Wish List

Support the critical care, community, and conservation work that takes place at your free zoo every day.

Female Grevy’s zebra Yabelo recently celebrated her first birthday. You can often see her exploring her habitat alongside mom Adia. Show some love to the growing zebra with a share of one of the herd’s favorite enrichment foods­—apples!

The two resident male Puerto Rican parrots are the first of their species to live in the continental U.S. as a part of a managed population recovery effort. In the wild, they feast on seeds, nuts, bark, and nectar found in the forest canopy. Keepers provide the birds with a variety of fruits, including orange slices! Purchase a delicious citrus snack for these beautiful birds.

September 7 is International Vulture Awareness Day. Here at Lincoln Park Zoo, we’re celebrating cinereous vultures Leon and Virginia. Cinereous vultures can stand up to 3 feet tall and have a wingspan measuring up to 10 feet across. These scavengers play a critical role in the ecosystem by speeding decomposition and recycling nutrients. Provide the vultures with a delectable feast of bones and ribs!

The rhinos at Regenstein African Journey enjoy a daily dose of fresh leafy plants as part of their customized nutrition plan. Not only are these greens tasty, but they also encourage natural foraging and feeding behaviors. Help Lulu, Kapuki, and Utenzi celebrate World Rhino Day on September 22 with a heaping helping of fresh leaves and twigs!

This year, Lincoln Park Zoo became recognized as a botanic garden by Botanic Gardens Conservation International. Wondering about the names of all the gorgeous plants and flowers around zoo grounds? The horticulture team has expanded plant labeling on zoo grounds to include the common and scientific names of the flowers, trees, and shrubs you see. Support their educational efforts by purchasing some plant labels!

As summer winds down, nights at Lincoln Park Zoo grow cooler. Animals at the zoo use a variety of materials to create the perfect resting spot on chilly fall evenings. For giraffes Rae and Finely, the perfect nesting material is cozy pine shavings. Help the giraffes make their best nests with a share of pine shavings.

On September 24, World Gorilla Day, Lincoln Park Zoo is thrilled to celebrate gorillas around the world. Show your love for the resident gorillas with new Kong toys. These enrichment items add a challenging element to mealtimes as the gorillas work to extract food items from them. Celebrate gorillas and chip in for a new Kong today!

Diana monkeys are medium-sized primates native to West Africa. In the wild, they spend most of their days in trees. The troop at Lincoln Park Zoo can be found exploring and climbing throughout their habitat at Regenstein African Journey. Add something novel to their environment with a new swing!

West African dwarf crocodiles are timid, slow-moving reptiles that can grow up to 5.5 feet long and weigh 70 pounds. Surprisingly, these crocs don’t often hunt big prey, primarily feeding on crabs, frogs, fish, and (occasionally) small mammals that wander into the water. At Lincoln Park Zoo, they eat a mix of seafood plus some leafy greens to enhance their diet. Help these reptiles snack all day with a healthy helping of lettuce!

The Nutrition Center at Lincoln Park Zoo creates carefully crafted diets to give every animal at the zoo the nutrition they need. Thanks to their efforts, the pygmy slow lorises and Moholi bushbabies enjoy gum arabic, a sticky tree sap found in their native habitat. Keepers slather this treat onto honeycomb feeders to encourage natural foraging behaviors and fine motor skills. Select this delicious treat for the Moholi bushbabies and slow lorises!

The African penguin colony at Robert and Mayari Pritzker Penguin Cove enjoy interacting with many different types of enrichment, including laser pointers. The penguins enjoy swimming and chasing the light throughout their habitat. Point the penguins in the direction of fun with a new laser pointer!

While most animals are active throughout the day, nocturnal armadillos nestle in their beds and snooze until the sun goes down. Armadillos at Lincoln Park Zoo nest in raw materials, like cardboard, and close their shells into balls to retain heat while they sleep. Buy a share for them today!

The Horticulture team works hard to make sure the gardens and trees on zoo grounds are flourishing year-round. But their work doesn’t stop there. They partner with the Animal Care team to select live plants for animal habitats and tend to them. For example, during warmer months, the Horticulture team will place trees in the white-cheeked gibbon habitat to create shade for these apes. Keep the animals cool in the final days of summer with some shady plants!

Did you know? More than 20,000 crickets are delivered to Regenstein Small Mammal-Reptile House each week to nourish snakes, chameleons, toads, skinks, and more. But that’s not all! The zoo also feeds more than 20,000 mealworms, 12,000 waxworms, 12,000 superworms, and 100 nightcrawlers to zoo animals every single week! Help provide the insectivores with a heaping helping of nutritious bugs this fall. Yum!