Brookfield, Ill.—Get ready for more lights, more sights, more oohs, and more aahs at Brookfield Zoo’s 29th annual Holiday Magic, presented by ComEd. This year’s Holiday Magic—Chicagoland’s largest lights festival—has some new features for all to enjoy amid a million twinkling lights. There will be live entertainment, new light displays, amazing animals, model trains and a train ride, a special Dolphin Show, singing to the animals, professional ice carvers, and much more! Holiday Magic takes place on December 4-5, 11-12, 18-19, and 26-31 and January 1—an additional day—from 4:00 to 9:00 p.m.

            During the 13 enchanted evenings, guests can bundle up and stroll the walkways to see more than 120 new animated light displays on the zoo’s malls, including a 35-foot Abominable Snowman, gingerbread men tumbling and jumping on a trampoline, a toyland, snowmen, dolphins and other sea creatures, giraffes, tigers, penguins, lions, and wolves to name a few. Families can also enjoy the hundreds of community trees¾decorated with handcrafted ornaments¾and watch the Dancing Lights Show that will run continuously around Roosevelt Fountain each night, following the opening ceremony that will take place on December 4 at 6:00 p.m.

            More exhibits—including the zoo’s newest, Great Bear Wilderness—will be open at this year’s festival for viewing favorite animals, and there will be a special 6:30 p.m. Dolphin Show each night (separate admission applies). Additional exhibits open are The Swamp, The Living Coast, The Fragile Kingdom, Australia House, the big cats walkway, Baboon Island, Seven Seas Underwater Viewing, Feathers and Scales, Tropic World (open until 7:30 p.m. on all evenings except December 28 and 30), Hamill Family Play Zoo, and Children’s Zoo. While at Children’s Zoo, guests can stop by the Big Barn to have their photos taken with one of the animals, including a reindeer.

            In the spacious Holly Jolly Theater, located in the Swan Pavilion, zoogoers can warm up and listen to storytelling by local celebrities and watch other live entertainment featuring local dance troupes, choirs, and musicians. Next to the Holly Jolly Theater, youngsters can take a train ride aboard the Great Chicago Kiddie Express. And, the Riverside Room, train enthusiasts of all ages can view a 41-foot by 25-foot model railroad display with a toyland theme that can simultaneously run up to 13 trains.

            At the zoo’s Nature Stage, guests will be captivated watching professional sculptors carve 400-pounds blocks of ice into beautiful works of frozen art courtesy of Lang Ice. Or they can be mesmerized by the magical antics of Terry Murphy and Matt Scherer, who will perform mystifying tricks at Safari Grill and the Bison Pavilion, respectively.

            Youngsters—whether they have been naughty or nice—can share their wish lists with Santa and Mrs. Claus (through December 19 only). On the North Mall, costumed animal characters will be on hand greeting guests. Also joining in the festivities during select hours on December 18 only will be the Coca-Cola Holiday Caravan decorated with 25,000 red and white lights. While at the zoo, the illuminated 18-wheel semi truck will feature photo opportunities with the Coca-Cola Polar Bear costumed character.

The Canterbury Carolers, a Victorian ensemble who will perform a glorious arrangement of traditional tunes, will have guests spreading holiday cheer during nightly singing to the animals. Serenading takes place with lions and tigers at 5:30 p.m., farm animals in Children’s Zoo at 6:30 p.m., and bison and bears at 7:30 p.m.

Families can ring in the New Year early during a special Zoo Year’s Eve celebration on December 31. At 6:00 p.m., Radio Disney’s Road Crew will crank up the festivities with music, games, and prizes in the Holly Jolly Theater and then will lead an early countdown at 8:00 p.m. In addition, there will be an early countdown in Hamill Family Play Zoo geared toward families with young children ages 6 and under. Prior to the countdown, kids can make their own noisemaker and join in the Play Zoo parades at 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

In addition, the zoo’s gift shops will be open for those who want to do some holiday shopping, and restaurants and food stands will be open for guests who work up an appetite or desire holiday treats such as cookies, hot chocolate, hot cider, cappuccino, and soup.

