Brookfield Zoo: Great Bear Wilderness
Since the opening of Brookfield Zoo in 1934, this zoo has had the reputation for taking a cutting edge role in animal care and conservation of the natural world. The creation of its new outdoor exhibit, Great Bear Wilderness, is definitely a commitment to these goals. The state-of-the-art, naturalistic Great Bear Wilderness is the largest exhibit ever
built at Brookfield Zoo.
This is the new home to North American animals, specifically polar bears, grizzly bears, wolves, bald eagles, and bison. The exhibit recreates the North American wilderness, featuring hilly terrain, prairie expanses, rockwork, pools, a waterfall, and fallen trees. The bison habitat includes a 1.5 acre grassy landscaped area. There is a huge underwater viewing area of the bears. The bald eagle and raven habitat has a perching tree and a nesting platform that is bounded by a virtually invisible mesh barrier. The Regenstein Wolf Woods is now a part of Great Bear Wilderness.
When you step onto the winding path leading through Great Bear Wilderness, you begin a journey of discovery. As you continue to walk, you’ll not only view the many animals in their natural habitats, you will also learn about their past, their present status, and threats to their survival. There are viewing areas that allow you to go eye-to-eye with bison, grizzly bears, and polar bears. You can look up to a herd of bison from a tunnel underneath their prairie habitat, or you can peer through the glass in underwater viewing to watch the polar bears. You’ll experience multi-media encounters, including listening to an audio recording of a bison stampede and viewing footage of the animals’ natural habitats.
The day we went was a warm day so we didn’t see any grizzly bears roaming outside. However, the polar bears did seem to enjoy their underwater swim in the cool water. There was quite a large crowd at this expansive viewing area, and our grandson patiently waited until it was his turn to be at the window and to be up close and personal to these large bears. We did get a peek at the wolves as they quickly came out of their cave and quickly went back inside. When we ate lunch, our picnic table at the Bison Prairie Grill was next to the fence where the bison roam. As the bison grazed, he came up to the fence, and we were thrilled to see a bison that close to us.
We also had a great time discovering and laughing as we compared the wing span of an eagle to the arm span of our 5 year old grandson. We were also able to compare our grandson’s height to that of a bear cub and an adult bear. These interactive displays were very interesting, informative, and fun to do. We had a wonderful day at the zoo and particularly at Great Bear Wilderness. Although some areas of the zoo charge an additional entrance fee, this exhibit is free. The Motor Safari lets you off near the exhibit so a minimal of walking is needed to get there. Also you’ll find a picnic area right there. A playground is adjacent to the picnic tables for a nice change of pace for the children.
Go and enjoy a day outdoors with the animals!!