BROOKFIELD ZOO

formally Chicago Zoological Park zoo opened in 1934, known for its extensive use of open-air, unbarred enclosures. Located in Brookfield, Ill., a suburb southwest of Chicago, the zoo, owned by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, is operated by the Chicago Zoological Society. The 83-ha (204-ac) zoo has Italian provincial buildings and formal malls. Special attractions are the inland porpoise show, a children's zoo, and Tropic World, a vast enclosed exhibit of mixed species from the three main rainforests of the worldAfrican, Asian, and South American. Well-known residents were the three giant pandas, Su-lin, Mei-mei, and Mei-lan, shown from 1937 to 1953. Brookfield has had exceptional success in breeding Dall sheep, okapis, and polar bearsand it has collections of hoofed stock, kangaroos, and baboons and other African primates. The zoo has approximately 2,300 specimens of more than 500 species.