United States Cleveland Metroparks Zoo video, 1996

CleZooMan

Well-Known Member
10+ year member

I got this video from YouTube and really liked seeing parts of the zoo that are still there today and parts that aren't (i.e. the old Pachyderm Building and Children's Farm). A lot of the footage was of species still at the zoo today, but some that wasn't.
RainForest: small primate species in atrium 0:54 (can't tell what was in there)
African Savanna: cheetah, black rhino, Masai giraffe, ostrich, white stork, African lion
Northern Trek: grizzly bear, polar bear, California sea lion, harbor seal, Thorold's deer
Primate, Cat and Aquatics: various fish species, ring-tailed lemur, black-and-white ruffed lemur, western lowland gorilla, chimpanzee, white-faced saki, snow leopard, clouded leopard
Children's Farm: wallabies (I believe Bennett's), pot-bellied pig, miniature horse, barn owl, pygmy goat
Pachyderm Building: Malayan tapir, pygmy hippo, Nile hippo, warthog

Does anyone know what was in the exhibit at 14:30 in the video? It looks like it might have been for prairie dogs, but '96 was before my time at the zoo, so I don't know. Thanks. I just thought this was an interesting mix of older and newer exhibits at the zoo.
 


Pachyderm Building: Malayan tapir, pygmy hippo, Nile hippo, warthog

Does anyone know what was in the exhibit at 14:30 in the video? It looks like it might have been for prairie dogs, but '96 was before my time at the zoo, so I don't know. Thanks. I just thought this was an interesting mix of older and newer exhibits at the zoo.
I believe the exhibit shown at 14:30 was for Meerkats, but I think the exhibit was still in construction. The zoo's only elephant at the time (they would get 3 new ones in '97) left in June 1996, so this video must have happened between June and December 1996. The coolest thing in this video, is that both the oldest Pygmy Hippo in North America ever (Wolee, who died aged 45 at OKC Zoo in 2020), and the former oldest Common Hippo in North America in history (Blackie, who died here at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo in 2014 at age 60), were both in this video.
 
I believe the exhibit shown at 14:30 was for Meerkats, but I think the exhibit was still in construction. The zoo's only elephant at the time (they would get 3 new ones in '97) left in June 1996, so this video must have happened between June and December 1996. The coolest thing in this video, is that both the oldest Pygmy Hippo in North America ever (Wolee, who died aged 45 at OKC Zoo in 2020), and the former oldest Common Hippo in North America in history (Blackie, who died here at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo in 2014 at age 60), were both in this video.

Thank you so much. :) I can tell you are very knowledgeable!!! I had no idea Wolee was alive until 2020! I knew about Blackie, but thought Wolee had died in the 90s. I guess Wolee came to OKC in 1999 and the Zoo had another one named Mushka... I heard Mushka died of pneumonia in 2006.

Everything I found about meerkats said the Zoo never had them before Elephant Crossing was completed in 2011, but that could be wrong!!! Thank you for the great information.
 
Thank you so much. :) I can tell you are very knowledgeable!!! I had no idea Wolee was alive until 2020! I knew about Blackie, but thought Wolee had died in the 90s. I guess Wolee came to OKC in 1999 and the Zoo had another one named Mushka...

Wolee did indeed come to OKC and was quite the character! I miss him, but thankfully I got to say goodbye on his last day.

I'm not sure if it's been posted before, but he can also be seen at 5:45 in this video from 1983.
 
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