During Holiday Magic, guests should park in Brookfield Zoo’s main parking lot (First Avenue and 31st Street). Activities are free (with the exception of rides and photo opportunities) with paid admission of $13.50 for adults and $9.50 for children ages 3-11 and seniors 65 and older. Children 2 and under are free. Car parking is $9; bus parking is $12.

Holiday Magic is sponsored by ComEd and American Airlines. For up-to-date information on scheduled entertainment and activities, go online to www.CZS.org/events or call (708) 688-8000. Guests will also receive a schedule of events when they arrive.

The Chicago Zoological Society, which manages Brookfield Zoo, inspires conservation leadership by connecting people with wildlife and nature. Open every day of the year, Brookfield Zoo is located off First Avenue between the Stevenson (I-55) and Eisenhower (I-290) expressways and is also accessible via the Tri-State Tollway (I-294), Metra commuter line, CTA, and PACE bus service.

Some Good News

 
            Brookfield, IL—Thanks to the Chicago Zoological Society, which manages Brookfield Zoo, two orphaned California sea lion pups have a new home at the zoo. The pups, which arrived at the zoo on July 14, are currently off exhibit and getting acclimated to their new surroundings and the zoo’s other sea lions and learning how to swim before they venture out into the bigger pools at the Pinniped Point exhibit. Staff estimate it will be several more weeks before they will be able to have access to the outdoor pools.

The two unnamed female pups, born on June 7 and June 10, were abandoned by their moms at a popular tourist attraction—Pier 39 in San Francisco—which is a highly unusual place for a California sea lion to give birth. Female sea lions normally choose rookeries such as the Channel Islands in southern California away from human traffic and other potential dangers. After birth, females raise the young pups for up to nine months. As newborn sea lions that rely on their mother for nourishment, the helpless pups would have starved to death without human intervention.

Deemed unreleaseable back to the wild due to the difficulty of rehabilitating young pups, the Chicago Zoological Society stepped forward and offered to give the sea lions a permanent home at Brookfield Zoo. This commitment is quite an undertaking because the vulnerable pups require constant care for the first several months of life.

The pups were rescued by staff from The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, California, where they were stabilized and spent a few days prior to being transferred to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo until they were able to make the trip to Brookfield Zoo. During the month the pups were at Six Flags, Jennifer McGee, lead marine mammal trainer from Brookfield Zoo, took up residence in California to assist the Six Flags staff in the round-the-clock care the pups required.

“This endeavor would not have been possible without the collaboration and commitment from all three facilities,” said Rita Stacey, curator of marine mammals for the Chicago Zoological Society. “From this learning experience, we are now able to serve as a resource to other facilities that are contemplating handrearing sea lions should a need to intervene happen again in the future,” added Stacey.

Since their arrival at Brookfield Zoo, the inquisitive and rambunctious pups have doubled in weight. “By no means are they out of the woods yet, but we are very optimistic and encouraged from the behaviors we have seen that the pups will have a second chance at life here at Brookfield Zoo,” said Stacey. They are being monitored closely and will continue to be bottle-fed a specially prepared milk formula for a few more months. A new diet of fish will be introduced to them in the near future.

Although the commitment of Animal Programs staff is very intensive, the time being invested is helping the North American zoo California sea lion population. Because they were born in the wild, these new additions are extremely valuable genetically. California sea lions are managed by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Population Management Plan (PMP), a program that ensures the sustainability of a healthy, genetically diverse, and demographically varied population for the long-term survival of the zoo population. The Sea Lion PMP is managed by McGee, who is also responsible for the California Sea Lion Studbook, a record of the species’ pedigree and the demographic history of each individual in the North American zoo population.

Scientists observed that pupping patterns similar to 2010 were observed during 1998 and 1999, the last major El Niño years. El Niño oceanographic conditions are characterized by warmer coastal waters, which drive sea lion prey, such as anchovies and sardines, greater distances from shore. Pregnant California sea lions and yearlings (one-year-olds) may not have the energy reserves to swim the extra distance to acquire food, resulting in females giving birth before reaching normal pupping areas, females abandoning pups because of diminished nutritional condition, and emaciation or starvation of yearlings.

