Just left Cleveland Zoo. Here's some observations:
- How many seals/ sea lions does the zoo have now? There were only 2 sea lions and 1 seal out today. I remember they used to have more.
Australian Adventure
- Was able to peer into the Homestead (Still closed) through a window. Looks like they took out the animatronic koala and Kookaburra. The TV was still there but they weren't.
- Also spoke to an employee as to why the treehouse and Homestead were still closed despite it being sunny. They said that both were down for minor work right now.
They had three sea lions for a while. The largest was a male (Mickey, I think) He passed, most likely - he was actually born at the zoo and it's been a very long time since CMZ had any breeding sea lions.
Not surprising about the animatronics (Clancy and Digby - idk why I remember the names.) Well-intentioned relics of a bygone age of zoo design. It's only a matter of time before the entire area stays "temporarily closed" and part of it quietly disappears, especially since nobody seems fiercely nostalgic for anything in that area, unlike the removal of Monkey Island.
For any CMZ visitors in the thread: I'm personally very interested in any Australian Adventure news, rumors, and changes. It's the only section of the zoo that isn't being discussed in the zoo's master plan - but I doubt it's being ignored.
I'd wager the next major project (after Primate Forest, so 2040 - 2050) is gonna be an extensive overhaul of that area. The only elements they'd want/need to keep are the train, camel rides, and petting zoo. Might not even be Australian anymore.
Just spitballing, but the lack of attention coupled with the flurry of activity elsewhere in the zoo makes me curious about what's in store for the nearly 30-year-old area.