Primate, Cat & Aquatics Building
With nearly 30 species ranging from large western lowland gorillas to tiny Geoffroy's tamarins, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo has the most comprehensive collection of primate species in North America. While some are on exhibit in The RainForest, most reside in the Primate, Cat & Aquatics Building atop the Zoo's western ridge. There, visitors can see a pair of western lowland gorillas, which have both indoor and outdoor exhibits; Old and New World monkeys; several species of lemur; mandrills; and a threatened aye-aye. The Primate, Cat & Aquatics Building also houses a creature that preys on primates - the endangered fossa, the largest carnivore on the island of Madagascar. Other carnivores include snow leopards, black-footed cats, and cheetahs. The cheetahs may be viewed outdoors, as can the red pandas and the Zoo's oldest residents, a duo of Aldabra tortoises, which arrived at the Zoo in 1955 from Africa. The building primarily housed mammals until 1985. That year, however, the Cleveland Aquarium closed, and its most popular fresh water and saltwater specimens were transferred to the Zoo. This aquatic collection was relocated to a wing of the Zoo's Primate and Cat Building, and the facility was renamed the Primate, Cat & Aquatics Building. Today, in addition to primates and cats, there are almost 30 different displays of sharks, piranhas, clownfish, lionfish, stingrays, Australian lungfish, Great Barrier Reef fishes, and a giant Pacific octopus.