I was inspired by Thylo's Bronx Zoo walkthrough, so I decided to do one for Cleveland. Part 1- Welcome Plaza and African Elephant Crossing- When you walk in you see the Talty Administration Building on one side, the main gift shop (formerly Mashaba Curios) on the other. You then see a few stands selling elephant ears/funnel cakes/ etc (in the summer) and the food court with McDonald's/Cape Cafe/Pizza Hut. Over by the food court there is a lesser flamingo pool (large-sized pool and a nice grassy area), and a similar, but smaller and circular Egyptian goose enclosure, formerly with leopard tortoise. Bontebok and cranes are visible from the back deck of the Cape Cafe in the summer. African Elephant Crossing has two ranges. The Mopani Range is the first range visitors see- with a large, lily pad filled pool (wild frogs too), elevated hay feeders, grass, mud and more. Entering through the arch, visitors see the Okavango Cafe and Bashi's (a small gift shop shaped like African thatched huts. There is a viewing area near the barn for the elephants (the Mopani Range) and a large meerkat exhibit with termite mounds and a bubble. The elephant barn has basic concrete stalls with elevated hay feeders and a room of elephant restraint devices (ERDs), as well as interactive displays about elephanst. Usually, a volunteer is here with a cart of elephant jaws, a tusk, etc. for visitors to touch and ask questions about. There is a naked mole rat tunnel with sculpted rockwork simulating dirt and a nice-sized African rock python exhibit with a fake antelope skull, trees, grass, a small pool and more. The aviary is by the cafe, and it overlooks the other pool in the Mopani Range. It is a tall (10 ft maybe), netted aviary with guineafowl, crakes, gray parrots, turacos, weavers (and nests!) and other African savanna birds. The Savanna Range is viewed from a path to the cave. The cave has an elephant feeding machine (every day between 11 am to 1 pm, put pellets in) and signage about kopjes. Only glass separates the elephants from the visitors. The range has a large clear pool, waterfalls, more hay feeders, trees, grass and more. There are sculptures of dung beetles and the Savanna Theater (for animal shows) and the gate leads back to Australian Adventure (near the rabbits and playground- I will cover that later). Walk back down the Savanna Range path past the flamingos and lion exhibit (relatively small exhibit with dens and a grassy hill for 1.2 lions) to Australian Adventure or up the hill toward Waterfowl Lake.
