Brookfield Zoo
| Brookfield Zoo | ||
|---|---|---|
| surface | 57.4 hectares | |
| opening | July 1, 1934 | |
| Animal species | 280 | |
| Individuals | 424 animals | |
| organization | ||
 Dolphinarium |
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| www.brookfieldzoo.org | ||
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Coordinates: 41 ° 49 ′ 57.6 ″ N , 87 ° 50 ′ 0.5 ″ W.
Brookfield Zoo is a zoo located in Brookfield , a suburb of Chicago . The zoo occupies an area of 57.4 hectares. The animal population includes 424 animals in over 280 species.
The zoo opened its gates on July 1, 1934 and quickly gained international recognition because, instead of many bars, it used generous gorges and moats to separate the animals from the visitors. The zoo was also the first in America to display giant pandas , one of which was dissected and given to the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. In 1960 the zoo built the first fully covered dolphinarium in the United States , and the first rainforest hall in the 1980s.
In contrast to the municipal Lincoln Zoo in Chicago, the Brookfield Zoo is largely privately financed and tries more clearly to offer visitors a special experience.
The connection to the local public transport is bad.
Famous animals
The zoo's most famous resident was probably Ziggy , a male elephant weighing 6.5 tons who was only kept in his stable in the elephant house for almost thirty years after he attacked his trainer in 1941. In the 1960s and 1970s, Ziggy achieved great fame, after which he was "released" in 1973. In March 1975 he fell into the ditch barriers at his facility and died seven months later.
Another animal that achieved cult status was Binti Jua , a female gorilla . In 1996, a boy fell into the gorilla enclosure and Binti Jua took the boy to her guards unharmed. Binti Jua still lives at Brookfield Zoo today.
