 brookfield zoo, also known as the chicago zoological park, is a zoo located in the chicago suburb of brookfield, illinois. it houses around 450 species of animals in an area of . it opened on july 1, 1934, and quickly gained international recognition for using moats and ditches instead of cages to separate animals from visitors and from other animals. the zoo was also the first in america to exhibit giant pandas, one of which (su lin) has been taxidermied and put on display in chicago's field museum of natural history. in 1960, brookfield zoo built the nation's first fully indoor dolphin exhibit, and in the 1980s the zoo introduced tropic world, the first fully indoor rain forest simulation and the then-largest indoor zoo exhibit in the world. the brookfield zoo is owned by the cook county forest preserve district and managed by the chicago zoological society. the society sponsors numerous research and conservation efforts globally. ==history==  in 1919, edith rockefeller mccormick donated land she had received from her father as a wedding gift to the cook county forest preserve district for development as a zoological garden. the district added  to that plot and in 1921, the chicago zoological society was established. serious construction did not begin until 1926, after a zoo tax was approved. construction slowed during the great depression, but regained momentum by late 1931. cons
1934_establishments_in_Illinois Brookfield,_Illinois Buildings_and_structures_in_Cook_County,_Illinois Protected_areas_of_Cook_County,_Illinois Visitor_attractions_in_Cook_County,_Illinois Zoos_in_Illinois