News Release

Apri 3, 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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Swing over to Brookfield Zoo for Ape Awareness Weekend, April 11-12

                                               
Brookfield, Ill.—Go bananas for ape-related activities and learn about Brookfield Zoo’s apes—white-cheeked gibbons, western lowland gorillas, and Bornean orangutans—during the zoo’s annual Ape Awareness Weekend on Saturday, April 11, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Sunday, April 12, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

In the zoo’s Tropic World habitat each day, the animal care staff will host special zoo chats highlighting the three ape species and other primates. From 10:00 a.m. to noon each day, guests can see one-year-old orangutan Kecil with his surrogate mother, Maggie, and then learn about them and the other orangutans during a chat at noon. In celebration of the Year of The Gibbon, as designated by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Gibbon Specialist Group, the zoo’s family of five white-cheeked gibbons will be featured at 1:00 p.m.  At 2:00 p.m., zoogoers can find out about some of the other primate species that reside in Tropic World’s South America habitat. And, Nora, the one-year-old western lowland gorilla and her family of three generations, will be the focus of a 2:45 p.m. chat in Tropic World: Africa. Primate keepers and zoo volunteers will share information and artifacts and answer questions about individual apes, primate conservation, and the care provided to the animals at Brookfield Zoo. In addition, before visiting the zoo for Ape Awareness Weekend, youngsters can download fun activity sheets at www.CZS.org/Events to learn more about gibbons and orangutans.

Zoo guests are invited to help save the apes’ wild habitat by recycling their old cell phones and other electronics. Mining for coltan, a mineral widely used in cell phones, is threatening the habitat of gorillas and other forest species in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Chicago Zoological Society, which manages the zoo, will collect old cell phones, cell phone accessories, pagers, handheld games, e-readers, and laptops at the zoo’s recycling stations, located at the North and South Gates on Ape Awareness Weekend.

Activities during Ape Awareness Weekend are free with general zoo admission of $16.95 for adults, $11.95 for children 3-11 and for seniors 65 and over. Children 2 and under are free. Parking is $10. For further information, visit www.CZS.org/Events or call (708) 688-8000.
 

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About the Chicago Zoological Society
The Chicago Zoological Society inspires conservation leadership by connecting people with wildlife and nature. The Chicago Zoological Society is a private nonprofit organization that operates Brookfield Zoo on land owned by the Forest Preserves of Cook County. The Society is known throughout the world for Brookfield Zoo's innovative, naturalistic, multispecies exhibits and for its international role in animal population management and wildlife conservation. For further information, visit www.CZS.org.

PHOTO DOWNLOAD

Kecil-1.jpg and Kecil-2.jpg: Brookfield Zoo’s one-year-old orangutan Kecil and his surrogate mom, Maggie, can be seen in Tropic World: Asia on Saturdays and Sundays between 10:00 a.m. and noon, including during the zoo’s Ape Awareness Weekend celebration, April 11 and 12.
 
Nora-1.jpg: Guests can learn all about Brookfield Zoo’s ape species, including Nora, a 1-year-old western lowland gorilla, during Ape Awareness Weekend, April 11-12.
 
Koola and Nora.jpg: Guests can learn about western lowland gorillas at a 2:45 p.m. zoo chat during Brookfield Zoo’s Ape Awareness Weekend celebration on April 11 and 12.
 
Gibbons.jpg: Brookfield Zoo’s white-cheeked gibbons will be highlighted during its Ape Awareness Weekend celebration on April 11 and 12.