Cleveland Metroparks Zoo Primate and Cat Building Original Species List

T

TeamTapir223

Well-Known Member
The Primate,Cat and Aquatics building at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo is no doubt among some of the worst outdated zoo exhibits around.However it was one of my favorites as a kid,mostly due to the fact that its always had a very impressive collection.It always felt like a trip around the world all under one roof.I recently came across a pretty complete list of species the building held during its grand opening in 1978.

Western Lowland Gorilla
Bornean Orangutan
Chimpanzee
Mandrill
Hamadryas Baboon
White Handed Gibbon
Colobus Monkey
Diana Monkey
Mongoose Lemur
Ring-Tailed Lemur
Squirrel Monkey
Spectacled Langur
Geoffreys Tamarin
White Faced Capuchin Monkey
Golden Lion Tamarin
White Faced Saki
Pied Tamarin
Siamang
Jaguar
Indian Spotted Leopard
Puma
Geofferys Cat
Margay
Palm Civet
Fennec Fox
Hyena
Ground Cuscus
Sugar Glider
Egyptian Fruit Bat
Aardvark
Rock Hyrax
Southern Tamunda
Giant Anteater
Capybara
Red Panda
Kinkajou
Striped Skunk
Chinchilla
Two Toed Sloth
Nine Banded Armadillo

Creatures of the night closed in 1986 and was replaced by the closed Gordon Park Aquarium Collection.

Team Tapir223
 
Thanks for the list, and with 18 primate species along with the plethora of other delights it must have made for a spectacular assortment of animals. It is interesting to see old facts such as the one on this thread as so many zoos have dramatically improved their exhibits but at the same time lost a lot of diversity within their collections.
 
Creatures of the Night

Thanks Team Tapir223. I agree that the building is long overdue for replacement but the collection continues to impress me. You mentioned that the Creatures of the Night was closed in 1986 and replaced by the Aquarium collection. Was that Creatures of the Night section different (bigger, smaller, more species...? ) from the one that was there about 15 years ago when I was there and I believe is still there?
 
ericnielsenpdx said:
Thanks Team Tapir223. I agree that the building is long overdue for replacement but the collection continues to impress me. You mentioned that the Creatures of the Night was closed in 1986 and replaced by the Aquarium collection. Was that Creatures of the Night section different (bigger, smaller, more species...? ) from the one that was there about 15 years ago when I was there and I believe is still there?
Click to expand...
The original Creatures of the Night was housed in the rotunda section of the building which is now home to one of the worst shark tanks in North America.The original Creatures of the Night consisted of

Margay
Palm Civet
Sugar Gliders
Egyptian Fruit Bat
Aardvark
Rock Hyrax
Southern Tamunda
Fennec Fox
Ground Cuscus
Kinkajou
Striped Skunk

The nocturnal exhibits you would have encountered 15 yrs ago would have been several species of loris and shrews as well as possibly a bush baby.Certainly the older section was a bit more impressive.

Team Tapir223
 
Certainly my favorite part of the old Creatures of the Night exhibit was the aardvark enclosure. While every other exhibit had it's occupants behind glass, the "aardvark pit" was open and zoo visitors could look down upon it's normally-pacing residents. That, and of course, everything was bathed in red light, making one think they dropped into the trash compactor from Star Wars... :)

In addition, I mentioned previously to Team Tapir, I simply do not recall that building ever having hyenas. Does anyone out there remember this? Considering the size of each enclosure, I would think any chamber would've simply been too small (...which is why they may not have been residents for long). If so, exhibits were also set up somewhat by species, so they would have to have been housed on the "right entry/east wing" where the jaguars and leopards would have been, no?
 
For the sake of those of us unfamiliar with the zoo, does anyone have a current list for comparison's sake?
 
Ituri said:
For the sake of those of us unfamiliar with the zoo, does anyone have a current list for comparison's sake?
Click to expand...

Perhaps this list from 2010 will be of interest: Lowland Gorilla, Hamadryas Baboon, Siamang, Golden-Bellied Mangabey, Allen’s Swamp Monkey, Black Howler Monkey, White-Faced Saki Monkey, Squirrel Monkey, Brown-Headed Spider Monkey, Wolf’s Guenon, Geoffrey’s Tamarin, Golden Lion Tamarin, Reed Titi, Potto, Moholi Bushbaby, Pygmy Slow Loris, Red Ruffed Lemur, Mongoose Lemur, Fossa, Two-Toed Sloth, Black & Rufous Elephant Shrew, Northern Tree Shrew, Red Panda, Hairy Armadillo, La Plata Three-Banded Armadillo, Snow Leopard, Clouded Leopard, Pallas’ Cat and Black-Footed Cat. There is also an aquarium section with Piranhas, Pacu, Australian Lungfish and a variety of other sea creatures in the 30+ exhibits.
 
Still an impresive diversity and still 18 primate-species ( 19 if the tree shrews are included ) !
 
Other subtractions from the Snowleopard 2010 list include
Hamadryas Baboon
Clouded Leopard
Siamang
Pallas Cat

Additions include
Mandrill
Ring Tailed Lemur
Muellers Gibbon
Crowned Lemur

Team Tapir223
 
wyldjaguar said:
In addition, I mentioned previously to Team Tapir, I simply do not recall that building ever having hyenas. Does anyone out there remember this? Considering the size of each enclosure, I would think any chamber would've simply been too small (...which is why they may not have been residents for long). If so, exhibits were also set up somewhat by species, so they would have to have been housed on the "right entry/east wing" where the jaguars and leopards would have been, no?
Click to expand...

We have confirmed through an excellent source that hyenas were in fact part of the original collection in the Primate and Cat Building.They had been housed for years in the old main zoo building which P and C replaced.When moving into the new building the were housed in a couple of exhibits along the main animal line that has since been replaced by aquatic tanks (1986) located across from what is now exhibits for spider monkeys and muellers gibbons.The hyenas did not stay in P and C very long and were deacquisitioned within the first year or so.

Team Tapir223
 
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