Zoo entrance |
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| Date opened | 1868[1] |
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| Location | 2200 N. Cannon Dr, Chicago, Illinois, USA (312) 742-2000 |
| 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 main zoo within the Chicago city limits.
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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, management of the Zoo was taken over by the Zoological Society from the Chicago Park District, which remains the owner.[5]
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]
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.
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.
McCormick Bird House
Regenstein Birds of Prey Exhibit
Blum-Kovler Penguin-Seabird House
Helen Brach Primate House
Kovler Lion House
Kovler Sea Lion Pool
Pritzker Family Children’s Zoo
Regenstein Small Mammal-Reptile House
Mammals
Reptiles
Amphibians
Birds
Hope B. McCormick Swan Pond
Waterfowl Lagoon
Regenstein Center for African Apes
Farm-in-the-Zoo Presented by John Deere
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