Cleveland Metroparks Zoo Cleveland Metroparks Zoo 2017 News

New year. New thread.

 

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo to add 2 exhibits by 2018 (photos)

This is big news! New exhibits for snow leopards and cheetahs. Moving the cheetah's closer to African Savanah which I think is a good move, they belong over there. I wonder if this Asian Highland idea is just the beginning of a lot of development of animals from that part of the world. I also think what's at work here is slowly taking animals out of the PCA so that they can either redevelop or repurpose that building.

 

Thank goodness! I was at the zoo earlier this week and was thinking how dismal the snow leopard and red panda exhibits looked for such beautiful creatures. This would take the "C" out of the PAC area. Now if they could decide if aquatics or primates should take over and gut the building! Of course easier said than done, with some many inhabitants, with some fish over a century old, the transfers would be expensive!

 

I didn't see it mentioned in the 2016 thread, but the zoos has a couple of takin in quarantine. They will be in the former camel exhibit and the zoo recently renovated the barriers to be "takin proof".

 

From Facebook:

We regret to announce the death of Bebac the gorilla. He passed away on Friday, January 6 at the age of 32. In 2008, Bebac was diagnosed with heart disease. Through the care provided by our skilled team of gorilla specialists, we were able to manage his condition and improve his quality of life for several years. This is an extremely difficult loss for everyone connected with Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.

 

Enhancing exhibits I think is cost effective and keeps the zoo vibrant in between the larger home run exhibit building that will happen in the future. I was very impressed with the Tiger passage they did this past summer in how close it brought you to two beautiful animals that previously you were so far away from. It signals a bit of a change in how they have done things. Since 1980 they have been about building some showstopping exhibits. The Rainforest, Wolf Wilderness, Australian Outback and African Elephants were all large and expensive. Don't get me wrong, they definitely are fun and interactive but when CMZ spent so many resources on these large projects, it really shows how outdated some of the other spaces are.

The Rosebrough Tiger Passage I think signaled a new wave of re-imagining exhibits that have gone pretty much unchanged since they were built. And it keeps their profile up while they do gear towards some of their larger projects in the future. So giving the cheetahs, red pandas and snow leopards new spaces will be great. The lions, gorillas and leopard could also use some work. Outside of Wolf Wilderness and Tiger Passage, the rest of Northern Trek could too. What do you all think?

 

The cheetah exhibit will replace the current leopard exhibit and expand into the area next to it (where the kid maze and touch-a-truck were).The Asia Highlands will be on the hill between the tufted deer /crane exhibit and the former camel yard (soon to be home to takins).

 

Current exhibit plans:

http://www.clevelandmetroparks.com/...esentations/Cheeta_Snow_Leopard_Red_Panda.pdf

 

These new exhibits will create room on the hill for the new gorilla exhibit and hopefully the renovation/replacement of PCA. I wonder why they are not adding a tortoise exhibit in Africa as well, It is stupid to transferred them back and forth from the hospital each year. They should be moved closer.

 

This is great news and I'm glad Cleveland is finally beginning to one by one find better exhibits for animals in outdated sections of the zoo. Does anyone know what exactly is being gutted to make room for Asian Highland? Also are all the camels gone from Cleveland? I wonder if spotted hyenas and African wild dogs will eventually be included in Predator Trail.

 

I agree, you'd think it would make sense to do that but who knows, they need space too. I would guess a new Gorilla exhibit is the next big thing that they do or even better a whole primate thing for their collection of primates.

 

Another question I have is what will they do with the current leopard?

 

He's an Amur leopard so I would imagine he would go in the new leopard exhibit in the proposed Asian area.

 

From the plans, it does not appear that anything will be removed - Asian Highland will be located on a presently undeveloped hilly space between and behind the old camel exhibit and the tufted deer yard. There have been no camels since earlier this year, I believe, with the takins already in residence behind the scenes for taking place once the exhibit has been renovated. I'd love to see hyenas and wild dogs added to the collection, but from the plans it looks like only one future predator exhibit is planned in addition to the cheetahs, but who knows?

I'm glad to see that old Monkey Island (which may be landmarked - it's certainly historic, though not at all attractive) looks to become part of an expanded rhino exhibit. Even if they do keep the central mountain to preserve part of the old exhibit, it will be nice to see that structure devoid of primates.

 

Cheetah exhibit is slated for early 2018. Asian Highland exhibit is slated for mid-2018.

 

Bebac, one of the zoo's two gorillas, has died.

Cleveland Zoo Says Goodbye to Beloved 32-Year-Old Gorilla

 

Correct me if I am wrong, but overall there is a scheme to eventually re-do the entrance to the zoo and have the Rainforest be an exhibit within it?

 

Yes. This is part of the plan, but PCA and gorillas are next. The recently announced exhibits are to make room for the new gorilla exhibit. PCA will have to have its C removed and be rebranded.

 

What species are scheduled for the project? Will it be a large immersive Congo area or a general primate one?

 

Has a budget and/or opening date been released?