CLEVELAND — “This is the zoo I came to as a kid, and quite honestly, if we were the same zoo, I probably wouldn't be working here,” said Dr. Chris Kuhar, the Director of the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.
Dr. Chris Kuhar is modernizing people's old perceptions about zoos.
Attracting visitors to connect with animals is still the main focus at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. However, evolving the guest experience is also part of the plan.
“We do everything from carousels to ziplines,” Kuhar said. “We do evening events with the Asian Lantern Festival and Wild Winter Lights. We do private rentals of the zoo. People have weddings here and corporate events here.”
Conservation is a major part of the zoo's mission, securing a future for wildlife. A portion of all memberships now go to the effort. The naming contest for the new tiger cubs raised funds as well. The zoo has a long-standing partnership with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, helping train those doing work in the gorilla's natural habitat.
“Most people don't get the opportunity to go to Africa and see a gorilla, but we can bring that information back,” said Kuhar. “We can bring the stories back, and often we bring the people who work with that wildlife back here so that people in Northeast Ohio can make that connection.”
Cleveland is the 9th oldest zoo in North America, opening in 1892. So, it's time for an update.
“A lot of the buildings that you may have seen growing up, it's time for that building to age out, right? It doesn't meet modern zoological standards. It doesn't meet the standards for how we take care of our animals,” explained Kuhar.
For example, The Primate Forest. A long-term project will expand the zoo's rainforest into a 140,000-square-foot indoor destination. The exhibit is expected to be completed by 2032, in time for the Zoo's 150th anniversary.
“We build them with the animals in mind,” said Kuhar. “How do we provide the best care for them? How do we provide opportunities for them to do what they naturally do?”
Kuhar says seeing healthy animals is the best guest experience. The Primate Forest follows a new trend in zoos. Animals in the larger spaces, visitors in the smaller spaces.
Kuhar says seeing healthy animals is the best guest experience.
The Primate Forest follows a new trend in zoos. Animals in the larger spaces, visitors in the smaller ones. An evolution that benefits both.
“It's a completely different experience than the experience I got as a kid coming to the zoo, and we think that it's one of the things that's going to make us great and push us into the future,” said Kuhar.
