Brookfield Zoo Chicago’s historic new James & Elizabeth Bramsen Tropical Forests is ready for public this summer, marking the official completion of the most ambitious project in the Zoo’s history. The three-acre, $66 million project is one of the nation’s largest primate habitats with four awe-inspiring outdoor spaces for great apes and monkeys that sets a new benchmark for U.S. accredited zoos with its focus on primate care and conservation. The Zoo celebrated the project’s completion last Thursday with a ceremonial ribbon cutting alongside its Board of Trustees, donors and civic leaders.  Bramsen Tropical Forests provides guests with an immersive experience across four lush rainforest environments inspired by Africa, Asia and South America to encounter western lowland gorillas, Bornean orangutans, white-cheeked gibbons and several species of monkeys. Located alongside Tropic World on the west side of the Zoo’s Roosevelt Fountain, Bramsen Tropical Forests is more than panoramic viewing of primates; it’s a central hub for primate care and conservation, raising awareness for the nearly two-thirds of all primate species threatened with extinction. More information about Bramsen Tropical Forests, including timed-entry tickets and the grand opening weekend celebration, is available at brookfieldzoo.org/tropicalforests. 

Photo Credit: Brookfield Zoo Chicago