Brookfield Zoo is on a mission to radically overhaul the traditional zoo experience with an ambitious redevelopment plan that introduces "immersive ecoregions", aiming at intermingling species as they would ordinarily do in the wild. Expected to span 15 years and cost around $500 million, the plan involves revamping half of the zoo's current landscape.
The zoo's president and CEO, Michael Adkesson, described the initiative's intent in an interview with the Chicago Tribune, "In nature, animals would be surrounded by other species, and we want to replicate that as best we can." Set to coincide with the zoo’s centennial in 2034, the project is not only a facelift for the zoo but also promises to boost education and conservation efforts.
Breaking ground in the zoo’s tropical forest area, upcoming redevelopments include creating these species-specific ecoregions, constructing a 2,000 to 4,000-seat amphitheater for performances, and establishing areas for children and those with mobility challenges for easier animal interaction. The changes, detailed by the Chicago Tribune, will be brought about in phases, with construction and renovations taking place over the next couple of decades, ample space for an elephant habitat over twenty times the size of their past enclosures has been highlighted.
"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 told the Chicago Sun-Times. Efforts like these reflect the zoo’s broader conservation ethos that complements the new infrastructural designs. The highly mentioned return of elephants to Brookfield Zoo will take place in an enriched habitat, also including giraffes and other compatible species.
