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W h i c h A n i m a l
Which Animal Continued

Grace S.,

Downers Grove
Volunteer Engagement Program (Docent)
Animal: polar bear
Why? I like their temperament and the way they look—
their big heads. I have a Ph.D. in microbiology and my
fascination with polar bears is that they have such an
interesting reproductive life. They mate in April to May
and have delayed implantation, so even though an egg
is fertilized, it’s not implanted in the uterus until the late
summer. The polar bear makes a den or nest and goes
into that den and the cub develops. Both of them come
out about February or March when the weather is
warmer and food starts to become available.

Karen H.,

Orland Park
Volunteer Engagement
Program (Docent)
Animal: Okapi

Why? It’s beautiful—its coat patterning and its head—and it looks like a living plush
animal. The okapi is solitary and lives in forests. It’s a gentle animal. People don’t know
about the okapi—it was only discovered in the early 1900s. Brookfield Zoo is one of
the first zoos to breed them successfully. Babies have been born here. They were so cute!

The King Conservation Leadership Academy is made possible by the King Family Foundation;
the United States Department of Education; Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc.;
BNSF Railway Foundation; CDW Corporation Charitable Gift Fund; FedEx; the Julius N.
Frankel Foundation; the Gerard A. and Karen A. Kolschowsky Foundation; Nalco, an Ecolab
Company; the Edmond and Alice Opler Foundation; Peoples Gas Community Fund at the
Chicago Community Foundation; the Schmidgall Family Foundation; the Dr. Scholl
Foundation; and Wintrust Financial Corporation.

36 GATEWAYS | WHICH ANIMAL