I already made A review Of Brookfield but it was not detailed and was very unprofessional, so I decided to redo it. Constructive criticism Would be greatly appreciated. Overview- Brookfield zoo is located just outside of the suburbs of Chicago and sits 216 Acres of land. Opened on July 1st 1934 The zoo is over 82 years old. At its time the zoo was highly praised for being one of the first zoos to scrap the traditional iron bar cages and exhibit animals behind moats such as the bear and big cat grottos. The zoo was also the first in the U.S To exhibit Giant pandas, Okapi, and wombats. Today the zoo has scaled back its collection and has increased animal welfare. I will be reviewing the zoo based on the exhibits and then do a recap of the zoo. The Fragile Desert- The fragile desert is the smallest of 4 African based exhibits in the zoo. This one is based on the African desert. he building is somewhat dark and does not feature any outdoor exhibits. The first exhibit is home to a mob of meercats. Its has a large mound and some small artificial trees. Netting in the back corner of the exhibit that keeps the meercats away from the next inhabitant. An African crested porcupine. His exhibit slowly goes uphill and built inside that hill are multiple tube systems That hold Naked and Damarland mole rats. A small display follows featuring a camel skull is passed before a U-turn that leads you to a bridge. To the left a family of rock hyrax. The exhibit on the right has a mesh fence for extra protection. This holds a pair of caracals. A small dark den has Bat eared foxes , The main exhibit is lovely has a lot of space and is very open. A small exhibit in a nocturnal based setting is built into the wall. This Has housed many different animals over the years including injured/Sick meercats, Dwarf mongoose, and a Spotted civet. It currently houses 2 bushbabys. The last exhibit is 2 small narrow glass terrariums both for black footed cats. Big cats- This is a very simple exhibit. Right outside the Fragile desert is a small glass and netted in exhibit for Amur leopard. Its small but has some great climbing areas in the back. A glass viewing window shows a view of the first of 4 grottos. This grottos is home to a pair of African lions. The next 3 have Sloth bears, an Amur tiger, and A family of snow leopards. The snow leopards have a netted in grotto and a glass viewing cave. Clouded leopard Rainforest- This exhibit represents the lesser known animals of Asia. The main attraction is the large dimly lit exhibit with a stream, Look around for Chet the clouded leopard Prowling through his fake bamboo and jumping over rocks. Across that exhibit are some small terrariums for frogs and African Giant Millipedes. A U-turn leads you to 2 small netted in exhibits. A darker exhibit has A family of bearcats, while a rocky one with a stream has fishing cats. look up and you may notice some tunnels. These are for Prevosts Squirrels. right before the exit is the main Prevosts Squirrel exhibit. across is some small terrariums for snakes and fish . you then exit the building and enter a completely different exhibit. Pinniped point- This exhibit is based on the coast of North America. The first exhibit is a to small exhibit for harbor seals and Grey seals. The next 3 exhibits all hold California sea lions. The first 2 are good but the last one is awful for 3 adult adult sea lions its way to cramped. A underwater viewing deck shows views of the middle 2 pools. Seven seas- Another thing About This zoo, Its one of only 2 (The other being Indianapolis) to feature dolphins. The Zoo is currently home to 8 bottlenose dolphins. The main tank for underwater viewing and shows is a bit small for 8 dolphins, but there are some behind the scenes tanks as well. This is the only zoo to ever to successfully hand raise a dolphin calf. That's it for part 1, part 2 coming soon.
Great review, pachy. I like your incorporation of history of the zoo. Your thorough description of the exhibits is very good, very clear, and helpful to people who are interested in what species the zoo has and how they are exhibited. I look forward to the rest of your review.
