They
Probably Purr More Than We Do: Visiting The Zoo
by Kari
Wethington
The
one word that most accurately describes the Cleveland Metroparks
Zoo is cute. From the Victorian-style benches and street
lamps to the wallaby-infested Australian Adventure complete with
outback tree house, this is one adorable zoo. Located about 40 minutes
from Oberlin and five miles south of downtown Cleveland, you can
explore the parks 165 acres for a mere $8.
The zoo is impressive even before you see any of the parks
3,300 animals. Its immaculately litter-free and flaunts a
neo-Disney World design edge that makes it both a great place for
a date (think Victorian ice cream parlor, the huge Waterfowl Lake,
long train rides, benches
) and a bit overwhelming for the
Oberlin student accustomed to staring at corn fields (think huge
talking koala bears).
After making our way past hoards of happy families in the welcome
plaza, we found a map and decided to head for the zoos newest
attraction: the Australian Adventure. This is an Australia covered
in red and gray kangaroos, wallabies and wallaroos. This is an outback
where you can slide down from the top of a huge Yagga tree
to be attacked by a mechanical crocodile. This all happens in Kookaburra
Station which also houses a petting zoo a little paradise
of miniature horses, goats, donkies and furry sheep. These animals
managed to capture my heart even as they lazed about on the hay,
waking only to defecate. After getting over the cute factor, we
moved on to Wallaby Walkout, where we were met by lots and lots
of wallabies and kangaroos that just, you know, hopped around, being
cute marsupials.
Next on the journey was the cleverly named Long Uphill Deckwalk
to the one huge building that served to conglomerate the zoos
seemingly sparse collection of primates, cats and aquatics. It was
a crowded, confusing and strange building. Is there any logic in
putting fish alongside monkeys? The redeeming factor of the long
uphill walk was the zoos amazing collection of lemurs. Who
knew that the red-ruffed lemur, a native of Madagascar, is such
an acrobat? We saw some amazing feats before we got pushed along
by a family with lots of strollers.
After taking a time-out for a refreshing Coke, we took the elderly
way out and hopped on the tram to the Northern Trek, which was by
far the shabbiest section of the zoo. Standing on the outskirts
of the zoo, underneath Fullton Parkway, there were no animals or
plants to be seen. We eventually stumbled upon Wolf Wilderness,
which was a nice name for what was really a small caged section
of woods with one wolf, sitting there, staring at us. The Northern
Trek really redeemed itself after we laid eyes on the cutest of
cute at the Cleveland Zoo: the bears! The Trek only got cuter with
sea lions, reindeer and a family of bored Siberian tigers.
Heading south, we made stops at the African Savahana to see elephants
and Birds of the World to see a really scary bald eagle. The only
part of the zoo we completely skipped was the Rainforest, which
is a two acre Biosphere of sorts that apparently contains lots of
tropical plants and animals. It charges a separate admission
and would definitely take at least a of couple hours to explore.
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo is something you must see soon. Put aside
your questions of humanity and ecological equality for a few hours
and see some animals that are beyond cute. Worry about the politics
when you get back to the bubble.
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