Brookfield closes iconic baboon exhibit - tribunedigital-chicagotribune
Zoo planning a new attraction in space, which hosted several species over nearly 80 years
September 21, 2013|By Ted Gregory, Chicago Tribune reporter
Baboons in June 1980 at Brookfield Zoo’s Baboon Island in Brookfield, Ill. (Chicago Tribune)
Baboon Island was the second exhibit to open at Brookfield Zoo, back in 1936, when the institution was only 2 years old.
Visited by millions, it was perhaps the only exhibit that was the subject of a joke by comedian Tom Dreesen, who in 1985 quipped: "The residents of Baboon Island need their own flag; otherwise people might get them confused with Blue Island or Rock Island."
No need for any more confusion. Baboon Island is closed.
Brookfield announced Friday that it has shuttered the exhibit, once home to 70 or so animals of various species, to make room for a new, yet-to-be-determined attraction. The final decision came after the zoo euthanized the last three baboons, ages 22 to 27, on Sept. 12, for what the institution called "quality of life concerns."
But the end was foretold in 1992, when zoo administrators decided to stop the baboon breeding program. That year was the last baboon birth at Brookfield.
Bill Zeigler, senior vice president of collections and animal care at the Chicago Zoological Society, which manages the zoo, acknowledged that some might perceive the exhibit's passing as sad.
"Certainly from a guest perspective, back in the day when there were 70 animals in there, it was a pretty exciting place."
But now, he said, "there's an excitement that although one chapter is closing, another chapter is opening" on an attraction that will resonate with visitors.
Demolition will occur "sometime in 2014," zoo spokeswoman Sondra Katzen said, adding that the new attraction is under review. Brookfield, owned by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, will make an announcement when administrators make a final decision, she said.
Zeigler said Brookfield is considering several species for the planned exhibit.
"Although nothing has been confirmed," he stated in a release on the Baboon Island closing, "we are certain that it will be equally engaging, will connect our guests with wildlife and nature, and will encourage conservation in our increasingly challenged natural world."
Baboon Island opened as Monkey Island and was populated by rhesus monkeys before Guinea baboons arrived in 1938, Katzen said. "Millions of guests" have stopped at the exhibit on the south end of the 216-acre zoo, she said.
"Generations of families have observed many fascinating interactions and behaviors in these highly socialized animals," Katzen said.
Also, students, scientists and researchers frequently visited the exhibit to observe the simian residents, she said. Those marquee animals routinely were hosts to other species that, over the years, included wild sheep, meerkats, rock hyrax, lizards, porcupines, even a few crocodiles confiscated at one of the local airports.
Dreesen nearly qualified as a resident. He was among performers at five summer shows presented at the zoo in 1985 to raise money to renovate the exhibit so visitors could get better views. Others included Kenny Rogers, Loretta Lynn, Waylon Jennings, Bobby Vinton and Dionne Warwick, who shared this observation about performing at the zoo:
"They say music soothes the savage beast," she told the Tribune in 1985. "I'll find out. After all, if Dr. Dolittle can talk to the animals, why can't I sing to them?"
Brookfield closes iconic baboon exhibit - tribunedigital-chicagotribune
Zoo planning a new attraction in space, which hosted several species over nearly 80 years
September 21, 2013|By Ted Gregory, Chicago Tribune reporter
Baboons in June 1980 at Brookfield Zoo’s Baboon Island in Brookfield, Ill. (Chicago Tribune)
Baboon Island was the second exhibit to open at Brookfield Zoo, back in 1936, when the institution was only 2 years old.
Visited by millions, it was perhaps the only exhibit that was the subject of a joke by comedian Tom Dreesen, who in 1985 quipped: "The residents of Baboon Island need their own flag; otherwise people might get them confused with Blue Island or Rock Island."
No need for any more confusion. Baboon Island is closed.
Brookfield announced Friday that it has shuttered the exhibit, once home to 70 or so animals of various species, to make room for a new, yet-to-be-determined attraction. The final decision came after the zoo euthanized the last three baboons, ages 22 to 27, on Sept. 12, for what the institution called "quality of life concerns."
But the end was foretold in 1992, when zoo administrators decided to stop the baboon breeding program. That year was the last baboon birth at Brookfield.
Bill Zeigler, senior vice president of collections and animal care at the Chicago Zoological Society, which manages the zoo, acknowledged that some might perceive the exhibit's passing as sad.
"Certainly from a guest perspective, back in the day when there were 70 animals in there, it was a pretty exciting place."
But now, he said, "there's an excitement that although one chapter is closing, another chapter is opening" on an attraction that will resonate with visitors.
Demolition will occur "sometime in 2014," zoo spoke
swoman Sondra Katzen said, adding that the new attraction is under review. Brookfield, owned by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, will make an announcement when administrators make a final decision, she said.
Zeigler said Brookfield is considering several species for the planned exhibit.
"Although nothing has been confirmed," he stated in a release on the Baboon Island closing, "we are certain that it will be equally engaging, will connect our guests with wildlife and nature, and will encourage conservation in our increasingly challenged natural world."
Baboon Island opened as Monkey Island and was populated by rhesus monkeys before Guinea baboons arrived in 1938, Katzen said. "Millions of guests" have stopped at the exhibit on the south end of the 216-acre zoo, she said.
"Generations of families have observed many fascinating interactions and behaviors in these highly socialized animals," Katzen said.
Also, students, scientists and researchers frequently visited the exhibit to observe the simian residents, she said. Those marquee animals routinely were hosts to other species that, over the years, included wild sheep, meerkats, rock hyrax, lizards, porcupines, even a few crocodiles confiscated at one of the local airports.
Dreesen nearly qualified as a resident. He was among performers at five summer shows presented at the zoo in 1985 to raise money to renovate the exhibit so visitors could get better views. Others included Kenny Rogers, Loretta Lynn, Waylon Jennings, Bobby Vinton and Dionne Warwick, who shared this observation about performing at the zoo:
"They say music soothes the savage beast," she told the Tribune in 1985. "I'll find out. After all, if Dr. Dolittle can talk to the animals, why can't I sing to them?"