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Dear Friend,

Another extraordinary year is coming to an end at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. During the past year, we’ve continued to grow in our conservation efforts and as a strong community partner.

This February, a male Sumatran orangutan was born at the Zoo. His name is Godek and he is extraordinary not only for the crazy hair that gives him his name (Godek translates to “sideburns” in Indonesian), but also for what he represents from a conservation standpoint. As you may know, orangutans are endangered and are rapidly losing habitat, threatening their survival even further. While Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has been committed to orangutan conservation for some time, we have recently begun to take an even more active role in protecting these amazing animals, including sending two of our staff members to native orangutan habitats in order to gain a better understanding of the issues facing orangutans globally, and to create awareness and inspire change locally.

Another extraordinary conservation effort allowed us to make significant strides in snow leopard conservation. In August, we were able to send one of our staff members to Mongolia to help facilitate the first-ever meeting between nomadic herders from all over the country who were involved with snow leopard protection. Here, participants shared ideas and created strategies to increase snow leopard conservation throughout Mongolia.

Locally, the Zoo has been able to make some extraordinary progress with two critically endangered species found close to home. Once considered extinct in the wild, Wyoming toads and black-footed ferrets have begun to repopulate due to captive breeding and release programs at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and other conservation organizations. Over the past year, more than 400 Wyoming toads and 16 black-footed ferrets were born at the Zoo. Six of the ferrets and many of the toads were released into the wild, helping to ensure a strong future for these two extraordinary species.

Beyond the work we’re doing with endangered species, we were also able to impact over half a million guests by connecting them with extraordinary animal experiences this year, marking the highest attendance in the Zoo’s history! Plus, our membership has grown to include more than 15,000 households--another extraordinary Zoo milestone!

A few other extraordinary achievements:

• At this year’s Military Appreciation Weekend, the Zoo hosted more than 3,600 military personnel, spouses and children at a discounted rate.
• The Zoo served more than 70,000 children through our Education programs.
• We held our 5th annual (and largest ever) Dreamnight, hosting a special evening at the Zoo for nearly 750 kids with critical or chronic illnesses or disabilities and their families.
• The Zoo hosted a free, after-hours event for 300 families through a collaboration with the Community Partnership for Child Development.

These exciting programs, along with our recent partnership with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, the National Zoo and others to save amphibian species in Panama, have allowed us to make a difference in the lives of both the animals we strive to protect and the families that walk through our gates. With your help, we can continue our extraordinary journey of making a difference. As you might know, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is one of only a handful of accredited Zoos that receives no local or regional tax support of any kind, so we count on our friends and supporters to help us continue the important work that we’re doing. Please consider giving a generous gift to our annual fund and help us to have our most extraordinary year yet!

Best regards,

Bob Chastain
President & CEO

For more information

Contact Kelley Parker, Major Gifts and Planned Giving Manager, at 719-633-9925 ext. 164 or email kparker@cmzoo.org.