Conservation

Wildlife Conservation Matters.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is committed to the preservation of the Earth and its wildlife. Beyond living green ourselves, our ongoing wildlife conservation projects and our Quarters for Conservation (Q4C) initiative, we are committed to spreading the word about how each and every one of us can make a difference in the health and sustainability of wildlife and wild places.

Each visit to our Zoo directly supports wildlife conservation. With 75¢ in tokens from each admission, Zoo guests help fund our long term conservation projects at our Quarters for Conservation kiosks. Since this program started in 2008, this program has raised more than $6 million for field conservation.

Help us celebrate over $6 MILLION RAISED FOR CONSERVATION!

Every visit to the Zoo is conservation in action, because every admission raises 75¢ for Quarters for Conservation (Q4C). Since Q4C started in 2008, guests and members have raised over $6 million to support frontline conservation partners and breed-and-release programs to protect and restore endangered (or even extinct!) species in the wild.

Through membership dues, our members contribute $25,000 to Quarters for Conservation every year, too!

Watch this Video

Learn about how every visit to CMZoo raises money for conservation projects and partners all around the world – and right here in Colorado. From enormous ‘big tusker’ African elephants in Kenya to tiny Wyoming toads in the Laramie Basin, CMZoo’s guests and members are saving wildlife and wild places just by coming to the Zoo.

Conservation Projects

Click on the Q4C projects below for their details, latest news and updates.

Giraffe

According to recent reports, wild giraffe populations have grown 20 percent since 2015, with around 117,000 individual giraffe documented. But, there’s still work to be done. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) categorizes giraffe as vulnerable to extinction, while two northern subspecies are considered critically endangered, and Masai and reticulated giraffe (the subspecies found at CMZoo) are endangered. Thus far there has been limited research and conservation efforts on wild giraffe, so the extent of their conservation threats are often undetermined. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has partnered with the Giraffe Conservation Foundation to support much-needed field research on the different giraffe subspecies and to help with multiple conservation strategies.

Black-footed Ferrets

The only ferret native to North America, the black-footed ferret (BFF) once thrived across grass prairies from Canada to Mexico. But today it is one of the most endangered mammals in North America. The main cause of their decline was loss of habitat as a result of disease and extermination of prairie dogs, the ferrets’ primary food source. In the mid 1980s, only eighteen animals remained. To restore the native ferret population to North America’s Great Plains, five zoos, including Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, have partnered with the US Fish and Wildlife Service in an aggressive captive breeding and reintroduction program that is making progress toward recovering the native ferret population.

Quarters for Conservation logo graphic

Quarters for Conservation (Q4C)

Your Support can Change the World. One of the most impactful ways Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and its guests help wildlife conservation is through its Quarters for Conservation (Q4C) program. Since 2008, those quarters and coin donations have added up, now reaching a major milestone: more than $5 million raised! By collecting quarters and other coins, we fund new and existing wildlife conservation projects, provide an opportunity to engage our staff and our community in the effort, and significantly expand our contributions to wildlife conservation in Colorado and around the globe. Every contribution matters!
Quarters for Conservation kiosk with mother and child voting using tokens

How Q4C Works:

From the fees you pay to the Zoo, we will allocate the following amounts to biodiversity conservation projects; 75¢ per each admission fee, $2.50 per individual plus membership, $5 per family or higher membership, and a portion of each education and animal program.
On every visit, you’ll receive three “quarter” tokens. Learn about each project and contribute to the project(s) you’d like to fund by using these tokens, or your spare change, to show your support at the token kiosks, located inside at the Zoo’s Entry Plaza. Take some time as you visit animal exhibits, hear keeper talks, see natural behavior shows or read signage around the Zoo, and discuss this information with your family and friends. Discover suggestions as to how you can make a difference in preserving our planet’s limited resources and help the Q4C projects that you wish to support.
Additional contributions can be made with real quarters – 100% of any added contributions will go toward the selected project. (Total contributions are calculated annually, May through April.)
Donate to Q4C

Through Q4C, you’ll be directly supporting critical conservation projects every time you visit the Zoo!

Protecting the Future Together

Our members play a key role in deciding which new causes the Zoo adds to the list. Each year, members vote on causes to determine additional funding. Learn more about the causes they voted on this year, and become a member today.

2. AFRICAN LIONS – Promoting Coexistence in Kenya $25,000

Fully funded at $25,000.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has four African lions: Abuto, Lomela, Elsa, and Aslan. In their natural habitat, lions increasingly share landscapes with people, which can lead to conflict when livestock and predators overlap. These interactions create challenges for both communities and lion conservation. This project, in partnership with Ewaso Lions in Kenya, uses GPS tracking collars to monitor lion movement. Data is shared with local herding communities to provide advance notice of lion presence, helping reduce conflicts and livestock loss. Your vote supports practical, community-based approaches that promote coexistence between people and wildlife.

Become a Zoo Member

Even more than making memories for a lifetime… $100,000 of membership revenue annually goes directly to the Zoo’s field conservation efforts. Our members are committed to saving species locally and globally!
Join the Zoo Now

Ongoing Conservation Support

CMZoo supports ongoing wildlife conservation through hands-on fieldwork, research partnerships and species recovery projects, empowering staff and guests to contribute locally and globally to protect animals and wild places.