Results tagged “lincolnparkzoo”

In case you didn't know that the Lincoln Park Zoo' has a wishlist, they do - and among other things they need, they're respectfully requesting the funds to purchase some nest boxes to help their red pandas get it on in private. When that information crossed the desk of the Windy Citizen, editor Brad Flora and others jumped in and created the Lincoln Park Red Panda Sex Fund.

...Guess I'm gonna give up.

For the times that you want to go and bust rhymes real slow...

An endangered snake, once believed to be one of two remaining in northeastern Illinois, gave birth to four babies last week at the Lincoln Park Zoo, according to Chi-Town Daily News.

Summer travel season is still in full swing and Wired magazine released its "100 Geeky Places To Take Your Kids This Summer" list. Chicago's very own Adler Planetarium starts the list, the proposed home to a controversial projector. Also making the list? Lincoln Park Zoo and the Shedd Aquarium.

It seems that one of the varieties of wildlife in the city is dwindling and a new program is hoping to change that. The eastern massasauga rattlesnake has seen its number in the area dwindle to the point of being declared endangered in the state. So, members of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Illinois Department of Natural Resources are gathering as many as possible for a breeding program at the Lincoln Park Zoo. Lincoln Park Zoo biologist Joanne Earnhardt tells the Trib the snakes have non-lethal venom and are generally shy. [Tribune via Gapers]

Some sad news from the Lincoln Park Zoo where Kipper, 9-year-old male chimp, died yesterday and six other chimps are also ailing. Spokeswoman Sharon Dewar said Kipper developed pneumonia in both of his lungs but the cause of his infection won't be known for up to two weeks as the zoo awaits the results of a necropsy. She added, "We are guessing it's a virus, but we don't really know exactly what it is. Six other chimps have shown cold-like symptoms and the zoo is doing their best to prevent the spread of any illness. Said Dewar, "We are doing everything to minimize the chance of that happening...this is really a difficult time for our team at the zoo." [Sun-Times]

Let's start with the bad news. Like your ever-shrinking 401(k), the Lincoln Park Zoo's endowment fund took a significant hit last year -- a whopping $7.6 million in total. The bad loss is forcing the zoo to trim $1 million from its annual budget, which will include cutting programs and laying off staff. The positions the zoo is looking at getting rid of "will involve staffers working in animal care and welfare... but they also will touch on other zoo operations, such as concessions, grounds, administration, education and conservation." Zoo president Kevin Bell has pledged to take at least a 10% cut in his $352,500 salary -- we hope Bell can tighten his belt enough to get by in this day and age on only $300k.

         

Zoolights is one of our favorite Chicago holiday traditions. Every night, from now until January 4th, Lincoln Park Zoo is filled with bright lights and holiday-themed activities for the whole family. Best of all? It’s free! We visited Zoolights last Friday night to bring you a glimpse of the colorful display.

Oh, Vahzhno, we feel your pain. The eight-year-old male Siberian tiger at the Lincoln Park Zoo has been making passes at a fellow Siberian tiger, 11-year-old Molly, but to no avail. Miss Thang has been giving her younger man the shoulder (would the age difference make Molly a "cougar" tiger?) much to the consternation of zoo workers who are trying to get the two to mate. Dave Bernier, Curator of Mammals Lincoln Park Zoo, explained it like so: "We're trying to put our two tigers together for breeding. Our female Molly and our male Vahzhno. Every month or so when she cycles we introduce them together for two or three consecutive days in the hopes that they'll breed." Ah.

Gorilla Tango Theatre, 1919 N. Milwaukee Ave., Fridays and Saturdays through 12/20, 11:30 p.m., $16

Now that the holiday season is here, it's time to start having some yule'n fun. The annual ZooLights festival returned yesterday to the Lincoln Park Zoo, providing plenty of fun for the family. Best of all? It's free. The festival features more than 1.5 million lights runs every weekend through December 14 and then is open nightly from December 15th through January 1st (except for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day). Featuring events for the whole family, like arts and crafts and tips for keeping warm in the winter, the annual festival is free to all and has even gone a bit greener this year by using LED lights this year. The LP Zoo is open each day from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. with ZooLight fun starting at 5 p.m. Be one of the first 1,000 visitors each night and receive a free pair of 3-D glasses to enhance the experience.

Lincoln Park Zoo was recognized last week for its critical support of the Tarangire Elephant Project, a conservation and research effort focused on the elephants in and around Tarangire National Park in Tanzania, Africa. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums awarded Lincoln Park Zoo the 2008 Significant Achievement Award for International Conservation, which will be shared jointly with eight other zoological institutions. For over a decade, the zoo has contributed to the project by providing significant research funding and scientific expertise, helping to preserve an elephant population once threatened by poachers.

Got some fun burby-blurbs for you this week along with our usual round-up of goings-on in the cit-tay.

The Lincoln Park Zoo's rockhopper penguin chick made its debut this afternoon. The chick hatched in early July, and zookeepers don't yet know its sex, but that shouldn't dissuade us from coming up with adorable names for him or her.