Part 2 Wild encounters- Hamill Family Wild encounters is the newest exhibit in the zoo and sits on 3 Acres. It does cost extra to enter but unlike most children zoos, I think this ones worth it. This exhibit is a hot spot for animal ambassadors, so keep your eyes peeled for servals, Tamanduas, Civits,, and birds of prey. The first exhibit you will notice is a simple goat petting pen where you can pet, feed, and groom Nigerian dwarf goats. 2 Similar gravel paddocks are passed as you continue down The plaza. The smaller one has Lamas and alpacas. The second is home to a family of reindeer. Next to the reindeer are the animals that got me and most people excited for this exhibit, the red pandas. Its a nice sized netted exhibit with a large fake tree in the middle. Behind that is a Australian walkthrough yard with wallabies and emus. Shockingly the emus are much more open to petting than the wallabies. The last exhibit in this area is a large Parakeet walkthrough aviary with feed sticks for sale. Right by the entrance is the animal ambassador pavilion. If you get lucky you might find one of our animal ambassadors. Hamill family play zoo- Unlike the other Hamill family exhibit, I don't think this ones worth the extra price. There is a small ugly cage for a owl (Cant remember the species) is passed by the entrance. There are 2 outdoor exhibits before the main building. The right one is the outdoor lemur habitat , and the right has a pair of ravens. When you enter the building a tall fake tree is in the middle of the building that is home to a lone Kookabera. To the right is the lemur leap. This is the indoor habitat for the Ring tailed and mongoose lemurs that share the exhibit. It could be more realistic but its an okay size. The left is a random cluster of animal ambassadors. This includes 2 python terrariums, Salamanders, Red slided turtles, and a small mixed exhibit for Nine banded Armadillos and a prehensile tailed porcupine. There are a few rooms for kids like a greenhouse, a dress up like animal room and even a fake zoo office for kids to play in. You can enter the tree that the kookabera lives in and there you can find some cheep unnatural terrariums for hedgehogs, cockroaches, and a three banded armadillo. The final room is a domestic animals room with simple pet store cages for guinea pigs, rabbits, corn snakes, leopard geckos, cockatiels, hermit crabs, fish and cats. when you exit from the far side you enter a small garden with a outdoor cat hutch. The Swamp- This exhibit is exactly how it sounds. It features animals (mostly reptiles and birds) from north and south America, and it has a squishy floor to simulate walking on mud. Snowy egrets and ducks have small indoor ponds while most of the reptiles have okay sized glass boxes as exhibits. The Brookfield zoo is one of only 5 U.S zoo/Aquariums to hold the rare Orinoco Crocodile. Before exiting the building A small Illinois based section holds some small tanks for River otters, ghars, and An alligator snapping turtle. Feathers and Scales- This is one of o buildings that focus on both reptiles and birds. In the middle are some reptile terrariums with gila monsters, tortoises, Rock pythons and many more Surrounding that are tropical bird displays with tawny frogmouths Congo peafowls and others. There is a small desert display as well with road runners, and quails. The most noticeable Is the largest display. This has a lot of birds but I can only remember one. Cock-of-the-rocks. There is one outdoor exhibit if you make your way outside to the back of the building, you will find a huge flight cage for Andean condors Reptiles and birds- This building is a weaker version of the last exhibit. It has some small reptile glass boxes and a tropical bird aviary with scarlet macaws and other birds. Tropic world- I am sure you have heard of this controversial rainforest building. This exhibit has 3 rooms. There are 4 small islands in the front The first 2 are for cotton top tamarins, and the next 2 are for Golden lion tamarins, callimicoes, And a two toed sloth. the main exhibit has spider monkeys, squirrel monkeys, and a giant anteater. The next section is Asia, the main exhibit has White checked gibbons and Asian small clawed otters. The gibbons have a very high up climbing trees while the otters have a nice stream to play in. The gibbons also have section to another part of the exhibit. The small Orangutan island. this is a small island with a cluster of fake trees in the middle and is way to small for the current 5 orangs (With A 6th on the way) Across from the orangs is a small hut like terrarium for a Asian tree monitor. The final section is Africa. The main exhibit is home to many primate species including Colubus Monkeys, Allens swamp monkeys , and red caped mangbys. Lastly we have the Gorilla exhibit. This is well know for Binti jua, She is one of are female gorillas and is known for saving a little boys life after falling into the exhibit. This exhibit has a 360 view that provides the apes with little privacy. If this where just an indoor exhibit it would be great, but as a exhibit its average at best. there is also a gorilla retirement home in one of the corners of the exhibit, this is for elderly Gorillas obviously. The reason this building is so controversial is that there is a lack of natural substrate and realism throughout the exhibit. Part 3 the last part is on the way.
3rd and final part. The Living Coast- This is the final exhibit on the weaker south end of the zoo. The living coast is the Aquatics building or aquarium of the zoo. It shows off animals from the coast of Chile, and in the deep oceans. When entering some small tanks that mostly just have coral are passed followed by a simple freshwater aquarium. Another large aquarium is followed that holds cow nosed stingrays as well as some fish. A small tank that has once held jellyfish is now home to bandi cardinals is also seen right before the best tank in the complex. This tank is home to many species of fish, but the main attraction is the zoos 5 leopard sharks that wow visitors. I think there is a mory eel in here as well but he is hard to spot. If you get even luckier than you may see that sometimes the penguins have access to this tank and is the only possible way for underwater viewing. Before entering the final room a small tank holds starfish and seahorse. The final section starts with a waterfall that looks like its coming sown on you but is reflected by glass before it hits you. An okayish finding Nemo based tank is quickly followed Until you reach everyones favorite, the humbolt penguins. A large group of penguins get a medium sized coastal pool that could be a little bigger. Across from that are 2 small exhibits built into the wall for a snake (forgot the species) and a tarantula. there also used the be