The Chicagoist will be launching later but in the meantime please enjoy our archives.

54 Stingrays Die At Brookfield Zoo After Exhibit Malfunction

By Jim Bochnowski in News on Jul 13, 2015 4:45PM

Sad news from the Brookfield Zoo. Over the weekend, a malfunction in the zoo's stingray exhibit caused all 54 rays in the exhibit to pass away.

On Friday afternoon the zoo's Aqua Net System, which monitors water quality at the zoo, alerted staff that the oxygen levels in the popular Stingray Bay exhibit were abnormal, the Chicago Tribune reports. Veterinary staff were immediately summoned to the area, where they were able to restore oxygen levels in the water within 20 minutes. Unfortunately it was too late, and the four southern stingrays and 50 cownose rays perished.

Bill Zeigler, senior vice president of animal programs for the Chicago Zoological Society said in a statement, "We are devastated by the tragic loss of these animals. Our staff did everything possible to try and save the animals, but the situation could not be reversed."

Needless to say, the Brookfield Zoo announced the exhibit would be closed for the remainder of the year, and a full investigation is being conducted to find out what led to the deaths of the rays.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals pounced on the news, telling the Chicago Sun-Times:

"At this point, 70 animals have died at the Brookfield Zoo as a result of malfunctions with their tank and it's time for them to close down their tank for good. Their lives are worth more than the cheap thrill of touching one of the these animals. Seeing wild animals in captivity teaches people nothing about the true nature of these animals. These are animals that live in the ocean and travel long distances. If people want to learn about stingrays, all they have to do is go to Google and they can see amazing footage of stingrays swimming in the wild and read about them."

This is not the first time an incident like this has occurred, lending a bit of credence to PETA's point. In 2009, the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. lost 11 of its 18 rays in a similar incident and the Mall of America in Minneapolis had to close a rays exhibit earlier this year after the rays became "nervous" in their tank.