Brookfield Zoo

Georgia and I have been to several nearby zoos in the last couple years but it has been a long time since we visited Brookfield Zoo right here in Chicago. We decided it was time for a return trip on Sunday.

The zoo is constantly changing so there is always something new. We started out with a tram ride around the whole facility to get a good overview and pick out the exhibits we didn’t want to miss. When we got back to the station we started from, we had lunch and then started our walking tour.

We had tickets for the 1pm dolphin show so we began by walking in that general direction which took us past the big cats and then to the Seven Seas area where the show takes place. The Dolphin show is short but packs a lot of action into that time. We found it very entertaining.

After the show we went below the pool area to see the dolphins underwater. Then we continued on to see the seals and sea lions nearby.

Next was Stingray Bay which was Georgia’s favorite stop of the day. This is a shallow salt water pool where you can pet the stingrays that are swimming there. The rays seem happy to have their backs rubbed and keep coming back for more.

A special exhibit that will only be at the zoo through the summer is Extreme Bugs – a display of gigantic animatronic insects. The bugs are setup along a trail through a wooded area of the park and make for a fun walk.

Over the next couple hours we went through several other exhibits including Fragile Desert, Tropic World, Fragile Rain Forest and The Swamp. All of them are educational and entertaining.

One area we didn’t want to miss was Great Bear Wilderness which is new since the last time we were at Brookfield. Besides the bears, there are also bison, eagles and wolves in this exhibit.

By now it was getting late in the day and we were both getting tired so we started back toward the North Gate where we had come in. The route took us past Habitat Africa, the hoofed animals and Australia House before we got to the exit.

Brookfield is really too big to see everything in one day so there were exhibits we missed – like the reptile house, the aviary and the butterfly house and too much more. I guess we will have to make another trip soon.

A few more photos from the zoo:

Chicago on Dwellable