Cleveland Metroparks Zoo Cleveland Metroparks Zoo News 2019

TigerValley98 said:
As a member of the zoo, I thought it was becoming a eyesore just like other out of date exhibits at the zoo.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.
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I commiserate entirely with your irritation! People are always more engaged when they see or feel something is being taken away, more-so than when things are given.Its the same with animals on exhibits - absence is often more noticeable (and outrageous) than presence. I don't think it's hard to imagine some people thinking they won't see monkeys at the zoo now that Monkey Island is gone . . .

I also think there's a lesson here for the CMZ. I can understand the emotional vitriol on one level: it was abrupt. Yes, it was announced on Facebook but the post is very easily overlooked. I missed it entirely despite following the page. Monkey Island stood so prominently in peoples' memories. Why not take the opportunity to educate and inform? Discuss the history of the island and why it was such a subpar habitat for any animal, and how the same space can enhance the lives of other animals. Have an event and let people say "goodbye." It sounds corny but gestures like that can go a long way in reaching out to a community and helping them understand. Even with the best intentions, the CMZ tries to maneuver around controversy rather than acknowledging it and using it as an outreach opportunity. This would've been a prime time to do that, but what's done is done.

. . . but still, good riddance.
 
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mwalle09 said:
I still find it somewhat interesting that they have not mentioned a timetable for the new Cheetah exhibit either. When it was first announced, I believe the expectation was this summer then it was like they just stopped talking about it.
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I don't know. But if I may hazard a guess . . .
I think it's a question of priorities. Despite their endangered status and subpar exhibit, cheetahs don't carry the same weight at the CMZ as rhinos. Last I heard there were two brothers sharing the PC&A enclosure. Can anyone confirm this? Knowing what little I do about how Species Survival Plans work, they're very unlikely to bring more cheetahs to Cleveland - let alone a breeding female - until they have a vastly improved (and expensive) exhibit. That's a lot of investment for two smaller animals that have an "adequate" space and no chance of reproducing.
I do know they've wanted two simultaneous black rhino calves between Kibibi and Inge ever since Kibibi reached breeding age. Now that it's become a reality, it must be incredibly difficult to manage a male, two females and two calves in that incredibly subpar space. Plus, the success of CMZ's SSP for black rhinos is amazing and receiving a lot of praise and attention. These are all excellent points for fundraising and donors. They have the need, the animals, and the clout to (finally) make the expansion happen. Everybody likes babies!
But I could very easily be wrong. Nothing I'm saying here is new. The rhino enclosure has needed an improvement for decades, well before Inge's arrival. And they've had to wait for a few major and several minor capital projects (Australia, AEC, Tigers, Asian Highlands, etc.) to become a priority. And they are trying to move major exhibits away from PC&A so . . .

Who knows?
 
Tiramtortlephant said:
I don't know. But if I may hazard a guess . . .
I think it's a question of priorities. Despite their endangered status and subpar exhibit, cheetahs don't carry the same weight at the CMZ as rhinos. Last I heard there were two brothers sharing the PC&A enclosure. Can anyone confirm this? Knowing what little I do about how Species Survival Plans work, they're very unlikely to bring more cheetahs to Cleveland - let alone a breeding female - until they have a vastly improved (and expensive) exhibit. That's a lot of investment for two smaller animals that have an "adequate" space and no chance of reproducing.
I do know they've wanted two simultaneous black rhino calves between Kibibi and Inge ever since Kibibi reached breeding age. Now that it's become a reality, it must be incredibly difficult to manage a male, two females and two calves in that incredibly subpar space. Plus, the success of CMZ's SSP for black rhinos is amazing and receiving a lot of praise and attention. These are all excellent points for fundraising and donors. They have the need, the animals, and the clout to (finally) make the expansion happen. Everybody likes babies!
But I could very easily be wrong. Nothing I'm saying here is new. The rhino enclosure has needed an improvement for decades, well before Inge's arrival. And they've had to wait for a few major and several minor capital projects (Australia, AEC, Tigers, Asian Highlands, etc.) to become a priority. And they are trying to move major exhibits away from PC&A so . . .

