Brookfield Zoo Chicago

Our prehistoric pal, Sue, had a great Field trip to the Zoo! 🦖 Field Museum

For your emusement. Three tiny dino descendants recently joined the Australia habitat. Check out the new emu siblings on your next visit!

Happy National Zookeeper Week! This week, we honor all the hardworking animal care specialists who dedicate their lives to the care and conservation of the 3,400+ beloved animals at Brookfield Zoo Chicago. Their passion and commitment ensure that every animal is healthy, happy, and thriving, and we are grateful to have them on our team! Our animal care specialists inspire guests and staff alike each and every day; today, learn more about what inspired some of them to pursue a career at Brookfield Zoo Chicago!

This newly hatched Humboldt penguin is thriving thanks to these penguin foster parents! 🐧❤️ 🐧 Divot and Rosie have taken on the incredible role of raising a penguin chick after being chosen for their outstanding track record as parents. Chosen for their nurturing prowess and proven success in raising their own chicks, Divot and Rosie have been fostering penguin chicks since 2023. To help them adjust to the fostering process, they were initially given artificial eggs to acclimate them to incubating. The penguin pair seamlessly adopted the new egg as their own upon its arrival from Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, successfully enabling it to hatch and feeding it until the Zoo's animal care experts took over to better monitor the chick's food intake. The chick, who hatched on May 28, is currently behind the scenes, but we'll be sure to share when you can visit the chick at The Living Coast!

Meet the macaws at the Zoo! 🦜🎥 Learn more about our feathered friends, including the scarlet macaw, blue and yellow macaw, and hyacinth macaws. Want to get even closer? Register for the Wild Connections Macaw Playtime Adventure for a chance to meet these beautiful birds up close and give them some fun enrichment activities! Book your Macaw Playtime Adventure at www.brookfieldzoo.org/macawplaytimeadventure

Get ready to celebrate Pride at the Zoo! 🌈 You can learn more about our week of Pride activities online and at the Zoo at www.brookfieldzoo.org/pride

Have you herd? It's World Giraffe Day! Take a look at these fun facts about reticulated giraffes 🦒 #StandTallForGiraffes #WorldGiraffeDay

The wait is over — the koalas have arrived! Willum and Brumby have settled into their new home over at Hamill Family Play Zoo. Spend some koala-ty time with our newest residents on your next trip! Visit them daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Give your backyard birds a stylish new hangout! You can build your very own DIY bird feeder from recycled materials with these tips from our community engagement team. 🦆 Remember to help keep our feathered friends safe by hanging feeders away from poultry such as chickens, ducks, and geese to help prevent the spread of avian flu.

Curiosity at its cutest: Lucy the California sea lion was intrigued by the cicadas in underwater viewing!

Rise and shine with Neubo! Today is Neubo, the white-cheeked gibbon's 10th birthday. White-cheeked gibbons like Neubo and his mother, Indah, sing as a form of social bonding and to mark their territory. These vocalizations are unique to each individual and can be heard miles away. You can sometimes hear Indah and Neubo singing the morning at Tropic World: Asia. Don't forget to wish Neubo a happy birthday down below!

Kirby, the K9 police pup, nailed the paws in challenge like a pro! 🐾

You can witness the wonder of butterfly transformation at the Butterflies exhibit, located next to the Carousel!

Celebrate Pride at Brookfield Zoo Chicago

Happy Pride Month! 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ At Brookfield Zoo Chicago, we are dedicated to creating an inclusive environment that honors the diversity of both human and animal life. Come celebrate with us! Discover more about our upcoming Pride activities and join us in embracing diversity and inclusion for all Learn more — https://bit.ly/4aQR9YK.

Paws for the great news: We're thrilled to share that nine healthy Mexican wolf pups were born on April 27 at Brookfield Zoo Chicago! For the third year in a row, we have partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Mexican Wolf Recovery Program; earlier this month, seven of the pups from the litter were successfully placed into wild Mexican wolf dens in New Mexico as part of a critical effort to help bring the species back from the brink of extinction. We're also happy to report that two female pups born in the litter are remaining at Brookfield Zoo Chicago. The pups are still in a den with their mother, but you will be able to see them in the coming weeks at the Regenstein Wolf Woods habitat along with their parents, 5-year-old Vivilette and 11-year-old Amigo, as well as Ahote, the male pup born in 2023.

Can you tell these two species from each otter? It's World Otter Day, the perfect time to dive into the differences between these adorable aquatic animals. Learn more about the two species of otter residing at Brookfield Zoo Chicago when you visit the Asian small-clawed otters at Tropic World and the North American river otter at The Swamp.

Something new is on the menu... The Northern Illinois Brood of cicadas have begun to emerge in the Chicagoland area, and many of our animals are experiencing the insects for the first time in 17 years. The cicadas coming to the surface in the outdoor habitats may soon become tasty snacks for some of the animals, such as African painted dogs, sloth bears, and brown bears. In the meantime, animal care staff are also sharing the protein-rich and low-in-fat insects with many of the indoor animals, including squirrel monkeys, cotton-top tamarins, meerkats, and roadrunners. Important to know about our animals eating these devil-eyed delicacies: 🍽️ Cicadas are a good source of digestible protein for our small mammals, some primates, and many birds and reptiles. Insects are consumed as part of a balanced and well-formulated diet, so for our smaller insectivorous animals, a set amount of insects are offered daily. 🍽️ For many of our larger animals, such as wolves and bears, cicadas emerging in their outdoor habitats can be consumed safely, and our animal care staff monitors our animals for any signs that they may have overindulged.

Happy 5th Birthday to our celestial stars, Luna, Andromeda, and Halley! 🌕 ⭐ 🌌 Our pint-sized explorers celebrated another orbit around the sun with a tasty mealworm treat. Dwarf mongooses have adventurous appetites; they mainly feast on insects like scorpions, beetles, and spiders, but they've been known to eat rodents and small reptiles, too. Don't forget to wish our mongoose girls a very happy birthday down below!

🕶️ Gear up for The Great Migration, a new VR theater experience starting at Brookfield Zoo Chicago on Saturday, May 18! Join Emmy award-winning documentary filmmakers as they take you on an incredible journey through Africa. Each year, millions of wildebeests, zebras, and antelopes traverse East Africa's wide-open grasslands in a continuous, circular trek in search of fresh grazing lands and water. In the latest addition to Immotion's wildlife immersive film experiences, The Great Migration, witness how these millions of free-roaming animals make their way through the peaks and perils of Africa's savannah terrain, from the Maasai Mara river in Kenya to the majestic landscape of Tanzania's Serengeti. Our VR Theater is located just north of the Living Coast, across from the west playground, and each VR experience is $8 nonmembers/$6 members. See you there!

Do you go bananas over Banana? Watch our video for five fast facts on this perfect pygmy hippo, and visit her habitat in the northeast yard outside the Pachyderm building on your next Zoo visit! www.brookfieldzoo.org/Banana