DAY 16: Tuesday, July 27th
Zoo/Aquarium Review # 13: Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
Cleveland Zoo’s website:
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
Zoo Map:
http://www.clemetzoo.com/pdf/maps/zoomap.pdf
Cleveland Zoo, the 7th oldest zoo in the United States, has two excellent sections (The Rainforest, Australian Adventure), two average sections (African Savanna, Northern Trek – although this area is really hit-and-miss) and one badly dated area (Primate, Cat & Aquatics). There are also a few scattered enclosures throughout the grounds, and in 2011 the 5-acre complex “African Elephant Crossing” will open to the public. The zoo was actually better than I thought it would be, and now that I’ve visited the 5 largest zoos in Ohio I would put them in this order of preference: Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Toledo and Akron. One of the highlights of a visit to Cleveland for animal lovers is seeing over 30 primate species as well as 6 bear species, although most of those particular animals have subpar habitats.
THE BEST:
The Rainforest – This is yet another gargantuan (85,000 square feet) indoor rainforest in an American zoo, and it is one of the best. It opened in 1992 and almost twenty years later the building holds up very well. There isn’t the immersive feel of a true jungle that the humidity, dirt, free-ranging animals and bark mulch at places such as Omaha and Sedgwick County conjures up. In Cleveland there are wide, paved pathways, stairs (inside a kapok tree) and an elevator and therefore the tone of a “jungle setting” is not quite the same. Nevertheless I spent an hour and twenty minutes inside the building and was thoroughly impressed with the majority of the exhibits.
The zoo has the brilliant idea to hand out separate maps just for “The Rainforest”, and here is the list of exhibits: Upper Floor – Bornean orangutan (at least 5); Francois’ langur/prevost’s squirrel; small-clawed otter; ocelot (two enclosures); fishing cat; giant anteater/capybara/scarlet macaw; Malayan chevrotain; two-toed sloth/prenehnsile-tailed porcupine/ tamandua/white-faced saki monkey/emperor tamarin; assorted birds, amphibians and reptiles. Lower Floor – Gharial/a variety of turtles and fish; Indian crested porcupine/mouse deer; golden lion tamarin; pied tamarin; Geoffrey’s tamarin; cotton-top tamarin; Egyptian fruit bats; assorted birds, spiders, invertebrates and over 300 amphibians and reptiles of numerous species.
The numerous small primate enclosures are a bit on the small side, and they feature the “ruined temple” approach to exhibitry, and the ocelot and fishing cat exhibits are also the usual ones found in zoos. However, there is an excellent gharial pool packed with fish and turtles, a fairly large and water-filled small-clawed otter pool, a massive fruit bat enclosure, countless great reptile and amphibian terrariums, a grand entrance with a deafening waterfall, a research tent that adds to the overall experience, a mock thunderstorm every 12 minutes in the porcupine/mouse deer enclosure, and the pathways are wide and the entire area is well designed from the perspective of both zoo visitors and captive animals.
The one major flaw is the centerpiece dome of the building that contains the Bornean orangutans. All 5 of the apes were active and shifting around their enclosure on my visit, but they are indoors 24/7 with zero outdoor access, the floor is concrete, the one huge tree trunk is non-malleable, and everything that they touch (other than 3-4 ropes) is rock-solid and unshifting. Where is the dirt, the leaves, grass, fresh air, sunlight, cool breezes, insects, etc? I consider this exhibit to be a disgrace, and it ranks down with Pittsburgh and Fort Wayne for brutal orang exhibits.
Australian Adventure – Koalas (including two joeys), Goodfellow’s tree kangaroos (with a one-year old), red kangaroos, grey kangaroos, wallaroos and wallabies all over the place make for a great selection of marsupials from the land down under, in a large area that opened in 2000. A ranch house, camel rides, train station, theatre, walk-through lorikeet aviary (those things are everywhere these days!) and attractive graphics make this an excellent Aussie section. Not quite as impressive as Fort Wayne’s, but still easily one of the best in North America as zoos on that continent are usually quite weak when it comes to showcasing the diversity of life from Australia.
THE AVERAGE:
African Savanna – A large herd of Masai giraffe (at least 8) stroll around a spacious plain, and nearby there are Grant’s zebras, ostriches, bontebok, African white-backed vultures, Egyptian geese, spur-winged geese and marabou storks. A lion yard is disappointing; lesser flamingos are eye-candy; a Persian leopard enclosure is a traditional cage; an ancient 100 year-old “monkey island” holds colobus monkeys, klipspringers and rock hyrax but the mock-rock is probably a thousand degrees in the summer heat; a black rhino paddock is average; an African grey parrot cage is weak; and overall this area of the zoo squeaks into my “average” category mainly on the strength of the panoramic views and the impressive giraffe paddock.
Northern Trek – This area has a massive cabin called Wolf Lodge, and a huge, terrific grey wolf/beaver exhibit that is amongst the best of its kind (opened in 1997). There are many fantastic and spacious wolf habitats in American zoos, and this one is designed in such a way that the beaver area (complete with excellent underwater viewing) is just out of reach of the prowling wolves. There is no hotwire anywhere, and I believe it is due to the shape of the riverbank that the wolves cannot reach down and pluck a plump beaver out of the crystal-clear water. A bald eagle enclosure (with zero barriers) and a turtle/fish pond complete this top-notch area.
