Annual Report ‘15 LINCOLN PARK ZOO One Cool Zoo The year behind us found Lincoln Park Zoo obsessed with snow. Not the onset of another polar vortex, thank goodness, but instead all the plans and preparations for the snow monkeys now residing at our state-of-the- art Regenstein Macaque Forest. Bringing this high-tech habitat together certainly required a flurry of activity. There was the journey that brought our eight-member snow monkey troop to Chicago from Inuyama, Japan. There was work on the exhibit itself, everything from shaping its central hot spring to install- ing the “trees” that tower above the outdoor yard. Scientists readied the research booth for touch-screen sessions, educators prepped guests to Build a Primate and zoo experts got ready to share the cool culture of Japanese macaques through digital signs and the fun and games of www.snowmonkeys.org. Of course, the snow monkeys weren’t the only noteworthy arrivals in the past year. Among other new zoo faces, Regenstein Center for African Apes welcomed a beautiful baby gorilla in February. Bella is the 52nd member of her species born at Lincoln Park Zoo and a living link to zoo efforts to conserve wild gorillas in the Republic of Congo’s remote Goualougo Triangle. The zoo’s research efforts marked a milestone year as we celebrated the 25th anniversary of hiring our first full-time scientist. Lincoln Park Zoo’s Conservation & Science team has blossomed into one of the largest in the country, with 40 members encompassing diverse specialties—and continents. In the last year alone, the Urban Wildlife Institute launched www. chicagowildlifewatch.org, a citizen-science effort that’s seen users make 1 million classifications of Chicago wildlife. Scientists at the Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes set up a miniature economy at Regenstein Center for African Apes, discovering that chim- panzees trading tokens for treats will work harder for a better reward. Hard work was in high supply throughout the zoo. It was evident in the Excellence in Programming Award our Young Researchers Collab- orative received from the American Alliance of Museums. It was clear in our record-setting ZooLights Presented by ComEd and PNC Bank, which attracted more guests than ever before. More than anything, though, it’s embodied in the commitment you’ve shown to keeping Lin- coln Park Zoo free, open…and cool for all who visit. Kevin Bell John Ettelson President and CEO Chairman Build a Primate sessions and snow monkey debuts were part of the big buildup for Regenstein Macaque Forest, even as new arrivals like baby gorilla Bella made the year behind us one to remember. Conservation & Science Marking Milestones and Chronicling Chicago Wildlife 25 years ago, the Lincoln Park Zoological Society hired its first full- pets and performers—experience social and behavioral deficiencies time scientist, starting the zoo on the path to having one of the larg- as adults. The finding bolsters Project ChimpCARE’s work to find est zoo-based Conservation & Science Departments in the country. suitable homes for chimpanzees in North America. Today, the zoo is home to more than 40 researchers, has published In other great ape news, postdoctoral fellow Stacy Rosenbaum, more than 200 papers in scientific journals and hosts experts who Ph.D., arrived at the Davee Center for Epidemiology and Endocri- travel the world to conserve wildlife. nology in September for a two-year fellowship analyzing hormone Some of the top science news in the past year happened right levels in wild mountain gorillas—and the implications for relation- here in Chicago, though. The Urban Wildlife Institute partnered ships between males and offspring in this endangered species. with Adler Planetarium’s Zooniverse to launch Chicago Wildlife Zoo researchers stayed busy in the field. Davee Center Director Watch on September 11. This citizen-science initiative, www.chi- Rachel Santymire, Ph.D., traveled to South Dakota in April 2014 cagowildlifewatch.org, lets users ID photos of wildlife collected by to monitor endangered black-footed ferrets. Santymire also visited zoo camera traps across Chicago. Participants have made 1 million Montana’s Northern Cheyenne Reservation in July to start a com- classifications, helping our scientists map the local ecosystem. munity-health project on the relationships of health between dogs, The Urban Wildlife Institute also received a $1.5 million grant people and wildlife. from trustee Abra Prentice Wilkin in January. This generous gift Scientist Anna Czupyrna returned to Tanzania for the Serengeti will let experts pilot their research nationwide, highlighting Lincoln Health Initiative’s spring vaccination season. The Goualougo Tri- Park Zoo’s leadership in this growing field. angle Ape Project added a new field site for chimpanzee and gorilla The Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of studies in the Republic of Congo. Finally, threatened smooth green Apes