The curtain on African Elephant Crossing goes up in two days and the stars of this show are so big -- they won't need a close-up!
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo is the place to be May 5-8 as the summer season kicks off a little early with a four day event to celebrate the opening of the new 5-acre, $25 million African Elephant Crossing exhibit.
Over the last few days, Zoo visitors got a sneak peek of the exhibit in operation as the elephants did some preliminary exploring on the Savanna and Mopani ranges, and a few visitors were even at the Zoo the day big bull elephant Willy tested out the Crossing Gate.
"The finishing touches are being applied, the elephants have been introduced to the whole exhibit and we can't wait for everyone to see it all come together," said Zoo Director Steve Taylor.
The party begins at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 5 with the James Ford Rhodes High School marching band and continues through Sunday, May 8 when all moms get in to the Zoo for FREE. Scheduled over the four days will be "The Cellephants," African drummers, Radio Disney, Beachwood Community Theater, crafts, music, Meet the Keepers and more. You can even see the opening ceremony live via webcast before the Zoo opens. The webcast starts at 8 a.m. Thursday morning and goes live at 9 a.m. Just visit africanelephantcrossing.com and click on the link!
African Elephant Crossing features two sprawling outdoor elephant yards for roaming and foraging, a deep-water swim channel, waterfall, interactive visitor center, five African elephants, meerkats, naked mole rats, colorful African birds, an African rock python and more.
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily with hours extended to 7 p.m. 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. Located at 3900 Wildlife Way, the Zoo is easily accessible from Interstates 71, 90 and 480.
To learn more, visit clemetzoo.com or call (216) 661-6500.
