Cicadas The New Tasty Treat At Brookfield Zoo

BROOKFIELD, IL — Over the past several weeks, Chicago-area residents have probably seen their share of the red-beady-eyed cicadas or at least have heard their deafening mating calls, a news release from the Brookfield Zoo says. The early emergence by four years of the Brood XIII periodical cicadas to the area, has prompted animal care staff at zoo to take advantage of these high-in-protein and low-in-fat arthropods and offer them as nutritious treats to several of the animals, the release said.

Those who received the cicadas included the zoo’s white-throated monitor lizards; meerkets; golden-lion tamarins; Beaker, a tawny frogmouth; and Kartik and Hani, the zoo’s sloth bears, who received their share frozen in ice.

The animals displayed different ways of approaching the cicadas, ranging from shy and hesitant behavior to boldness, according to the release. Some ate the cicadas instantly upon their arrival, while others watched them for a while before consuming them, the zoo said.