The Northern Trek area features average hoofstock paddocks for Bactrian camels, reindeer, white-lipped deer (massive yard) and tufted deer/red-crowned crane/North American wood duck. There is an old and slightly rundown pinniped pool for California sea lions and harbor seals, but after that things go rapidly downhill. Outdated grottoes for these species: Amur tiger, polar bear, American black bear, grizzly bear, spectacled bear, sloth bear and sun bear. One of the black bears was badly pacing, the sun bear was showing horrible stereotypy, and both grizzly bears were walking back and forth with one having an occasional head toss. Who actually defends keeping massive mammals in such cement atrocities? Even with the numerous tree branches, rocks and tiny pools in the smaller bear yards the overall space is far too small for animals that love to roam and explore. There is no need to renovate anything here, as instead the bear pits should be demolished in favour of exhibits that fit the mould of a progressive zoo.
Waterfowl Lake – Chilean flamingos, swans, ducks, geese and a couple of primate islands in a picturesque setting.
THE WORST:
Primate, Cat & Aquatics Building – This has to be seen to be believed, as it is yet another brutal, archaic, outdated, nasty cement bunker with an awesome collection contained within its carpeted floors and drab walls. If you want to see a clouded leopard in a cell that is about 12 feet long and about 10 feet across with a few branches for climbing then come on down to Cleveland! A Pallas’ cat has a similar hellhole that is about 9 feet across by about 7 feet deep. Just brutal, and my wife was embarrassed as I told two different workers that the entire building should either be turned into a reptile house, an aquarium or be completely bulldozed. Both workers agreed with me! Why not put up a sign that reads: “We are sorry for the state of these exhibits, but we are raising funds for their improvement”….OR…”Please pick up a hammer and help with the demolition job”.
The species list: lowland gorilla, Hamadryas baboon, siamang, golden-bellied mangabey, Allen’s swamp monkey, black howler monkey, white-faced saki, squirrel monkey, brown-headed spider monkey, Wolf’s guenons, 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.
Outdoors there are nice yards for cheetahs and aldabra tortoises, a small gorilla enclosure for the zoo’s two males, but 95% of all of the mammals in the 1970’s building have zero outdoor access. A docent explained to me that the zoo has made some improvements to the area in the past couple of years by getting rid of some baboons, chimpanzees, a few lemur species, etc, in an effort to drill new pathways in the walls so that the remaining animals could double their living space. That means fewer species but in larger cement bunkers, as all of the concrete boxes lacked enough enrichment to keep the animals from getting bored and lethargic. I have no problem with some of the enclosures, as for tree shrews, pottos and slow lorises an indoor space that is heavily furnished is fine. In the year 2010 it is quite difficult to justify keeping cats and intelligent primates in tiny fish tanks.
Visitor Pathways – Seeing a new zoo each and every day, and now being a father to a cute little baby, has made visitor amenities much more important than they ever were in the past. Having the “Primate, Cat & Aquatics” building reached by an extremely steep, winding boardwalk is borderline ludicrous, especially on a steaming hot summer day. The Northern Trek area is also located on a fairly steep incline, and both of those sections of the zoo require visitors to take long walks, stroll around a section of exhibits, and then walk back along the exact same route. How boring! I love zoos that have pathways in large loops so that there is zero backtracking, and at Cleveland there are two major areas for going back in one’s own footprints and then “The Rainforest” is actually located outside of the zoo’s grounds and close to the nearby parking lots. There are definitely many zoos that have better layouts of animal exhibits.
OVERALL:
Cleveland Zoo has a terrific rainforest building and a great Australian section, along with a future 5-acre “Elephant Crossing” area that will have African elephants, meerkats, naked mole-rats and perhaps some other critters. From studying plans online and seeing the half-completed yards and the scale model in the zoo’s exhibit hall I am optimistic that the zoo will add an impressive new section to its repertoire. The rest of the zoo is hit-and-miss, with the brutal mish-mash of “Primate, Cat & Aquatics” out of place amongst such excellence. I genuinely enjoyed my visit, and I think that Cleveland is a solid zoo that has a potentially terrific addition opening in 2011. As at many huge American zoos there are some excellent sections that are somewhat tainted by the outdated areas, but I’d place Cleveland somewhere in the middle of the pack in regards to the 60 zoos in the book “America’s Best Zoos”.
I think that all of the major pieces of infrastructure have been renovated inside since they first opened, but such band-aid solutions have not worked at all. To think that it has been almost 20 years since a NEW, major animal exhibit opened (and that is the piece of crap great ape complex) is seriously mind-boggling. I would much rather see smaller zoos with one or two impressive sections (like Tulsa and its rainforest or Cheyenne Mountain with its excellent African Rift Valley) than a large zoo like Milwaukee that has almost all of its primates, pachyderms, bears and big cats in rubbish enclosures. I'm not sure that I'd even rank Milwaukee in my top 60 American zoos, as there are small gems like Northwest Trek Wildlife Park, Mesker Park Zoo (subpar but with a great rainforest building) and others that may be tiny but they contain some terrific exhibits.
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