A popular exhibit at Brookfield Zoo remains closed a week after an equipment malfunction at Sharks at Stingray Bay resulted in the death of 19 stingrays.
According to Kim Smith, vice president of animal programs for the Chicago Zoological Society, which manages Brookfield Zoo, the malfunction affected the heating and cooling system of the 16,000-gallon pool housing the fish. The water temperature climbed 10 degrees temporarily, from 79 to 89 degrees, killing the rays.
Initial reports indicated that 16 stingrays had died in the aftermath of the July 14 exhibit malfunction. However, since then at least three more have died and whether the exhibit will reopen is still unknown.
"We're hoping to reopen, but if we find it isn't safe, then we're not going to reopen it," said Sondra Katzen, media relations manager for Brookfield Zoo.
The remaining 15 stingrays survived and appear to be doing well. Nurse sharks, spotted sharks and horseshoe crabs that also are part of the exhibit appear not to have been harmed.
"So far we're cautiously optimistic; we have our fingers crossed," Smith said. "Right now, the exhibit is closed so we can monitor the animals. The systems appear to be working fine.
"We'll give it some time and decide jointly when we will reopen the exhibit."
The exhibit, in its second summer at Brookfield Zoo, is owned, maintained and operated by a private San Diego-based company called Living Exhibits. The company has a full-time staff member assigned to the Brookfield Zoo exhibit.
According to Smith, the pool systems are monitored daily by Living Exhibits and overnight by zoo staff. When zoo staff checked at 3 a.m. on July 14, the heating and cooling system of the pool appeared to be working normally.
A call to Living Exhibits was not returned.
"It's a beautiful exhibit and we've gotten a lot of positive feedback on it,' Smith said. "We're committed to getting it open again for the public."
Early reports suggested that a power surge might have been responsible for the malfunction of the heating and cooling system, but zoo officials have backed away from that theory for now.
"ComEd is not confirming that, and neither are we saying it was a power surge," Katzen said.
The interactive exhibit has been a very popular attraction since opening on Memorial Day last year as a stingray-only affair. When the exhibit closed on Labor Day of 2007, some 417,202 zoo patrons paid the additional admission fee for the chance to touch the stingrays as they glided by in the water.
From May 3 to July 13 this year, 240,316 people bought tickets to Sharks at Stingray Bay, according to Katzen.
