With this and the recent addition of the large tortoise yard, it looks like the pachyderm building is slowly being turned into a complex for “large animals”
I would be completely okay with this, maybe it will result in the house being refurbished sooner or later
I've been hearing that Brookfield was preparing to house elephants again probably since 2009 with everything about Joyce. The 2010-2015 Master Plan doesn't specifically talk about acquisition, but they keep the term Pachyderm for both the building and outside area and had money earmarked for improvement of the outdoor habitats. Your reference to "large animals" makes me wonder yet again if the zoo has plans to again house elephants. I can't find the 2015-2020 Master Plan. Am I being overly wishful?
Visited the zoo today and a few notes of interest to share. The Hamill Family Nature and Science Plaza is almost complete. I glanced at it from a distance and for whats its worth it looks very nice. I was told the tentative opening date is September 19th. Tropic World is under renovation... well sort of. The roof is being replaced and repaired. Hopefully this will lead to some more exciting renovations down the line. The giant anteater female and her pup are the ones in the pachyderm building. The male is still in Tropic World. The anteaters will move back to Tropic World during the winter. Lots of active animals today. The Nyla were still getting adapted to their yard, but were sprinting across the middle of it at one point. The pangolin was the most active I have ever seen him, likely because a new barrier was added between that exhibit and the elephant shrews to make it more dark. The condors were also great to see in their flight cage poking at some paper machie
I just visited today and it looks like the old Kookubura exhibit in Hamill Family Play Zoo is now the home of a Genet, along with a new exhibit being added to The Swamp
Hello, I have a question about that zoo. I'm from Barcelona (Spain) and I will go next week to Chicago, I've planned to go next wednesday to the zoo and I have a big interest in the white-bellied pangolin. Do you know if it's easy to see, or wich hour it's better, if there is some feeding timetable. And what other hotspot I must see in that zoo. Thanks
The Pangolin are located in a red lit exhibit in Habitat Africa The Forest behind a curtain located after the Dwarf Crocodile and Hornbill/Duiker exhibit within the indoor portion. When you enter the building walk just past the Dwarf Croc exhibit and take a right. The Pangolin is generally viewable at most times asleep within his log in the upper right corner of the exhibit. There is a Pangolin feeding that, I believe, is at 4:00 pm when he is most active, though I recommend you double check the times. There is only one Pangolin on exhibit with very few spots where he can completely hide. However, he is almost always asleep and in a rather not photogenic area.
Thanks for your quick answer and your advices, I will check the times, and I will try luck with the pangolin, maybe he has wake up.
Thank you for your information, I tried to watch the pangolin awake and I went 5 times to visit him but always was sleeping, then I take pictures of a ball of scales hahaha. I enjoyed a lot of the zoo, all there are enormous, food, parks, ... the lake... here in Europe all is a bit smaller (sometimes more smaller) I loved alos the Texas blind salamander, and to find the two kinds of mole rats, the typical one naked and the other one less common in zoos.
An article about the Hamill Family Nature Plaza. Chicago Zoological Society - Hamill Family Nature Plaza Offers Relaxation, Discovery, & Sustainability
Thank goodness they did not replace a large animal exhibit with another animal exhibit. I'm so tired of too many animals in zoos.
I really like Brookfield but this is in my opinion its biggest weakness. With the massive lawns, closed exhibits (baboon island, bear grottoes, westernmost hoofstock yards) and understocked pachyderm house, you can walk a long way without actually seeing any animals.
A wide variety of mammals, birds and reptiles. Turtles, geckos, snakes, servals, binturongs, tamanduas, sloths, lynx, red-tailed hawk, wood duck, and many more.
The zoo brought in two rescued sea lions from California. Rescued sea lions from California find home at Brookfield Zoo
Visited the zoo and got to check out the new nature plaza. Overall, yes it would have been great to see an actual animal exhibit take up this space. However, for what its worth this plaza is a very nice area in itself. The plantings were very good, the displays are great, and if its any consolation this area seems to be a hotspot for the free ranging gunieafowl and peafowl that call the zoo home. I noticed at least a dozen gunieafowl and about five peafowl in these gardens and they were extremely fun to watch. Their presence here was likely intended, as the new restaurant is named the "Peacock Cafe and Grill" and imo is probably the zoos best eating area at the moment. I got the grilled arctic salmon burger and buttered garlic fires and they were a breath of fresh air amongst the fast food at "BZ Red Hots" and some of the zoos other likewise eateries. Apparently the food is advertised as very entire mental friendly using sustainably sourced palm oil and grass-fed beef upon other more healthier options. A very pleasant change for the zoo. I would have loved to see something else take the space this plaza has. Its a great big piece of land that could have been used for an outdoor ape exhibit, a whole new baboon exhibit, or really anything else. But for what the final product ended up being it is a pleasant addition to the zoo. And now hopefully the zoo can direct its attention to a major animal exhibit. And if what I've heard through the grapevine is true, outdoor exhibits for the Tropic World animals should be next on the agenda. A few other minor updates: Snowflake the white alligator leaves the zoo on October 22nd. Both yellow-backed duikers were together today, hopefully another calf will arrive soon. There is some sort of construction happening in the rock hyrax exhibit. Im not sure if it's a renovation or just an industrial repair, but any improvements are welcome.