Who knows?
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Chimba and Mohawk are the 8yr cheetah brothers who are currently at the zoo. Current animals in a collection usually doesn't effect what exhibits are built first, considering individuals are sent to where they are needed with the SSP. It goes more off of need and funding. Just because we have two males at the moment (Who I do believe are still within breeding age) doesn't mean the new exhibit wont be postponed because of that. Also like with many other species you can have separate groups of individuals sharing an exhibit on rotation. (Columbus has a extremely large group of cheetahs at the moment who all have their separate times in the view yard) In fact, I would think it would be an incentive for the zoo to build a better, cub friendly exhibit. Considering that beside the snow leopards, big cat breeding hasn't been happening at the zoo for awhile now. The female lions are senior and of unknown parentage and so they won't be bred and at the moment to my knowledge we are still without a female for the two male tigers. I think its a good idea to start with the rhinos, since the program is so important and they desperately need more space then move onto the already empty space for the cheetahs.
 
Andrew Swales said:
What about some lovely Lego animals, animatronic Dinosaurs or Crazy Golf ??
All a whizz idea too, if you don't have enough real animals, and your visitors have short attention spans...
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That's really an essential point of observation! Indeed of current zoo practices are catering to our culture of being entertain to death. Let's continue to build zoos catering to human needs, and forget why animals are there to begin with. This essentially why every zoo have the same animals as the next zoo. Thank goodness back in the day every animal mattered, and one learned their importance whether the commonness or rarity of their existence. Once they reestablish themselves in late 80'summer no longer zoological parks, they threw matters of logical of understanding animals out the door catering to human needs before animal needs.
 
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junglejim said:
That's really an essential point of observation! Indeed of current zoo practices are catering to our culture of being entertain to death. Let's continue to build zoos catering to human needs, and forget why animals are there to begin with. This essentially why every zoo have the same animals as the next zoo. Thank goodness back in the day every animal mattered, and one learned their importance whether the commonness or rarity of their existence. Once they reestablish themselves in late 80'summer no longer zoological parks, they threw matters of logical of understanding animals out the door catering to human needs before animal needs.
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So I am trying to understand your perspective. How exactly does the zoo adding a Winter Lights display lead to the zoo forgetting why animals are even there, and catering to human needs before animal needs? I'm looking for specific examples of how the animals needs are being neglected by this.
Could a night time light display that draws people to the zoo during off peak hours serve as an opportunity for the zoo to provide education on conservation while also raising valuable funds that can further zoo developments (such as maintenance and upgrades to exhibits) and conservation initiatives?
I'm also curious about the link you make between winter light displays and lack of species diversity. Again, looking for specific examples.
 
junglejim said:
That's really an essential point of observation! Indeed of current zoo practices are catering to our culture of being entertain to death. Let's continue to build zoos catering to human needs, and forget why animals are there to begin with. This essentially why every zoo have the same animals as the next zoo. Thank goodness back in the day every animal mattered, and one learned their importance whether the commonness or rarity of their existence. Once they reestablish themselves in late 80'summer no longer zoological parks, they threw matters of logical of understanding animals out the door catering to human needs before animal needs.
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I get your frustration, junglejim; I harbored similar feelings in the not too distant past. But I there are some positive points to take away from this. With the frequency of gimmicky events at the zoo - Lanterns and Zoo Lights in 2019, Dinosaurs in 2020 - it suggests (to me at least) they have the resources to invest in these things and the desire to bring in more money and visitors and thus more capital. That could suggest we're close to another major exhibit like AEC or the Rainforest. Or it could be used to bolster costs for the new Rhino exhibit and any other improvements they are currently planning. Getting more people into the CMZ for any reason is a definite positive. And today, people are spending more money on fewer entertainment options.
I'm inclined to give the benefit of the doubt here. No matter what you think of Tiger Passage or Asian Highlands, they are vast improvements for the animals and were designed to give them a much more engaging life. I was wary of the small scale expansions at first but I consider it a qualified victory thus far. And if lanterns and robot dinosaurs are the means of making the CMZ even better in the future, that's a small price to pay!
 
junglejim said:
Thank goodness back in the day every animal mattered,
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Yes well that's the sticking point, isn't it? Zoos have not changed in isolation. Our culture is different. The technology is different. Values have changed.

