Brookfield Zoo’s grey seal pup is just one week old and already a charmer. (Courtesy Brookfield Zoo)

The grey seal pup was born Feb. 17. He’ll stay behind the scenes for the next month and a half while bonding with his mom.

Tapeko, one of Brookfield Zoo’s bottlenose dolphins, gets a big welcome home from Melissa Zabojnik, a senior animal care specialist. (Jim Schulz / CZS-Brookfield Zoo)

The zoo’s seven bottlenose dolphins will spend the next six weeks getting used to their new and improved digs.

Whirl, an Amur tiger at Brookfield Zoo, jumps up to reach for a bone in a Christmas tree that was hung in her habitat for enrichment. (Jim Schulz / CZS-Brookfield Zoo)

Trees from Brookfield Zoo’s Holiday Magic display were repurposed as enrichment activities for several animals. 

(Brenna Hernandez / Shedd Aquarium)

If you’re seeking activities that don’t break the bank this winter, look no further than local museums, zoos and gardens. A number have announced free admission days in 2024.

This epaulette shark pup hatched Aug. 23, 2023, at Brookfield Zoo, born from what staff believe was an unfertilized egg. (Jim Schulz / CZS-Brookfield Zoo)

The epaulette shark pup hatched Aug. 23, born from what staff believe was an unfertilized egg. 

Banana, a 4-year-old pygmy hippopotamus at Brookfield Zoo, takes a bite out of her Halloween treat. (Jim Schulz / CZS-Brookfield Zoo)

Caretakers will pass out more pumpkins to animals during Brookfield's “Boo! at the Zoo” event Saturday and Sunday.

Kinda, Brookfield Zoo’s new baby giraffe, with mom Arnieta. (Jim Schulz / CZS-Brookfield Zoo)

Brookfield Zoo has received a historic $40 million gift from a donor who wishes to remain anonymous, the largest single private contribution in the zoo's 89-year history, officials announced Tuesday.

Brookfield Zoo's three-week-old giraffe Kinda (rhymes with Linda) makes her public debut Sept. 8, 2023. (Jim Schulz / CZS-Brookfield Zoo)

The zoo’s three-week-old baby giraffe is making her debut Friday and can now be seen daily, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Meet Brookfield Zoo's baby giraffe, born Aug. 19. (Jim Schulz / CZS-Brookfield Zoo)

The 6-foot, 130-pound calf was born Aug. 19, Brookfield Zoo announced Monday.

Kate Jungiewicz, an animal care specialist at Brookfield Zoo, feeds Arnieta, a pregnant 16-year-old reticulated giraffe, prophylactic antibiotics hidden between leaf lettuce. (Jim Schulz / CZS-Brookfield Zoo)

Brookfield Zoo has really big news to share: It’s on baby watch for a new giraffe. Arnieta, a 16-year-old reticulated giraffe, is due to deliver sometime between mid-July and late August, according to zoo officials.

A family of foxes has taken up residence in Chicago’s Lurie Garden. (Courtesy of Lurie Garden)

For a bunch of hardened urbanites, Chicagoans sure do have a soft spot when it comes to animals.

Cookie the cockatoo, in life and in bronze, at Brookfield Zoo. (Courtesy of Brookfield Zoo-Chicago Zoological Society)

The recent loss of Nakili, Brookfield Zoo’s 33-year-old eastern black rhinoceros, unexpectedly sent us on a trip down memory lane, revisiting some of the zoo’s most beloved residents.

Nakili, the eastern black rhinoceros. (Jim Schulz / CZS-Brookfield Zoo)

Nakili was diagnosed with kidney disease last summer. At 33 years old, he was the oldest male of his species living in an accredited North American zoo.

Three-year-old Banana, a pygmy hippopotamus at Brookfield Zoo, eyes her heart-shaped watermelon. (Jim Schulz / CZS-Brookfield Zoo)

In what’s become an annual tradition, staff at Brookfield Zoo handed out Valentine’s Day treats to several animals this holiday. The reactions were priceless.

A giraffe is pictured at Brookfield Zoo in November 2022. (WTTW News)

Brookfield Zoo is celebrating a big milestone. It was a century ago when construction on the grounds began.

Recovery work after the Repsol oil spill. (Courtesy of Oceana Peru)

Recently, two researchers with Brookfield Zoo received prestigious awards for their work in the field. Their current work focuses on the impacts of major oil spills on marine life.