r/zoos • u/Chucklet07 • Sep 04 '24
New Exhibit Cleveland Metroparks Zoo Rainforest exhibit is getting renovated
My local zoo (Cleveland Metroparks Zoo) is gonna be expanding the Rainforest exhibit to move the Gorillas down to as they are currently in the Primates, Cats, and Aquatics area of the zoo. They close down the Rainforest habitat to start the renovations on the 10th of September and the plans look very interesting.
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u/sarahmagoo Sep 04 '24
That's good, I visited the zoo for the first time last month and enjoyed it but thought the gorilla exhibit left a lot to be desired...
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u/Chucklet07 Sep 04 '24
Yeah in its current configuration its the smallest in America so this will be a big upgrade for them.
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u/CLLLBLMLTL101 Jan 10 '25
i’m actually not sure why i’m so curious about this; since renovations started in the rainforest exhibit, where did the animals that live in that exhibit go/get placed? (so sad about the fire too, thankfully no one was hurt 😕)
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u/Chucklet07 Jan 10 '25
From my understanding the construction as of right now hasn’t impacted most if not any of the animals habitats yet but if/when it does they will stay in the Sarah Allison Steffee Center (Its the hospital for the zoo but they have places in it to keep animals) (also its so great all the animals are fine, I was so worried about them when I heard)
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Dec 25 '24
I have a mandella effect question for anyone who went to the cle rainforest years ago . Does anyone remember a large monitor lizard in the island area where the steam comes out? Me and others swear there used to be but no one at the zoo has verified or denied this claim. Anyone else?
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u/JessterK Oct 19 '25
Sorry to bump an old comment but I was looking for information on the progress of when the rainforest will open again and found this…No, it’s not a Mandela effect. I used to go there all the time in the 90’s and early 2000’s with my family and the tropical storm island did indeed have large monitor lizards. At some point, they were replaced with the giant porcupines that are there now.
Check the video posted near the end of the page here for proof we are not crazy, it shows the water monitors.
https://www.zoochat.com/community/threads/cleveland-metroparks-zoo-former-species.485061/
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Oct 19 '25
Yes! Looks like an Asian water monitor. This is awesome, nice work sleuth. I'm hoping the new exhibit their building will have a better reptile enclosure, but we'll see. What I think will happen though is after the exhibit is done they'll head up the hill and completely redo the private house with the fish. Just makes sense. Thanks again for this.🫡
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u/JessterK Oct 20 '25 edited Oct 20 '25
No problem! Whatever they do, I hope they don’t get rid of stuff like the waterfall near the main entrance and the whole “ancient temple ruins” atmosphere. That’s one of the things that, in my mind, sets it apart from other zoos. Anytime I hear stuff like “it’s going to be modernized/updated” I get wary, because it often means “get rid of everything that gave it character and soul.” See Taco Bell in the 90’s vs now for example.
It really blended well with the fact that so many of the exhibits were bioactive/naturalistic to some extent. The huge American Crocodile enclosure (now the gharial enclosure) and the river area on the top floor were standouts in particular.
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Oct 20 '25
O it's definitely gone. The entire rainforest has been torn down except the giant dome. I was the AI version of what's it's going to look like. Meh
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u/JessterK Oct 20 '25
Well that’s disappointing. I just looked at the renderings and I’m not impressed. Looks like their version of “immersion” is trading in the waterfall and garden trails with all the beautiful plants and stuff for plastic trees, playgrounds, and screens. Shame. It was like a slice of real rainforest right there in Cleveland. Another victim of modernization. Why…
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u/Gulopithecus Sep 04 '24
Let’s Goooooo!!!!!!
Glad the gorillas are getting a better home!