"Back in the day" zookeepers were lacking in advanced education, they were often laborers paid a laborer's salary and trained in the job on the job; health and retirement benefits were meager (also cheaper than today). "Back in the day" new animals were wild caught. "Back in the day" many zoo animals had short lives and were simply replaced. "Back in the day" construction costs were a fraction of what they are today. "Back in the day" there were no animal activists. "Back in the day" many animals were kept in smaller enclosures which we would not accept today. "Back in the day" zoos depended on philanthropists to fund them. That philanthropy is a fraction now of what it was "back in the day." Zoos cannot survive that way anymore and zoo Boards started demanding that facilities be financially self-supporting starting in the 1990s.
"Back in the day" is sentimentality for a lost time
 
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Andrew Swales said:
What about some lovely Lego animals, animatronic Dinosaurs or Crazy Golf ??
All a whizz idea too, if you don't have enough real animals, and your visitors have short attention spans...
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Just for some historical grounding, zoo first started dinosaur displays over thirty years ago. Heck, Hagenbeck rode around in a carriage pulled by an ostrich to amuse his visitors. The Cincinnati Zoo, in the early 20th Century had an opera house. Saint Louis Zoo had chimpanzees performing in little costumes. Non-animal amusements at zoos have been standard at most zoos for 125 years.
 
Does anyone have a current map of the zoo? The one on the website doesn't even have the Asia area.
 
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo - October 13, 2019 095.JPG
Was at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo on October 13, 2019. The Wolf Wilderness Pond was drained.
Anyone know why, and what happens to all of aquatic life?
 

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So I visited the CMZ and thought I'd share some thoughts during a relatively slow year on the CMZ forum:
  • I noticed the drained pond at Wolf Wilderness as well. There was no explanation posted.
  • Asian Highlands makes excellent use of the awkward topography in the "Adventure Trek" area. But I did feel a bit underwhelmed. The flatscreens were playing David's Attenborough documentaries on snow leopards which just feels lazy. The Amur Leopard was pacing incessantly . . . granted, he always has but I would hope they factor such behavior into an exhibit. But I'm not a zoo keeper or designer so I can't fairly criticize as I cannot present a solution.
  • I spoke to a few docents and whatever staff I could find who wanted to talk - the general sentiment is that the Monkey Island destruction was mishandled. They raised an excellent point -it was not only an icon but the last familiar exhibit for a generation. Monkey Island was a fixture of their childhood zoo experience. And then it's suddenly and unceremoniously gone. They wish there was more notice and explanation, as opposed to the popular perception of "Poof! And it's gone."
  • There was some sort of ceremony for (what I assume to be) donors to the new rhino exhibit. Chris Kuhar was speechifying to a crowd of well-dressed people. The rhino yard is in desperate need of expansion and I'm curious (and nervous) to see what it ultimately looks like.
  • I love AEC. I always liked it - even if I still want it to be bigger - but as I see the elephants moving thru and using the space, I feel and know their quality of life has vastly improved. It's a gorgeous exhibit in autumn and a wonderful addition to the CMZ landscape.
  • When will they create a single, unified savannah? Its been discussed and I think its exactly the change that entire spot needs.
  • Australian Adventure is just sad. It feels devoid of the spirit it opened with, sparsely populated with animals, and hasn't aged tremendously well. I have a lot of nostalgic attachment to this one so I find it sad, especially since you can still see the relics of what they were attempting.
  • PC&A feels like a ticking clock. It has that pervading feeling of "you're next to go" in terms of its upkeep and appearance. To me, the biggest reason for that is the removal of the sharks - that was always a highlight attraction for the building. While my animal management side is happy as that thank was tremendously small and they're in a much better place at the Henry Doorly Zoo, the space feels so empty without them.
  • The deckwalk is such an asset. Whatever plans they have, I hope with every fiber of my being that they keep that as part of the experience.
Overall, it's great to see the continued renovations. My worry is that it's too much, too fast. CMZ is limited by space, and they are working on building inward (as they must) with their exhibits. But it makes it feel like a smaller zoo for me, despite the size and number of animals on display. AEC - an inward renovated exhibit - conveys a size and grandeur since you can see the old Pachyderm building and trace the old exhibit from there. Asian Highlands and Tiger Passage both make excellent use of the hilly terrain and I hope that continues. But I also hope they go further in make the exhibits feel like bigger "events."
Furthermore, exhibits of the old regime (AEC, Wolf Wilderness, Australian Adventure especially) are extremely thematic, and that went into every facet of the design. You can see places where docents, educators, and experiences were built into the design of the exhibit. That's missing from Asian Highlands and Tiger Passage. And while both are undeniable improvements, they lack a certain flair that radiates from the older exhibits. It's clear (to me) that they are designed from the top down and they don't go down very far. Someone told me the education staff hasn't even been part of the rhino expansion discussions. I'm curious to see what the first "big" project will be and how it will be built and I hope it's another trailblazer. I want CMZ to be the talk of the zoo community again.

This concludes my personal, very subjective thoughts on the current trajectory of CMZ. I hope you all enjoyed reading them.
 
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