Discovery and naming
In 1970, a Polish-Mongolian expedition discovered an ankylosaurian skull near Khulsan. In 1977, Ter ...
*
Tenontosaurus
''Tenontosaurus'' ( ; ) is a genus of medium- to large-sized ornithopod dinosaur. It was a relatively medium sized ornithopod, reaching in length and in body mass. It had an unusually long, broad tail, which like its back was stiffened with a n ...
*
Troodon
''Troodon'' ( ; ''Troödon'' in older sources) is a wastebasket taxon and a dubious genus of relatively small, bird-like dinosaurs known definitively from the Campanian age of the Late Cretaceous period (about 77 mya). It includes at leas ...
Dinosaurs Alive!, Series 5 (2021)
*
Brachiosaurus
''Brachiosaurus'' () is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Jurassic, about 154to 150million years ago. It was first described by American paleontologist Elmer S. Riggs in 1903 from fossils found in th ...
Dragons! (2017)
Ice Age Giants! (2022)
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
Grace Olive Wiley (1884 – July 20, 1948) was an American herpetologist best known for her work with venomous snakes. She died of a snakebite she received while posing for a photographer at the age of 64..
Background
Wiley originally worked as ...
briefly worked as a reptile curator at the zoo in 1935.
George B. Rabb was the director of Brookfield Zoo from 1976 until 2003, having originally worked as a researcher and an assistant to the director.
Conservation programs
* The Brookfield Zoo 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
The South American sea lion (''Otaria flavescens'', formerly ''Otaria byronia''), also called the southern sea lion and the Patagonian sea lion, is a sea lion found on the western and southeastern coasts of South America. It is the only member ...
s,
Inca tern
The Inca tern (''Larosterna inca'') is a tern in the family Laridae. It is the only member of the genus ''Larosterna''.
This uniquely plumaged bird breeds on the coasts of Peru and Chile, and is restricted to the Humboldt Current. In 2021 a si ...
s,
Peruvian booby
The Peruvian booby (''Sula variegata'') is an endemic bird of the Peruvian current, and an important predator of the marine community to which it belongs. Its distribution is much less widespread than other closely related booby species. It is th ...
s,
Guanay cormorants, and the endangered
Humboldt penguin
The Humboldt penguin (''Spheniscus humboldti'') is a medium-sized penguin. It resides in South America, its range mainly contains most of coastal Peru. Its nearest relatives are the African penguin, the Magellanic penguin and the Galápagos pen ...
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.
Economics
In 2014, revenue of the Brookfield Zoo 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.
[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 ]
![Brookfield Zoo North Entrance](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Brookfield_Zoo_North_Entrance_.jpg)
In 2010, Governor
Pat Quinn granted the Brookfield Zoo $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.
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.
A total of 808 volunteers help the zoo with 74,401 community service hours which equates to $1.86 million of work.
Economic movement approaches $150 million, 2,000 jobs, 580 volunteers, and 2.2 million visitors every year.
["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.]
Gallery
Image:Brookfield_zoo_fg01.jpg, Ibex Island - demolished
Image:Brookfield_zoo_fg02.jpg, Siberian ibex
The Siberian ibex (''Capra sibirica''), also known as the Altai ibex, Central Asia(n) ibex, Gobi ibex, Himalayan ibex, Mongolian ibex or Tian Shan ibex, is a species of ibex that lives in central Asia. It has traditionally been treated as a subs ...
- in old habitat
Image:Brookfield_zoo_fg03.jpg, Giraffe Enclosure in Habitat of Africa - Savannah precinct
Image:Brookfield_zoo_fg04.jpg, Giraffe Overlook 1
Notes
External links
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Zoos in Illinois
Parks in Cook County, Illinois
Brookfield, Illinois
Buildings and structures in Cook County, Illinois
1934 establishments in Illinois
Tourist attractions in Cook County, Illinois
Zoos established in 1934