The African penguins enjoy a wide variety of fishy snacks—capelin, herring, and anchovies are among their favorites! The penguins satisfy their natural hunting instincts by “fishing” for live fish in their pool at Robert and Mayari Pritzker Penguin Cove. When they make a successful catch, they’re enhancing their diet with the fat and protein they need to flourish. Want to give the colony a special treat this fall? Go fish!
Celebrate World Gorilla Day with cushy mulch! Keepers pack habitat floors with mulch in Regenstein Center for African Apes to provide cushion and comfort for the gorillas and chimpanzees. As they age, these great apes experience arthritis, much in the same way as humans. Mulch and other squishy natural materials cushion the apes’ joints while they walk, run, and play. Select a share of spongy mulch for the gorillas today!
In the wild, the African rock python can reach up to 25 feet long and feeds on a variety of prey, such as large rodents, monkeys, fruit bats, monitor lizards, and even crocodiles. To supply these reptiles with an adequately hearty meal, keepers feed the pythons quail as a part of their specialized diet. Sneak a snack of hearty quail to the snakes today!
In April, Japanese macaques Ono and Nara gave birth to the troop’s newest offspring: Ozu and Nikko. Keepers ensure the entire troop is actively engaged by providing engaging enrichment, like a Tipsy Tom—an oblong-shaped, wobbling plastic device that provides hours of fun and fine-motor skill development. If our calculations are correct, the young snow monkeys will have a blast playing with a new Tipsy Tom!
Lincoln Park Zoo is thrilled to welcome a Grevy’s zebra foal! As part of her specially crafted diet, mother Adia will eat fresh, crisp apples to ensure proper nutrition. Be sure to pick this sweet and crunchy treat to pamper the new mom.
At Lincoln Park Zoo, while most animals are active throughout the day, nocturnal armadillos nestle in their beds and snooze until the sun goes down. Armadillos nest in raw materials, like cardboard, and close their shells into balls to retain heat while they sleep. Provide some cozy new bedding material for the armadillos this fall!
The penguins at Lincoln Park Zoo don’t mind Chicago’s summer weather! African penguins have several heat-regulating adaptations—from patches of exposed skin near their eyes through which blood circulates and cools to special muscles that push feathers outward to release trapped heat. Ensure this cool colony enjoys summer with their year-round favorite treat...anchovies!
In honor of International Vulture Awareness Day, help encourage Linda and Grimm’s scavenging and problem-solving behaviors with a plethora of enrichment items designed specifically for cinerous vultures. From spools and bobbins to food hidden within mop heads and small paper boxes, each item creates an enriching experience mixed with mealtime!
Egyptian fruit bats are always on the hunt for a sweet treat. Their long muzzle helps them chow down on favorites, like pears and apples, and even slurp up sweet juices and nectars. You won’t need echolocation to find this perfect item—select a share of delectable fruit juices for the bats!
Cows, chickens, and goats don’t watch their weight—but we do! Nutritionists and Animal Care staff rely on scales to develop an informed nutrition program for all residents at Farm-in-the-Zoo by recording and monitoring their weights. Weigh in on this process by purchasing a new scale for your favorite farm animal!
Insects and plant roots aren’t the only things growing underground in the wild savannas of Africa—colonies of naked mole rats live beneath the grassy plains in complex underground burrows! Naked mole rats at Lincoln Park Zoo travel through a subway tunnel of clear acrylic tubing, mimicking the tunnels they build in the wild, from one part of their habitat to another. Help update the colony's transportation system today!
The Madagascar hissing cockroach earned its name from the loud, snake-like hiss it produces through unique breathing holes. The hissing sound not only startles away predators, but also signals intruders that they are infringing on the cockroaches’ territory. At Lincoln Park Zoo, we supply these brawny beasts with a specially formulated diet to provide essential protein, nutrients, and fiber. Supply the cockroaches with tasty tidbits!
Lincoln Park Zoo displays more than 40 different types of exquisite hydrangea in varying shades of pink, purple, and white. Provide our Horticulture team with the flora to keep grounds blooming all the way through fall with a purchase of hydrangea today!
A Grevy’s zebra foal was born at the zoo on August 14! The foal—not yet named—can be seen nursing with mom Adia in the Camel & Zebra area. Welcome the arrival with a gift of vegetables to nourish mom while she raises her little one!
Lincoln Park Zoo’s two resident male Puerto Rican parrots are the first of their species to live in the continental U.S. as a part of a managed population recovery effort. In the wild, they feast on seeds, nuts, bark, and nectar found in the forest canopy. Keepers provide the birds with a variety of fruits, including blueberries! Purchase a delicious snack of blueberries for these beautiful birds.
West African dwarf crocodiles are slow moving, timid reptiles that can grow up to five-and-a-half-feet long and weigh 70 pounds. Surprisingly, these crocs don’t often hunt big prey, primarily feeding on crabs, frogs, fish, and, occasionally, small mammals that wander into the water. At Lincoln Park Zoo, we feed the crocs a mix of seafood, in addition to some leafy greens to enhance their diet. Help the crocs snack ‘til broad daylight with a healthy heap of lettuce!
Moholi bushbabies are small primates that live among trees and love foraging for treats. The family at Lincoln Park Zoo devour tart applesauce, often hidden within puzzle feeders throughout their habitat. Supply these curious primates with delicious applesauce!
The rhinos at Lincoln Park Zoo enjoy daily doses of fresh leafy plants as a source of nutrition. Not only are these greens tasty, but they also encourage natural foraging and feeding behaviors. Fork over an ample supply of plants for your favorite ungulate in honor of World Rhino Day!
Lincoln Park Zoo is thrilled to welcome the newest Grevy’s zebra foal. There’s nothing more important for a lactating zebra mother than proper nutrition! Help keep Adia and her new baby healthy and strong with healthful hay!
The wolf pack at Lincoln Park Zoo enjoys playing with its food as much as eating it! These savory beef shanks provide nutrition while fostering natural hunting behaviors, such as snatching the meaty bones away from their siblings. Throw the pack a bone (or two!) by sharing nutritious, tasty meaty bones for the red wolf family to chomp on!
Although snowy owls nest in the ground by scraping a small bowl-shaped hole in the earth, they also perch in high tree branches to hunt prey or rest after flight. At Lincoln Park Zoo, we provide novel and elevated perches that encourage the owls to explore their habitat or to comfortably relax. Show the owls a new point of view with a small perch day!
Axolotls, a species of salamander, will eat anything from fish to arthropods. Lincoln Park Zoo enhances the resident axolotl’s diet with nutritious abystoma pellets—a spongy pellet made of fish meal and other seafood. Supply an axolotl with a superior salamander snack today!
Keepers at Lincoln Park Zoo don chest-high rubber waders to tend to the swans and ducks at Hope B. McCormick Swan Pond and Waterfowl Lagoon. As the cooler weather arrives, the waders will ensure keepers stay warm and dry while providing routine maintenance and care to the animals and habitat. Help purchase new waders today!
