News Stories

  • May 08, 2013

    Sloth Bear Cubs Born at Brookfield Zoo

    Sloth Bear Cubs Debut  more...

  • March 25, 2013

    Angolan Colobus Monkey Born at Brookfield Zoo

    The birth of an Angolan colobus monkey at Brookfield Zoo on March 9 marked the first birth of this species of colobus born at the zoo. Both mom and her baby may be seen daily in the zoo’s Tropic World: Africa exhibit. Infants are born completely white, which is great camouflage as they blend in with their mom’s long white hair. As the young monkey develop, zoogoers will notice it begin to change color from white to gray to black...  more...

  • January 14, 2013

    Brookfield Zoo Going Prehistoric with Dinosaurs Alive!

    Starting in April 2013, Brookfield Zoo guests can take a trip back millions of years and experience Dinosaurs Alive!, presented by Dominick’s. Come and enjoy this unique, fun, and educational exhibit of Tyrannosaurus proportions that will feature supersized animatronic dinosaurs, including favorites like Stegosaurus and Triceratops, as well as obscure dinosaur species with unusual characteristics, like feathers.  more...

  • November 21, 2012

    Giraffe Calf Born at Brookfield Zoo

    Arnieta, a 5-year-old reticulated giraffe at Brookfield Zoo, gave birth to a male calf in the early afternoon on November 12. Until today, mom and calf have been off exhibit to allow for good maternal bonding and to make sure the calf is developing normally. Now they can be seen indoors in the zoo’s Habitat Africa! The Savannah exhibit.  more...

  • November 02, 2012

    Southern hairy-nosed wombats at Brookfield Zoo

    You can see a female southern hairy-nosed baby wombat (called a joey) at Australia House. The not-yet-named joey is the fourth offspring of 12-year-old Kambora, who was born at San Diego Zoo, and the second for Wilbur, 20, who was wild-born in Australia. Although the joey was born more than eight months ago, it wasn’t until mid-September that zookeepers were able to get a good look at the youngster because, like all marsupials, wombat joeys develop in a pouch.  more...

  • October 26, 2012

    Endangered Wolf Leaving Brookfield Zoo to Enter the Wild

    With only 58 Mexican gray wolves living in the wild in New Mexico and Arizona, a 4½-year-old female Mexican gray wolf is leaving Brookfield Zoo to prepare to enter the wild. The release to the wild would help bolster the population of this endangered species. On October 27, the wolf, Ernesta, will relocate to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) Sevilleta Wolf Management Facility near Socorro, NM. Once Ernesta arrives at this facility, she will receive survival skills conditioning through a prerelease “boot camp” to prepare for life in the wild.  more...

  • October 04, 2012

    Allie Dolphin Returns to Brookfield Zoo

    Welcome back Allie Dolphin to Brookfield Zoo! Allie has been on a breeding loan at Minnesota Zoo since 2008. While at Brookfield Zoo from 1995 to 2000, she established a bond with Tapeko, Brookfield Zoo’s 30-year-old female dolphin.  more...

  • August 13, 2012

    Guests Can Meet Pepe Penguin

    Guests visiting Brookfield Zoo’s The Living Coast may have the pleasure of seeing Pepe, a Humboldt penguin who hatched on March 13, waddling along the exhibit’s walkway as an ambassador for his species. On days when the exhibit is not too crowded, zookeepers bring Pepe, now 5-months-old, out to meet the public. They answer questions and share facts about Humboldt penguins as well as some important conservation work taking place in the birds' native country of Peru.  more...

  • July 26, 2012

    Orphaned Wombats Aided by Zoo Conservation Program

    The Chicago Zoological Society (CZS) is leading an initiative to help bring non-releasable southern hairy-nosed wombats from Australia to North America to ensure a sustainable population in zoos.  more...

  • June 26, 2012

    JoJo Gorilla Takes His Place at Brookfield Zoo

    JoJo, a 32-year-old male silverback gorilla from Lincoln Park Zoo, is now at Brookfield Zoo as part of a breeding program for the critically endangered western lowland gorilla species.  more...

Upcoming Events

Success Stories

  • May 17, 2013

    Sloth Bear Cubs Born

    Two sloth bear cubs that were born on January 20 made their public debut recently, just in time for Mother's Day. The cubs have been in a maternity den for a few months with their mom, Hani, 10, growing by leaps and bounds. At birth, the male and female cubs weighed less than one pound and could fit in the palm of a hand. Now at 3½ months old, they weigh approximately 10 to 20 pounds. Sloth bear cubs are born blind and rely on their mom for all their nutritional needs. They leave the den at about two to three months of age and remain with their mother for about two to three years.  more...

  • April 22, 2013

    New Giraffe Calf Heads Outdoors

    The giraffes at Brookfield Zoo are enjoying access to the outdoor habitat for the first time this year—a sure sign of spring! The herd includes Mithra, a 22-year-old female; Franny, a 21-year-old female and her 6-year-old daughter, Arnieta; Jasiri, a 7-year-old female; and Dave, Arnieta’s 5-month-old calf, who made his outdoor debut recently.  more...

  • March 23, 2013

    Angolan Colobus Monkey Born

    The birth of an Angolan colobus monkey at Brookfield Zoo on March 9 marked the first birth of this species of colobus born at the zoo. Both mom and her baby may be seen daily in the zoo’s Tropic World: Africa exhibit. Infants are born completely white, which is great camouflage as they blend in with their mom’s long white hair. As the young monkey develop, zoogoers will notice it begin to change color from white to gray to black...  more...

  • February 15, 2013

    Eat Your Heart Out!

    Some of the animals at Brookfield Zoo received some heart-shaped treats for Valentine’s Day. The bottlenose dolphins, sea lions, harbor seals, and grey seals seemed to enjoy heart-shaped ice and gelatin treats. And, the western lowland gorillas were given some nutritious heart-shaped cookies made of ground primate biscuit, oatmeal, bananas, raisins, and peanut butter!  more...

  • January 14, 2013

    Kangaroos Thinking Outside the Pouch

    Two kangaroo joeys born at Brookfield Zoo are now exploring their outdoor habitat at the Australia House exhibit. The joeys, born on February 20 and March 13 of last year to moms Daisy, 7½, and Sheila, 11, have been spending more time out of their mothers’ pouches. The 10- and 11-month-old joeys began hopping around and exploring their new surroundings this past November and just this month, respectively...  more...