The Regenstein Large Mammal Area is an impressive building containing five indoor-outdoor habitats for those animals unable to endure Chicago's long, harsh winters.
The five indoor habitats house African and Asian elephants, Baringo giraffes, pygmy hippos, black rhinos, tapirs and capybaras. Off-display areas in each habitat provide the animals with a quiet retreat and also serve as areas for animal introductions or giving birth.
Outside, cages have been replaced by large, open areas with trees, naturalistic rockwork, pools and waterfalls. Bars have given way to psychological barriers such as moats, low fences, pools and vegetation. The actual distance between the animals and zoo visitors has been greatly reduced.
Looking down on the rest of the world from a height of 18 feet or so as an adult, a giraffe's lengthy legs and elongated neck are its key to survival. Baringo giraffes live in the wilds of Africa, south of the Sahara, and their unique height allows them sole access to the leaves of the tallest trees, providing them nourishment and all the moisture they need in the long dry season. Males tend to feed at full stretch, while females will bend over vegetation they are feeding on.
The giraffe can extend its very long tongue for up to 18 inches. The tongue is used as a tool, curling around leaves and plucking them from branches. Surprisingly, a giraffe has just seven vertebrae in its neck--the same number as a human has. An extra large heart, two to three times stronger than a human heart, pumps a giraffe's blood to its brain.
Poached for their horn that is used in folk medicines and believed to be an aphrodisiac, the black rhinoceros' population has been reduced drastically in its native Africa. Unlike the horns of cattle or antelopes, a rhino's horn has no bony core, rather it is composed of a hair-like protein. Strong and fast, one attribute a rhino does not possess is good eyesight. With poor vision, these two-ton heavy-weights will charge almost anything, including their own shadow. Dangerous and unpredictable, rhinos are basically solitary except for a mother and her young offspring.
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A relic from the past, and still prehistoric
in look, rhinoceros are "megaherbivores," meaning they are giant
plant eaters. These animals were much more abundant and diverse in the past,
and today they are fighting for their very existence in the wild.
Among the most primitive large mammals in the world, tapirs have changed little in the 20 million years since their ancestors began roaming the Northern Hemisphere. Their peculiar appearance often makes people think of pigs or elephants, when in fact tapirs' closest relatives are horses and rhinos. A tapir's extra-long snout not only helps the animal sniff its way through the jungle, it acts as a finger, grasping branches and pulling leaves into its mouth. The endangered Brazilian tapir is native to South America, from Colombia and Venezuela south to Paraguay and Brazil. Unfortunately for the tapir, it's thought to be quite tasty and is hunted for meat.
Not as well known as most of the animals in the Large Mammal Area, capybaras are the largest living rodents. Native to South America, they live in groups near water. Excellent swimmers, capybaras can stay under water for up to five minutes. These animals mate in the water, though their young are born on land. |
Another endangered animal making its home in the zoo's Large Mammal
Area is the pygmy hippopotamus. Hairless except for bristles on its
tail and lips, the pygmy hippo lives singly or in pairs in the wild and
heads into the deep forest when alarmed. Native to western Africa, pygmy
hippos survive on a diet of shoots, leaves and fallen fruit. Lincoln Park
Zoo not only participates in the SSP for both of these species, it maintains
the studbooks that produce breeding recommendations for the North American
captive populations of tapirs and pygmy hippos.
Massive and majestic, elephants are highly social
and intelligent animals, traveling in large family groups, or herds, in
the wild. Despite a worldwide ban on ivory and highly publicized efforts
to protect elephants, their numbers in the wild continue to dwindle. Hunted
for their grand ivory tusks, the largest mammals on earth are victims of
poachers and habitat destruction. Both African elephants and Asian
elephants are endangered. Lincoln Park Zoo participates in SSP's for
both species of elephants, working to protect these magnificent animals
and ensure their future.
Tusks, before they are senselessly turned into ivory trinkets, are actually two upper incisor teeth that grow throughout the elephant's life. Elephants use their tusks to force bark off trees, dig for roots or as weapons. Tusks on females are much smaller than those on males. Sadly, if there continues to be a market for ivory, wild elephants may someday be only a memory.
An elephant's most remarkable attribute is its trunk, strong enough to lift whole trees and flexible enough to pick up very tiny objects. Trunks have nostrils at the tip and are tremendously sensitive to smell and touch. Elephants use their trunks to drink, sucking in water and spraying it into their mouths. They also cool themselves by spraying water over their backs. Trunks can even act as snorkels, allowing elephants to breathe when they are submerged. Vocalizing, caressing and greeting are all accomplished through an elephant's trunk.
Species Data Sheets:
Photos © Greg Neise