Additionally, domoic acid poisoning may be a contributing factor in the unusual pupping patterns during 2010. Domoic acid is a neurotoxin that accumulates in top-level predators during harmful algal blooms and causes disorientation, lethargy, and seizures in sea lions. These neurological symptoms prevent normal foraging, causing pups to become severely emaciated, sometimes resulting in death.

California sea lion pups are born in June and July and weigh 13 to 20 pounds. They do not swim for at least two weeks and stay in tidal pools until they can go to sea with their mothers. They nurse for at least five months and sometimes for more than a year. After a few days of giving birth, a mother leaves a pup while she forages at sea. After replenishing, the mother returns to her pup and nurses it again. As the pup grows stronger, the mother leaves it alone for longer periods of time. Mother sea lions recognize their pups on crowded rookeries through smell, sight, and vocalizations.

In the early part of the 20th century, sea lions were hunted for their skins and to reduce competition with fishermen for fish. As a result, their populations declined. Today, all marine mammals, including sea lions, are protected by the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act. There are now hundreds of thousands of sea lions along the Pacific coast. While not endangered, they still face challenges due to human activities, including the intentional dumping of toxic and hazardous waste, entanglement in fishing gear and other debris, and changes in global atmospheric conditions.

The Marine Mammal Center’s mission is to expand knowledge about marine mammals—their health and that of their ocean environment—and to inspire global conservation. Since 1975, staff and volunteers have rescued and treated more than 16,000 marine mammals at its outdoor hospital in Sausalito.

The Chicago Zoological Society mission is to inspire conservation leadership by connecting people with wildlife and nature. Open every day of the year, Brookfield Zoo is located off First Avenue between the Stevenson (I-55) and Eisenhower (I-290) expressways and is also accessible via the Tri-State Tollway (I-294), Metra commuter line, CTA, and PACE bus service.

 
 
            Brookfield, IL—Today, Chicago Zoological Society’s Animal Programs staff released five American white pelicans at Brookfield Zoo’s Formal Pool. The birds were rescued from the Gulf Coast as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

            All five birds, which were slightly to moderately oiled, were rescued from the Mississippi Canyon area off the coast of Louisiana. Prior to the oil spill, they had sustained wing injuries that prevented them from migrating this past spring to their northern breeding range. When the oil spill occurred, the pelicans joined other wildlife species that needed human intervention.

            The three male and two female pelicans arrived at Brookfield Zoo in mid-July, at which time they were given complete physicals by staff veterinarians and placed in a routine 30-day quarantine at the zoo’s Animal Hospital. Now, cleared from quarantine, the birds are taking up year-round residence at the zoo’s Formal Pool, where they will serve as ambassadors for their wild counterparts to help educate zoo guests about the effects the oil spill has had on the wildlife in the Gulf.

            “The Chicago Zoological Society was happy to be able to assist with this collaborative rescue effort by providing these pelicans with a permanent home where they will receive the best possible care,” said Tim Snyder, curator of birds and reptiles for the Chicago Zoological Society. “It has been several decades since Brookfield Zoo has had this species in its animal collection. Being one of the largest birds in North America, they are quite impressive and will hopefully be a favorite among zoo guests.”

            Prior to coming to Brookfield Zoo, the pelicans were held at Jackson Zoo in Mississippi until permanent homes could be found for them. Brookfield Zoo was one of four zoos that received rehabilitated white pelicans from Jackson Zoo.

            American white pelicans weigh up to 20 pounds and measure 4 to 6 feet in length, with a wingspan of approximately 9 feet. Their plumage is white, with the exception of black-edged wings that are visible in flight. Their long, orange bill is between 10 to 14.5 inches long, and their orange legs are short, with big, webbed feet.

            Although not endangered, the pelican population is increasingly threatened due to habitat loss caused by flooding and droughts, as well as contamination. In addition, they face human-related threats, such as discarded fishing line and plastics, boating disturbances, and disturbance of nest sites.

            The Chicago Zoological Society’s mission is to inspire conservation leadership by connecting people with wildlife and nature. Open every day of the year, Brookfield Zoo is located off First Avenue between the Stevenson (I-55) and Eisenhower (I-290) expressways and is also accessible via the Tri-State Tollway (I-294), Metra commuter line, CTA, and PACE bus service.

Brookfield Zoo Website

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