Cleveland Metroparks Zoo Cleveland Metroparks Zoo News 2019

https://www.clevelandmetroparks.com...-94a7-a15b4b65e5c5/01-17-19-AGENDA-2.pdf.ashx

It appears Dinosaurs will return to the zoo in 2020.

 

A black howler monkey baby was born on January 16th and is now on exhibit with its parents in Primates, Cats, & Aquatics.

 

It seems to me that the CMZ has been suspiciously quiet about any development news.

 

All we know for sure is Asian Lanterns for 2019 and Dinosaurs for 2020.

 

Asian Lanterns was a resounding success and paired well with Asian Highlands. I hope they continue to improve that area of the zoo.

 

Can anyone confirm how many elephants Cleveland has? Recent articles, articles that came out only a month before my last visit, say there's five. Moshi, Shenga, Kallie, Willy, and Martika. But going through my footage for Sunday, I can only find four. Even in shots where it isn't possible for even one of them to hide. After identify the four, Kallie is missing.

Edit: Nevermind, of course as soon as I post this I find forgotten footage of five of them together. Still, I didn't see Kallie in the Mopani range, but she was in the Savanna.

 

The Rainforest's Jungle Lab and aviary are under renovation. There is a fourth gorilla in PCA. There is now a sign on the old shark tank that says the nurse shark and Queensland grouper moved to the Henry Doorly Zoo. The Piranha tank in PCA is being converted into a new tank for the electric eel.

 

The zoo just had its first sloth bear cub in 30 years.

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo Announces Birth of Sloth Bear Cub

 

Rhino expansion is likely coming.

https://www.clevelandmetroparks.com...c-1bac266d5fe7/Rhino-Yard-Expansion1.pdf.ashx

https://www.clevelandmetroparks.com...3-283736bd5579/03-14-19-AGENDA-REV-2.pdf.ashx

 

Fantastic! It seems to resolve the Monkey Island issue, if the images are to be believed. The Black Rhino breeding program is definitely one of the highlights of the CMZ in every respect.

 

Target opening is Spring 2020.

 

The sloth bear cub will be on exhibit starting today.

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo introduces sloth bear cub

 

That's a tremendous success for the CMZ, and one they've been striving towards for a long time. Genuinely heart-warming to see.

I'm curious if this is the impetus needed to finally remove the Bear Grottos. Successful births seem to lead to new exhibits in the current administrations - snow leopards, for example. A complete bear renovation could strengthen the case to get polar bears back too, in theory.

 

A reindeer was born on April 3rd, announced through an amusing albeit strange Facebook video.

 

CMZ has entered into a Biodiversity Science Alliance with the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, the Holden Arboretum, and Case Western Reserve University.

"The institutions have entered into a five-year affiliation agreement—sharing resources and collaborating on research and education in the fields of biodiversity and evolutionary biology."

I don't know what that means for the CMZ but its definitely interesting.

In Collaboration with Major Northeast Ohio Research Institutions | Cleveland Museum of Natural History

 

A male giraffe calf was born at the zoo.

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo welcomes new male calf

 

Monkey Island is gone. Completely demolished. The response via Facebook is a mixture of sadness and outrage, although it seems mostly for the nostalgic days of "zoo anarchy" (lots of people mention throwing food into the exhibit and the monkeys throwing their . . . ) It was clearly an icon but terribly inferior for all of its tenants (in my opinion.) I'm not too cut up about seeing it gone, but it wasn't a fixture of my past as it seems to have been for many.

An unceremonious end to a historic and memorable part of CMZ's history. Onto better exhibits and healthier animals!

I got the news from these images on Facebook. I've included the link to the page: Mistakes on the Lake

 

I agree, part of the zoo's history for the wrong reasons. It shows progress in the area that we have taken it down and are making it part of a better exhibit for the rhinos. Zoos will always be a balance of education and a worthwhile experience for visitors, Monkey Island went back to a time where education and conservation did not necessarily line up well to visitor experience. Eventually, that side of the zoo should have the cheetah's as well, grouping all of the African animals together.

 

I thought that the Monkey Island was a historical registry listed site upon reading this, but I was mistaken.

 

As a member of the zoo, I thought it was becoming a eyesore just like other out of date exhibits at the zoo. The rhino yard needs expanded ASAP. Why is it the general public only cares when exhibits like this depart and not when decent exhibits go? It has been closed since last summer and the zoo announced it was going on Facebook a couple weeks ago. An employee told me about this in June. There was plenty of warning this was coming. The general public just does not pay attention. Sorry for the rant. Things like this irritate me.