Brookfield Zoo guests will soon have a much different experience — instead of observing one animal at a time, species that live together in the wild will do the same at the zoo.
Grouping animals according to how they live in the wild is part of a 15-year, $500 million redevelopment plan announced Tuesday.
Zoo President and CEO Michael Adkesson said the redesigned exhibits will help guests better understand wildlife.
"The traditional old zoo, you moved from one habitat to the next and you saw one animal, then you saw the next animal, then you saw the next animal," Adkesson said. "That's what we're really looking to totally disrupt and change."
Construction has begun in the zoo's tropical forest area, and the next phase will be to build the "immersive ecoregions" where animals will live together based on their compatibility and likelihood of living together in the wild.
Buildings that must be renovated will close to the public for a time, but the timelines of those closures haven't been established yet, according to Brookfield Zoo spokesperson Sondra Katzen.
About $200 million has been raised through public and private donations, Katzen said.
The redevelopment also comes with a face-lift for the rest of the zoo, like adding an amphitheater for live music and other performances that the zoo already hosts regularly. The amphitheater is set to be constructed around the 10-year mark in the 15-year plan, Adkesson said.
More resources will be used for conservation and education programs as the zoo approaches its centennial in 2034. The zoo conducts research locally and around the globe, including research on penguins and sea lions in Peru and pangolins in Africa. The redevelopment will include more ways for the public to learn about the zoo's efforts to protect endangered species and get engaged in them, Adkesson said.
Conserving an at-risk species helps the rest of the ecosystem and aids species that people may not think need the help, he said.
"Those animals have an intrinsic conservation value, but then there's other species where we know that they're in crisis in the wild — and we need to motivate people to care about that," Adkesson said.
New and returning species are also part of the large revamp of the zoo. Ostriches, Nile hippopotamus and crocodiles and African elephants are all set to be featured at the zoo in the next 15 years, Adkesson said.
The zoo is also on track to become more accessible, with an area designated for children and people with mobility challenges to experience animals without trekking around the whole zoo, Adkesson said.
"It's an area for us to be able to offer recreational experiences that help draw in new audiences," Adkesson said.
"I hope that the people here today are having a wonderful time, but I hope that in 15 years it's even more grand time that they have," he said.
