Lincoln Park Zoo

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For the zoo in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, see Lincoln Park Zoo (Manitowoc).
Lincoln Park Zoo

Zoo entrance
Date opened 1868[1]
Location 2200 N. Cannon Dr, Chicago, Illinois, USA (312) 742-2000
Coordinates 41°55′17″N 87°38′02″W / 41.921375°N 87.633841°W / 41.921375; -87.633841Coordinates: 41°55′17″N 87°38′02″W / 41.921375°N 87.633841°W / 41.921375; -87.633841
Land area 35 acres (14 ha)
Number of animals 1,250
Memberships AZA[2]
Website www.lpzoo.com

Lincoln Park Zoo is a free 35-acre (14 ha) zoo located in Lincoln Park in Chicago, Illinois. The zoo was founded in 1868, making it one of the oldest zoos in the nation. The zoo is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).

Lincoln Park Zoo is home to a wide variety of animals. The zoo's exhibits include big cats, polar bears, penguins, gorillas, reptiles, monkeys, and other species totalling nearly 1,250 animals. Also located in Lincoln Park Zoo is a burr oak tree which dates to 1830, three years before the city was founded. Lincoln Park Zoo is one of five zoos in the Chicago area, the others being the Brookfield Zoo, and the minor Phillips Park Zoo, Cosley Zoo and Indian Boundary Park. Lincoln Park Zoo is the largest zoo within the Chicago city limits.

Contents

History [edit]

Photochrom of the bear pit of the Lincoln Park Zoo, ca. 1897-1901
Nature Boardwalk

The zoo was founded in 1868, when the Lincoln Park Commissioners were given a gift of a pair of swans by Central Park's Board of Commissioners in New York City [3] In 1874, the swans were joined by a bear cub, the first animal purchased for the zoo. The bear became quite adept at escaping from its home and could frequently be found roaming Lincoln Park at night.[4] The first bison ever born in captivity was born in Lincoln Park. A new Lion House opened in 1912 (it was later renovated and reopened in 1990). The Primate House opened in 1927, and was known for housing a popular gorilla called Bushman (1931–1951).[5] (The Primate House was later renovated and reopened in 1992.)

Marlin Perkins, who gained fame as the host of the television program Zoo Parade and later, Wild Kingdom, was director of the zoo from 1944 until 1962. He created and recruited a citizens group to support the Zoo's mission, the Lincoln Park Zoological Society. The facility underwent a dramatic transformation in the 1970s and 1980s, with the additions of many new, naturalistic exhibits. In 1995, the Zoological Society assumed management of the zoo from the Chicago Park District, which remains the owner.[5] Zoo administration is currently housed in the nearby building previously used by the Chicago Academy of Sciences, which moved to a new facility in 1999.

In 2010, Lincoln Park Zoo transformed the adjacent South Pond to create Nature Boardwalk at Lincoln Park Zoo, a pond habitat that features native plants and wildlife.[6]

Exhibits [edit]

The zoo's exhibits include big cats, polar bears, penguins, gorillas, reptiles, monkeys, and other species totalling nearly 1,250 animals.

Wildlife species native to the Midwest are exhibited within the Pritzker Family Children's Zoo within Lincoln Park Zoo. Black bears, red wolves and beavers roam outdoor exhibits, while American kestrels and Great Plains ratsnakes reside indoors. The Children's Zoo also features an indoor climbing structure for children designed by Tom Luckey.

Nearby, the Farm-in-the-Zoo Presented by John Deere exhibits pigs, cows, horses and other domestic animals. Visitors can pet goats, feed cows and roam vegetable gardens. Each day, the cows are milked in public and staff is on hand to explain other elements of farm life. Regenstein Center for African Apes is home to Keo, the oldest male chimpanzee in a North American zoo.

See also [edit]

Notes [edit]

  1. ^ "A Proud History". Lincoln Park Zoo (Lincoln Park Zoo): 5. Spring 2010. Retrieved 9 January 2010. 
  2. ^ "List of Accredited Zoos and Aquariums". aza.org. AZA. Retrieved 15 August 2010. 
  3. ^ "Zoo Timeline". Lincoln Park Zoo. Retrieved 31 July 2011. 
  4. ^ Zoo Timeline (01/30/11)
  5. ^ a b "Lincoln Park Zoological Gardens". chicagohistory.org. Encyclopedia of Chicago. Retrieved 9 January 2010. 
  6. ^ "Built to Be Natural". Lincoln Park Zoo (Lincoln Park Zoo): 2–4. Spring 2010. Retrieved 9 January 2010. 

External links [edit]
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