The Flamingo Habitat at Lincoln Park Zoo has seen some major changes lately. To spur reproduction, renovations to the habitat have included denser vegetation (which flamingos prefer) and a flatter, muddier mix of soil (easing the building of nest mounds). And it worked: the zoo has flamingos laying eggs for the first time in its 140-year history. The first flamingo egg was spotted in late June, cracking soon after, and nine more eggs have appeared since. As of July 14, the eggs are still safe, but keepers at the zoo don’t know if they will survive through the 30-day incubation period, nor if the eggs are even fertile. Offspring are expected to start hatching in about two weeks.

Keo, a male chimpanzee at the Lincoln Park Zoo, is 50 years old today, which makes him one of the oldest chimps in any U.S. zoo. To celebrate, Nadeau's Ice Sculpture Inc. donated a 600-pound "fruit filled ice sculpture." That's Keo in the foreground and Vicky in the background.

In the eternal battle of Ninjas v. Pirates, the dark-horse winner is always Vikings.* They've got huge ships, their funerals are awesome, they love mead and ravage Scotswomen. What's not to like? And, perhaps in recognition of the accomplishments of Vikings through the ages (cough*discoveringAmerica*cough), the Geneva-based Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley are re-assembling an ancient Viking vessel replica that debuted at the World's Columbian Exposition.

Two baby swans that hatched at Lincoln Park Zoo a month ago will soon be part of a program that is helping to repopulate the Midwest with Trumpeter Swans*, a once-endangered breed which was almost completely eliminated from the Midwest in the early 1900’s.

One could make the argument that a zoo, by nature, is already organic. But this weekend, the Lincoln Park Zoo is implementing one step in a five-year plan to reduce the attraction’s impact on the environment when they open the Cafe at Wild Things. The cafe will only feature organic, sustainable, locally produced snacks. Even the utensils will be made of biodegradable cornstarch-based plastics.

Kids are always stirring up trouble in the kitchen, but this weekend they can make a mess of the pots and pans at someone else’s place. Whole Foods, which will be hosting cooking classes for kids and adults all summer at the Farm House in Lincoln Park Zoo, is holding a special children’s program on Saturday that features berries as the main ingredient. The instructor is Chef Melissa Graham of Purple Asparagus, a local non-profit organization that aims to unite families through the joy that is good eating.

Earth Day is right around the corner (next Tuesday!) and one of the biggest celebrations is happening Sunday. It's all part of the Green Apple Festival, happening nationwide on Sunday at locations in Chicago, Washington D.C., New York City, Denver, Miami, Dallas, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. The Chicago event will take place at Lincoln Park Zoo and is hosted by Bears neck-beard sportin' backup QB Kyle Orton (what, Ronny Cedeno wasn't available?) and Jodi Murphy from Discovery Channel's Wrecklamation: Planet Green.

Does anyone have an Alphabet Pal? Because this NBC news video of how Alphabet Pals curse if you press the F and M keys at the same time the possibly offending utterance. Argh! [NBC 5]

Oh man, we almost forgot about the Children's Museum debate! Luckily, Alderman Brendan Reilly wants to keep it front and center, which is why he sent the Museum a list of 24 possible places it could relocate that aren't Grant Park:

Oprah is getting her a cable network, OWN ("Oprah Winfrey Network"), which will--gasp--replace the Discovery Health Network. Noooo! We all know what Oprah wants, Oprah gets, but we freaking love the Discovery Health Network. [Trib]

If you’re lucky, your toddler will be asleep, blissfully unaware when the last minutes of 2007 tick by. An earlier bed time doesn’t mean that he or she has to miss out on the festivities, though; a handful of places in and around Chicago are hosting New Year’s Eve parties for the little ones, with dancing, snacks and party favors at an earlier countdown.

The sidewalks are covered in ice and the temps are sneaking down to the single digits. That's perfect weather for toting a toddler around, right? Here are three (free!) reasons to spend that extra hour bundling your kid up this weekend. Christkindlmarket is a candy-cane striped Bavarian winter village deposited into Daley Plaza. Come to gawk at the expensive, often hand-made gifts, and snack on traditional German fare. The children's lantern parade is today at...

It's officially time to get in the holiday spirit, and there are (at least) two ways to do it tonight: At the Botanic Garden, we've got the return of the Wonderland Express, and at the Lincoln Park Zoo, we got Zoo Lights '07. Family friendly, very civic, etc.

A freshman at Corliss High School on the South Side says his school's security guards assualted him--and a student has the incident on tape. According to the Sun-Times, the tape shows an officer wrapping his arm around the student's neck and pining him to the floor. RIP, Betsy the harbor seal. The 36-year-old resident of the Lincoln Park Zoo was quite old for a harbor seal. The City Council's finance committee approved the Mayor's...

We didn’t grow up in a big city, so as parents we’re a little perplexed about the whole urban trick-or-treating thing. We’ve even heard that it’s taboo to go door to door in any neighborhood not your own (seriously?). Luckily, there are plenty of places in Chicago to celebrate and get your kids' hands on some candy. The Lincoln Park Zoo hosts its annual Spooky Zoo Spectacular Saturday. Kids trick or treat in the zoo's...