CHICAGO (CBS)– It was there long, long before new lion cubs Pesho, Sidai and Lomelok made their recent debuts.
It was there when Otto the gorilla escaped in 1982 – and before he was the subject of a television documentary about his move from the then-new ape house five years earlier.
Bushman died there in 1951 – the famous gorilla, which is still exhibited in a stuffed form in the Field Museum.
It was there in 1880 that a few sea lions escaped and one made it as far as Clark Street and Armitage Avenue, the Chicago Reader has recounted.
It was there that the Lincoln Park Zoo built its first animal house in 1870.
It was there when, in 1868, two pairs of swans arrived in Lincoln Park as a gift from Central Park in New York.
It was there when Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837—and there was no zoo. And even a century before that.
Unfortunately, a historic bur oak tree at the Lincoln Park Zoo reached the end of its natural life – and it was felled on Tuesday.
CBS 2’s Noel Brennan was there as a small crowd gathered to watch a massive piece of history fall.
“It’s just incredible. Simply unbelievable,” said Mario Corona.
Corona, a zoo volunteer, watched in wonder Tuesday – in awe of a tree that took centuries to grow and fell one morning.
“You make short work of it, though. That’s for sure,” Corona said. “It’s just a beautiful Bur oak tree that – lots of history. Lots of history.”
Corona thought of the whole story that the tree has experienced.
“You’re thinking of the Titanic. Then you go, wait a minute – the Chicago fire, 1871. And you go, wait a minute – the civil war! Then you go back, and you keep going back,” he said. “You just wish it had a button where you could talk to it and say, ‘How was it?'”
After nearly three centuries, the 70-foot oak tree has reached its natural end, according to the zoo.
“I know that’s life, but it’s pretty sad to see such a majestic thing leaving us, you know?” Corona said. “I know it happens in life, but it’s still sad. Yes.”
“It’s a loss,” Corona said. “Anyway, it’s a loss.”
But the zoo will save what it can.
“We have been working with our partner Morten Arboretum, who has been cultivating small shoots on rootstocks, to hopefully grow the next genetic lineage of this historic tree,” said Maureen Leahy, Lincoln Park Zoo’s vice president.
The tree will live on in collaboration with The @MortonArboretum where 36 of its shoots have been grafted to rootstock for propagation to preserve its genetics. Pieces from the felled tree are also being made available to the Illinois State Archaeological Survey to aid in dendrological research.
— Lincoln Park Zoo (@lincolnparkzoo) April 28, 2023
While the once towering oak tree is no longer in the zoo, it is still firmly planted in memory.
“It’s just so majestic. cool So sad,” Corona said.
The zoo hopes to keep parts of the tree for use in memorials, playrooms, and educational resources. Some local artists and woodworkers are also interested in making artwork from the remains of the historic tree.
Rainy weather delayed The tree will be felled on Monday.
Last Friday, zoo guests were invited to write letters of thanks to the tree, which has shaded the same spot for centuries.
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https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/bur-oak-tree-removal-lincoln-park-zoo/
