Wish List

Support the critical care, community, and conservation work that takes place at your free zoo every day.

This October, Lincoln Park Zoo is thrilled to recognize Oaktober, or Oak Awareness Month. As an accredited arboretum, the zoo is home to many trees, including several species of oak located throughout the zoo. In order to keep these trees thriving for many years to come, the zoo’s horticulture team surrounds the roots of trees with mulch. Show some appreciation for the zoo’s mighty oaks with an infusion of premium mulch!

October 15–21 is Red Wolf Awareness Week. In the wild, red wolves are critically endangered. They are also keen hunters whose diet consists of rabbits, rodents, and other small prey. Here at Lincoln Park Zoo, keepers satisfy the red wolves’ carnivorous cravings with a variety of proteins including rabbit—a favorite snack of Rhett and Becca. Provide the pair with meaty morsels to keep them snacking all month long!

On October 1, we celebrate not one, but two fabulous felines at Pepper Family Wildlife Center. African lionesses Hasira and Cleo are celebrating their fifth birthday and we’re roaring with excitement. Help us celebrate the sensational sisters with meaty bones and other tasty morsels perfect for lions!

October 20 is International Sloth Day and Lincoln Park Zoo is celebrating by recognizing its resident Hoffman’s two-toed sloth! Chispa can be found at Regenstein Small Mammal-Reptile House. She spends her days hanging around snacking on leaves, fruits, and veggies, like her favorite—lettuce. Show your love for sloths with some delicious lettuce!

In the wild, carnivorous birds like snowy owls prey on small animals such as rabbits and small rodents. Their excellent eyesight helps them spot prey as they cruise low to the ground or keep a lookout from perches. At Lincoln Park Zoo, birds of prey get their meals delivered post mortem…but keepers use a special vibrating food dish, the Exo Terra Vivicator, to simulate natural prey movement and foster natural hunting behaviors. Help us bring the birds’ meals to life with a new Vivicator!

In their native Australia and Tasmania, nocturnal tawny frogmouths spend their nighttime hours hunting for insects and small animals. These birds have such great camouflage, it’s nearly impossible to see one hiding among trees. When an unsuspecting animal wanders by, tawny frogmouths will pounce and subdue its prey with a powerful beak. The frogmouth pair at Lincoln Park Zoo enjoys a steady supply of mice to stay active and healthy. Pick up some nourishing mice for these birds of the night!

Pumpkins are an excellent source of vitamins and minerals and they’re chock full of fiber, making them a zoo superfood! In addition to getting fresh pumpkins in-season, many animals also enjoy canned pumpkin as part of their regular diet. Give the animals “pumpkin” to talk about with a hearty supply of the squash they crave!

The African painted dogs at Regenstein African Journey spend hours chomping on delicious bones. These bones not only provide protein-packed enrichment, but also foster natural hunting behaviors such as snatching the bones away from their cohabitants. Supply some “gnaw”-some enrichment with nutritious bones for the canine companions!

It’s Fall Fest at Lincoln Park Zoo and the animals are getting in on the fun. The white-cheeked gibbons, Burma and Murray, enjoy celebrating Fall Fest with their favorite treat: popcorn! Pitch in for this seasonal snack!

To encourage cinereous vultures’ scavenging and problem-solving behaviors, keepers scatter bones—like ribs—throughout their habitat! The meat and bones provide protein while keeping mealtime enriching for these carnivorous birds. Make no bones about it, it’s going “tibia” a great meal for vultures Leon and Grimm when you help us serve up some protein-packed pickings!

Corn on the cob is a favorite veggie for many zoo animals, including the chickens at Farm-in-the-Zoo! Keepers serve the plucky birds corn to start off their day in an a-“maize”-ing way. “Pop” a share into your cart and provide the chickens with corn on the cob!

Did you know that it takes approximately 3,600 tulip bulbs to make the beautiful spring display on the zoo’s Main Mall? Horticulture staff will plant them in the fall in preparation for the upcoming spring. Purchase some bulbs today and help us prepare to enjoy beautiful blooms when warm weather returns next spring!

Egyptian fruit bats love a sweet treat! Their long muzzle helps them chow down on favorites like pears, apples, grapes, and bananas. You won’t need echolocation to find this perfect item—select a share of this delectable fruit medley for the bats today

Reaching up to 9 feet tall and 285 pounds, the ostrich is the largest living bird and the fastest bird on land. To ensure proper nutrition for these brawny birds, Lincoln Park Zoo provides a diet of seeds and plants and supplements their daily fare with oyster shells to boost calcium intake. Don’t be “shellfish,” shell out some oyster shells for the ostriches!

Red pandas are unique tree-dwelling mammals that inhabit bamboo forests in their native South Asian range. Bamboo is the main staple of their diet, and red pandas spend most of their waking hours munching on the tender shoots and leaves—in fact, they can consume more than 10 pounds of bamboo per day! Keep red pandas Xiaobo and Nisha snacking with a substantial serving of this fibrous favorite!

Scent enrichment is a feline favorite at Pepper Family Wildlife Center. Keepers will spread dried spices and perfume throughout the habitats of lions and snow leopards to activate those cat senses. Give the zoo’s feline residents some fragrant enrichment as they explore their habitat!

Celebrate Halloween with a “smashing” display of pumpkins, which double as rolling enrichment for animals throughout the zoo! From rhinos and red wolves to monkeys and mongooses, turn mealtime into playtime with a “gourd”-geous array of vitamin-packed pumpkins.