celebrated its 10th anniversary this year alongside a wealth snakes and ornate box turtles hatched at the zoo and were released of new findings. Studies from Lydia Hopper, Ph.D., revealed that into Illinois prairies. chimpanzees will work harder for better rewards by having the apes The Population Management Center led breeding and transfer trade tokens for treats at Regenstein Center for African Apes. A plans for 70 zoo species across North America. Researchers in the token-exchange system was also established in Kwan’s gorilla group, Alexander Center for Applied Population Biology continued Popu- where the silverback claimed a monopoly on “premium” grape re- lation Viability Analyses to measure the long-term sustainability of wards. zoo populations. The scientists even put their own work under the The Fisher Center also prepped for research at Regenstein Ma- microscope, continuing a PMCTrack project analyzing the track caque Forest. Katherine Cronin, Ph.D., was hired to lead snow record of the zoo community in following its own breeding and monkey science at the state-of-the-art habitat, from behavioral transfer recommendations. All this science leads to healthy, sus- monitoring to touch-screen studies. Another Fisher Center study tainable zoo populations for North American zoos. showed that chimpanzees reared in non-natural groups—i.e., as Zoo scientists traveled to the field to conserve endangered black-footed ferrets, the Urban Wildlife Institute enlisted citizen scientists to ID Chicago wildlife at www.chicagowildlifewatch.org and Research Scientist Katherine Cronin, Ph.D., got ready for research at Regenstein Macaque Forest. Animal Care Getting Ready for Snow and Celebrating New Arrivals After a global trek of more than 6,000 miles, an eight-member troop of chuan takin Kalsang, a Francois’ langur baby, seven dwarf mongoose Japanese snow monkeys prepared to move into Lincoln Park Zoo’s Re- pups, a Moholi bushbaby, an Inca tern hatchling, two swan geese hatch- genstein Macaque Forest, the first fully new exhibit at the zoo since the lings, two trumpeter swan cygnets, seven hooded merganser chicks Pritzker Family Children’s Zoo in 2005. As construction of the $15.5 and two lesser green broadbills. Other exciting new arrivals included million state-of-the-art habitat progressed toward its public debut in Amur tiger Pahstrel, black bear Birch, snow leopard Taza, a red panda April 2015, the zoo’s Animal Care, Veterinary Services and Nutrition breeding pair and 13 eastern massasauga rattlesnakes. Center staff tended to the health and habituation of the troop’s five New species also made their zoo debuts, including Chacoan pecca- female and three male snow monkeys. Those tasks were facilitated by ries, a Muscovy duck, a Meller’s chameleon, African rock pythons and an exemplary behind-the-scenes management area—just one aspect of Mexican lance-headed rattlesnakes. the world-class care and research facilities made possible in large part by the Regenstein Foundation, which committed $8 million toward Regenstein Macaque Forest’s construction. Meanwhile, caregivers bid farewell to female polar bear Anana and her Andean bear, sun bear and spotted hyena neighbors as the McCor- mick Bear Habitat was demolished to make way for the Walter Family Arctic Tundra and Robert and Mayari Pritzker Penguin Cove. The two exhibits, scheduled to debut in 2016, will provide immersive, behavior- ally enriching homes for polar bears and African penguins. The former “bear line” inhabitants were moved to other Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited zoos under recommendations from the AZA’s Population Management Center, headquartered at Lincoln Park Zoo. Across the zoo, animal care experts, researchers, zoo volunteers and students have all been trained to collect data on a variety of species with ZooMonitor, a new iPad app. Funded by an initial grant from the Rice Foundation, the customizable app offers an easy way to record behavioral, space-use and body-condition data for animals ranging from the Sichuan takin herd to black rhino Kapuki and her baby, King. Thanks to a grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Services, ZooMonitor will be further developed so it can be shared—for free— with institutions around the world. Snow monkeys weren’t the zoo’s only newcomers. Animal births included western lowland gorilla baby Bella, crowned lemur Sava, Si- While all the new residents spur plenty of excitement from care- givers and guests, the zoo family also said a few hard goodbyes in the last year. Geriatric female lion Myra was humanely euthanized after a de- cline in health that irreversibly compromised the elderly predator’s quality of life. Myra arrived at Lincoln Park Zoo in 1997, coming from South Africa’s Kapama Game Reserve, where she’d been res- cued as a cub. She produced three cubs in 1999 with male lion Ade- lor, and after the latter’s passing shared a social pairing with 4-year- old male Sahar.