Page 70 - Brookfield Zoo Chicago Annual_Report_2024
P. 70

LOOKING AHEAD


                                                    James & Elizabeth Bramsen
                                                    Tropical Forests
                                                    Opens This Summer!
                                                    In the summer of 2025, the      a deeper understanding of wildlife
                                                    125,000 square-foot, $66 million   conservation and environmental
                                                    James & Elizabeth Bramsen Tropical    stewardship. The new space will
                                                    Forests will open, welcoming guests    also support the King Conservation
                                                    to  observe primates in four new   Leadership Academy.
                                                    outdoor habitats that emulate the
                                                                                    Bramsen Tropical Forests
                                                    natural homes of gorillas, orang-
                                                                                    will provide new habitats for:
                                                    utans, and monkeys. Its completion
                                                    will conclude the first phase of our
                                                                                    •  Two groups of western lowland
                                                    transformative Next Century Plan.  gorillas, including the existing
                                                                                      family group of five females
                                                    As one of the largest outdoor spaces
                                                    for primates in any accredited U.S.   and a dominant male, and
                                                                                      a new bachelor group.
                                                    zoo, Bramsen Tropical Forests
                                                    is designed to encourage animals    •  Five Bornean orangutans
                                                    of Africa, Asia, and South America    separated into two groups,
                                                    to express their natural behaviors   each with one male.
                                                    while granting guests unparalleled
                                                                                    •  North white-cheeked gibbons.
                                                    glimpses into their world. With
                                                    unique, hand-selected features    •  South American monkeys,
                                                    from Brookfield Zoo Chicago’s     including tufted capuchins and
                                                    animal care, welfare, and health   black-handed spider monkeys,
                                                    experts, Bramsen Tropical Forests   five of them rescued from animal
                                                    represents a leap forward in habitat   traffickers by the U.S. Fish and
                                                    design and conservation.          Wildlife Service.
                                                    Bramsen Tropical Forests will also
                                                    include the Gorilla Conservation
                                                    Center with indoor gorilla habitats
                                                    that provide guests with up-close
                                                    views of a gorilla group. On the
                                                    second floor of the building will
                                                    be state-of-the-art learning
                                                    spaces for the Zoo’s impactful
                                                    educational programs that foster
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