The grand opening of the new 5 acre, $25 million African Elephant Crossing exhibit was held at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo recently. The exhibit, which was designed to provide its elephant herd with a healthy, stimulating environment features two huge outdoor elephant yards in which the pachyderms can roam and forage, a deep-water swim channel, waterfall, interactive visitor center, meerkats, naked mole rats, colorful African birds, an African rock python, and of course, the stars of the exhibit themselves–five African elephants.
The grand opening was held on Thursday, May 5, at 10am, with the James Ford Rhodes High School marching band kicking off the festivities. Over the next four days, visitors to the zoo were treated to performances by Beachwood Community Theater, Radio Disney, African drummers, “The Cellephants” and more. Those who couldn’t make it to the zoo in person were able to witness the opening ceremony live via webcast before the Zoo opened.
Dr. Larry Killmar, director of collections at Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo, was on hand to witness the event and said the African Elephant Crossing is “the gold standard for elephant exhibits.” He added, “Obviously, the elephants are very comfortable.
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo is open from 10am to 5pm daily with hours extended to 7pm on weekends and holidays from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Admission is $11 per person, $8 for kids ages 2 to 11 and free for children younger than 2 and Zoo members. Parking is free. The Zoo is located at 3900 Wildlife Way and is easily accessible from Interstates 71, 90 and 480.