a vampire bat cave that closed a few months ago for an unknown reason. We now enter the west corner of the zoo, now where getting into the good stuff. Great Bear Wilderness- This north American based complex opened in 2010 and is a visitor favorite for many reasons. Before entering the main exhibit There is a huge bison grasslands that is great for there huge herd despite most of the grass dying sense the opening. Look out for our Huge maile Ron as he keeps watch over large herd. You then walk under a bridge. This bridge is used by the bison, it leads them to a smaller part of the exhibit. You then arrive at the GBW plaza, that has the Bison praire grill and the bear crossing gift shop. Then you will hop on The GBW trail. A lightly wooded pathway that shows the rest of the animals. You will notice a small but tall aviary for bald eagles, its an okay sixe and has a large fake tree in the middle they can place on. Keep going down the trail and you will come across the best exhibit in the zoo. The heavily wooded 2 acre wolf woods. This houses A pack of Mexican Grey Wolfs, and features Multiple dens and a large hill the pack leader sits on. This exhibit was even featured on ultimate zoo (A show that used to be on animal planet And showcased the best zoo exhibits across the world.) A small turn leads you to the 1st bear yard, with the 2nd just up a head. They rotate between the zoos polar and grizzly bears. All 3 of the yards are grassy, Have glass viewing panels, and are separated by a dry moat. The 1st 2 have underwater viewing, and the 3rd has den viewing, and a waterfall. You then reenter the gift shop and come back to the plaza. Pachyderm house- I don't know why but I love this exhibit. Maybe its the historic feel or maybe its the fact that I love pachyderms (In case you could not tell from my name ) This is the only building that still stands from the zoos original opening Over 8 decades ago. However it has gone downhill sense the then. Elephants, Nile hippos, Indian rhinos, and a few tapir species have left the building, and the 2nd half of the building has been closed. Today there only a few species left. one side has 3 exhibits all for black rhinos (including the old elephant yard That now is a great home for the zoos female) The zoos male has the medium sized yard the is separated by a small moat. There is a small empty yard as well. The other side has 6 grassy yards A small dirt exhibit with a shallow pool is home to a pygmy hippo. Next to that is the old nile hippo yard witch is now used by another pygmy hippo. The next 4 yards are all a home to the zoos last elderly barids tapir. The building itself is in good shape, it has 3 stalls for the male black rhino, 2 stalls for the female black rhino, 2 stalls for the pygmy hippo (plus a large indoor pool, and 6 for the tapir who also has a shallow indoor pool. Habitat Africa- This complex is separated into 2 complexes one for the grasslands and one for the forest The savannah- The most notable exhibit of the savannah is the large grassy Giraffe watering hole. The giraffes share the exhibit with African spur tighed tortoises. To the corner of it is a medium sized exhibit for painted dogs, It has A large pride rock in the middle. Behind it is a glass viewing shelter as well. Across from the dogs is what I like to call the mixed W yard, witch holds A trio of common waterbuck and pair of warthogs. In between the giraffe yard and the w yard is a small outdoor klipspringer yard that has a chainlink fence surrounding it. The last outdoor exhibit is clearly older than the rest, and holds a single gerenuk and a Kirks dik-dik. It is fairly wooded and is a little on the small side. Behind the painted dogs is a building that resembles a kopje. this is used as a free flight aviary for African birds and has 2 rocky indoor klipspringer exhibits they live in only for the winter. A small cave provides a look at some smaller African animals like dwarf mongoose, and pancake tortoises. There are 2 glass windows that view the Giraffes and wild dogs ( Fun fact: this is the area where I caught A snorlax in pokemon go ) The final section is a simple giraffe bedroom. The Forest This exhibit is much more immersive than the savannah and arguably the most in the zoo. You begin down a winding bath with a small stream as you approach the first exhibit, An okapi. The Brookfield zoo has a long history with okapi, they where the first to breed them and have had over 20 births sense. its a solid exhibit despite the view of chain link in the back. Next to it is a similar exhibit that slight smaller and home to a yellow backed duiker. you then enter a dark foresty building with some of the smaller forest animals. The first thing you will pass is a small tank for a dwarf crocodile. Across is a small netted in exhibit for a Adorable Blue duiker. another netted in exhibit is home to another adorable animal, black and white elephant shrews (The closest thing we have to elephants in Chicago ) Some small reptile terrariums follow up before a nice okapi bedroom. When you exit the building Another okapi yard is seen and is the same quality as the first. across from that is a small simple, chain link exhibit for red flanked duikers. If you keep going down the path of the okapi then you will find the former Congo buffalo habitat witch is now home to another yellow backed duiker. The final exhibit is home to a Family of red river hogs (With 2 adorable piglets may I add). Hoofstock trail- This is just a simple row of hoofed animals including more okapi, 2 Zebra species, Addax, Mongolian wild horse, and Bactrian camels. All exhibits are a nice size and not at all bad just rather boring. Australia- Ah The final exhibit in the zoo. This building is a old one too but has a few interior upgrades. The 1st room has some small terrariums for snakes, skinks, and frogs. There is also a nice finch aviary as well. The 1st 2 exhibits have little privacy and are rather small. these are home to Short nosed echidnas. Another aviary has a pair of kookaberes in a semi tropical exhibit. a medium sized wombat exhibit is followed up before a walkthrough fruit bat aviary. You then exit the building and come across the first outdoor exhibit. this one is for cape barren goose. There are 3 large yards surrounding the building that hold a mix of Western kangaroos, emus and wallabies. Overall- The Brookfield zoo is great, even though there is no real world class complex. If your short on time I reccomend skipping everything on the south end except for Wild encounters, Living coast, and maybe the swamp. The must sees Are Habitat Africa, Wild encounters, Great bear wilderness, and Tropic world. If I could use one word to some up the zoo. It would be potential. There is so much of it throughout the entire zoo. This is not a zoo to miss that's for sure.
