Brookfield Zoo says goodbye to an era soon, perhaps as early as this week, when a wrecking ball begins demolishing Ibex Island to make room for a new North American exhibit that will include a state-of-the-art bear exhibit and a new space for the zoo's bison.
Located at the end of the West Mall, Ibex Island is one of the oldest exhibit spaces at Brookfield Zoo. Opened in 1936, the craggy, concrete exhibit was built to house the zoo's sea mammal collection. Sea lions originally swam in the water-filled moat surrounding the island.
Prior to 1956, there was a food stand located inside the island. The sea mammals remained at the location until the construction of the Seven Seas Panorama exhibit in 1961.
After that, the island was home to Dall sheep in 1967. The ibex, originally located at the present-day Baboon Island exhibit, were introduced into the Ibex Island complex later. Over the years, the zoo's collection included as many as 25 ibex and some 300 ibex were born at the zoo.
Just two ibex remain at the zoo; they have been relocated to the former Dall Sheep Ridge by the East Mall.
That relocation sets the stage for the construction of Great Bear Wilderness, which zoo officials hope will be open by Memorial Day 2009.
"We're just wrapping up the design process," said Jo-Elle Mogerman, vice president of planning and community relations for Brookfield Zoo.
Mogerman said that the project, which has been fine tuned for the past year, will be put out for bid shortly, with an April bid opening. Construction on Great Bear Wilderness could begin as soon as May. The exhibit will incorporate larger exhibit areas for the zoo's bison, bear and eagle collections, a new retail store and a refurbished restaurant.
"The overall story is that the bison, bald eagle, polar bears and brown bears are iconic North American animals, and all have a conservation story to tell," Mogerman said.
Set adjacent to the Wolf Woods exhibit and the Indian Lake nature area, the entire ensemble will be dedicated to North American species.
The zoo's bison collection will be relocated to the end of the West Mall, where Ibex Island formerly stood. According to Mogerman, Brookfield Zoo wants to create a vista reminiscent of the plains.
At the exhibit itself, patrons will have a variety of perspectives to view the bison, including a tunnel area and "bison bunker" where they can get up-close views of the animals. According to Mogerman, the new bison exhibit will be up to two times larger than the current exhibit space, which is located at the north end of the zoo along 31st Street.
A loop path will then take visitors past the bald eagles and Wolf Woods. A fork in the road will let them choose to head toward Indian Lake or the new bear exhibit.
"There will be three bear yards, and each is three times the size of the old bear grottos," Mogerman said. "We'll also have the ability to rotate bears between the yards."
Great Bear Wilderness will also provide a variety of perspectives, from underwater views to close-up views. The exhibit will end at the retail space, which will also include a classroom space that can be used for everything from learning facility to meeting space available for rental.
Future projects at the zoo include a renovation of the former Reptile House into offices for the Conservation Education and Training Group and a complete overhaul of the Children's Zoo.
