Cleveland Metroparks Zoo

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Cleveland Metroparks Zoo

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo entrance
Date opened	1882
Location	Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Land area	165 acres (0.67 km²)
Accreditations/ Memberships	Association of Zoos and Aquariums
Website

Sarah Allison Steffee Center for Zoological Medicine

The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo is a zoo in Cleveland, Ohio. The zoo is 165 acres (66.8 ha) and is split up into different areas: the RainForest, the African Savanna, Northern Trek, the Australian Adventure, and the Primates, Cats, and Aquatics House. The Metroparks Zoo has the largest collection of primates in North America. It features Monkey Island, a concrete island where a large population of Colobus Monkeys are kept in free-range conditions (no cages or walls).

As part of the Cleveland Metroparks and Zoo's focus on conservation, the Zoo recently constructed the Center for Zoological Medicine. The veterinary hospital hosts medical, laboratory and surgical suites, a ward and quarantine area. Also housed here is the Reinbergerger Learning Lab, where Zoo visitors can learn about veterinary care at all stages of an animal's life. The Learning Lab features interactive hands-on educational displays and views to surgical suites where visitors might sneak a peak at a treatment procedure in progress. This hospital is equipped with the first CT Scanner in any zoo.

It is a part of the Cleveland Metroparks system.

The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo was founded in 1882, which makes it the seventh oldest zoo in the United States.^[1] ^[2] It is the most popular year round attraction in Northeast Ohio (by attendance the Cleveland Indians were the most popular attraction in Northeast Ohio in 2007 with a total attendance of 2,275,911).^[3] The Zoo announced that 1,227,593 people visited in 2007. This represented a 2% rise in attendance from 2006. The Zoo credits its increased popularity to special programs and events such as "Boo at the Zoo," "DINOSAURS!,' and "TOUCH! amazing rays and sharks."^[3]

1 The Rainforest
2 Wolf Wilderness
3 African Elephant Crossing
4 Black Rhinoceros Birth
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

[edit] The Rainforest

The Rainforest is one of the most popular exhibits at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. It is contained in a large two story building with over two acres of total floor space, making it one of the largest tropical indoor environments in the world. The Rainforest boasts more than 6,000 plants and over 600 animals from the tropical regions of Asia, Africa, and the Americas.

The Rainforest is housed in a large glass and granite building, just outside the main entrance to the zoo. It is divided between an outer ring, which houses an assortment of tropical plants, small primates, a cafeteria, and a gift shop, and an inner area, which contains the principle animal exhibits. The animal habitats are located on both floors of the Rainforest. The animal exhibits contained on the ground floor are collectively known as the "Lower Forest" and those on the second floor are known as the "Upper Forest."

Upon entering the Rainforest a visitor is immediately confronted by a 25-foot (7.6 m) waterfall, and a large tropical garden that soars two stories. The wall behind the waterfall resembles Ancient Mayan ruins. Within the wall there are a series of small New World Primate exhibits, featuring the: Emperor Tamarin, Geoffroy's Tamarin, Goeldi's Monkey, and the endangered Golden Lion Tamarin. The outer ring of the Rainforest is also home to a wide variety of tropical plants including: Lancepod, Balsam Apple, Tropical Almond, Lipstick Tree, numerous varieties of orchid, a Kapok Tree, and the rare Titan Arum (the Corpse Flower). A gift shop and cafeteria are located to the left of the main entrance.

Animals contained in the Rainforest include: Egyptian fruit bats, Giant Anteaters, Scarlet Ibis, prehensile-tailed porcupines, two-toed sloths, green and black poison arrow frogs, a reticulated python, green vine snakes, a Green Anaconda, clouded leopard, Batagur turtles, Brazilian Ocelots, Bornean orangutans, and the extremely rare Fishing Cat and gharial crocodile.

[edit] Wolf Wilderness

Wolf Wilderness is one of the principal North American habitats at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. The exhibit consists of a wooden building (Wolf Lodge), a large fenced in woodland enclosure for the wolves, a 65,000 gallon pond, panoramic viewing rooms, and a gift shop.

Visitors access Wolf Wilderness through the appropriately named Wolf Lodge, a 3,000-square-foot (280 m²) building that is modeled after a 19th century fur trading post.^[4] The building is divided into four parts. Upon entering a person walks into a large visitor center which has extensive information animals indigenous to the North American deciduous forests and wetlands. This room leads to the two principle exhibit areas.

The first principal exhibit room is dedicated to the three gray wolves housed at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. A visitor is able to observe the wolves through a large viewing room with floor to ceiling windows, which look out onto the gray wolf habitat itself. There are also video cameras placed within the wolves habitat and televisions playing the live feed in the observation room. The wolves are contained in a large wooded area directly behind the Wolf Lodge. Gray wolves at one time roamed throughout much of North America, including Northeast Ohio, consequently this outdoor woodland habitat is ideal for the wolves, and allows visitors to view the animals in a setting that closely mirrors their native habitat.

The wolf viewing area leads directly to the wetlands and wolf display room. Here, visitors can observe both the wolves, and several other animals which are native to North America. Like the wolf viewing room, this area contains floor to ceiling windows. However, while visitors can see the wolves from this room, the principle exhibits are the Canadian Beaver habitat, a 65,000 gallon freshwater pond and a bald eagle. The Canadian Beaver habitat contains a cut section display of a beaver dam that allows a person to see the beavers in their nest. The 65,000-gallon pond comes right up to the viewing window, creating an aquarium effect, allowing visitors to see what a wetland pond looks like underwater. The pond contains numerous fish indigenous to North American wetlands. Finally, the exhibit is home to one of the Bald Eagles housed at the zoo.^[5]

[edit] African Elephant Crossing

The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo announced a plan to construct a large new African Elephant Habitat. The new exhibit will be a state of the art habitat, which will quadruple the elephants' living space.

Under the planned expansion the Zoo will increase its number of elephants from a group of three to a herd of eight to ten African Elephants. At least one of the new elephants will be a bull, and eventually the herd will include calves.

The exhibit will feature two large ranges, spread out over several acres. The ranges will include deep ponds so that the elephants can swim, and expanded sleeping quarters. Parts of the ranges will be heated, to maximize the elephants habitat during the winter.

In addition to expanding the number of African Elephants, the African Elephant Crossing will include meerkats, naked mole rats, African Rock Pythons, and several species of birds.

The Zoo expects to break ground in 2008, and hopes to finish the project in 2010 or 2011. The total cost will be $25 million.