Reticulated Giraffe Archives

It’s a big year at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo! In 2026, CMZoo is celebrating its centennial year, welcoming a new President & CEO and opening a brand-new Giraffe Center.

Celebrating the Centennial
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo was established in 1926 by Colorado Springs legend, Spencer Penrose. Having earned considerable wealth from mining enterprises, he expanded his entrepreneurial endeavors in the early 1900s to help develop the Pikes Peak Region. Spencer opened The Broadmoor Hotel in 1918, and over the next several years, he was gifted and purchased exotic animals to impress his visitors.

Spencer’s first wild animals were a black bear and a small herd of black-tailed deer and elk. He kept them at his Turkey Creek Ranch, about 20 miles south of The Broadmoor. Bears, mountain lions, monkeys and more lived in enclosures that lined The Broadmoor golf course, where hotel guests could visit them. This foundational association with the hotel sparked a long-standing misconception that Spencer’s zoo, later Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, was owned by The Broadmoor. But, CMZoo is an independently operated Zoo, and one of the only facilities accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums that receives no tax support.

In 1926 and 1927, Spencer’s exotic animals were relocated from The Broadmoor golf course to the Zoo, not because of a notorious monkey bite as some histories claim, but to make way for a major golf tournament at The Broadmoor. So, if you have no other reason to be a fan of golf, you can thank the sport for contributing to the early beginnings of Cheyenne Mountain Zoo!

In 2026, CMZoo is celebrating a mountain of memories, and 100 years of growth in animal care, conservation, education and community. Throughout the year, the Zoo will share its legacy and historical fun facts. Plus, the Zoo is inviting the public to share their CMZoo stories for a chance to be featured on the Zoo’s social channels.

In summer 2026, the Zoo will host a weeklong celebration alongside the grand opening of the International Center for the Care and Conservation of Giraffe. More details to come!

Welcoming a New CEO
In May 2024, CMZoo announced that 20-year President & CEO, Bob Chastain, is retiring after 30 years of service to Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. During his tenure, Bob has represented CMZoo in the modern zoo and conservation professions. He has served as Chair of the Safety Committee for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), on the AZA and World Association of Zoos and Aquariums boards and locally on the Colorado Springs Wildfire Mitigation Advisory Committee.

The Zoo’s executive search for a new President & CEO is making great progress, so stay tuned for an exciting announcement in the coming months.

The Zoo plans to honor Bob’s contributions to the Zoo and Colorado Springs as his retirement date grows closer. In Bob’s final six months at the Zoo (he retires in June!), he’ll share a series of letters in The Waterhole. Bob’s letters will focus on the themes of ‘past, present and future.’ He’ll share anecdotes and memorable milestones that helped make Cheyenne Mountain Zoo a local treasure, a national destination and an international leader in animal care and conservation.

Opening the International Center for the Care and Conservation of Giraffe
The historic International Center for the Care and Conservation of Giraffe (the Giraffe Center), along with a new admissions experience, Quarters for Conservation plaza, gift shop and café, are on schedule to open this summer!

The $40 million dollar project, funded through Zoo revenue and donations, will increase the giraffe herd’s outdoor space by 25 percent and expand their indoor space with a 12,000-square-foot giraffe barn. Keep up with the latest construction updates by watching Bob’s Blueprints, a video series that highlights the progress and incredible elements included in the Giraffe Center.

It’s hard to believe, but the Zoo’s African Rift Valley habitat, home to the Zoo’s iconic 16-member giraffe herd, was built more than 20 years ago. In that time, giraffe professionals have learned a lot about providing world-class care. Home to the International Center for the Care and Conservation of Giraffe, established in 2022, CMZoo is a recognized leader in the professional field of giraffe care. This exhibit will reflect that expertise. The Giraffe Center is a concentrated effort to connect giraffe experts, to expand educational programs, and to improve and enrich the lives of giraffe in human care throughout the world.

The new giraffe habitat’s expanded yard will have additional spaces for giraffe to discover, including a new feeding tower to encourage giraffe to navigate the hills of CMZoo for the first time. The new giraffe barn is all about choice for giraffe and guests. Giraffe will have opportunities to interact with guests in new and exciting ways, and engage in enriching activities independent of keepers and guests. The goal is to fill each giraffe’s day with positively reinforcing activities, such as exploring new spaces, munching on leaves and twigs or taking advantage of quiet time. It will have 11 feeding zones, in comparison to the three zones available in the former giraffe exhibit – and guests can feed them from each location!

The new giraffe barn has natural substrate floors and an ETFE roof that floods the interior space with natural light. This innovative material is low maintenance and fire- and hail-resistant. It will bring the outdoors inside on cooler days, keeping guests and giraffe comfortable in Colorado Springs’ famous 300 days of sunshine.

For more information, and to be part of something BIG, visit cmzoo.org/giraffeproject.

Back to The Waterhole

Say hello to Jasiri, a 5-year-old reticulated giraffe who recently arrived at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo from Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance for a temporary stay. Jasiri’s move supports giraffe conservation through the Giraffe Species Survival Plan (SSP), a program managed by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).

Jasiri’s arrival went smoothly — he calmly walked off the specialized trailer and into his temporary home, where the neighboring giraffe herd was already eager to say hello. From curious nuzzles and sniffs to a few gentle licks, the herd wasted no time welcoming him.

Swing by African Rift Valley to say hello to Jasiri!

Back to The Waterhole

Written by Amy Schilz, senior animal behaviorist at the International Center for the Care and Conservation of Giraffe

As a senior animal behaviorist for Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s International Center for the Care and Conservation of Giraffe (the Giraffe Center), I have the incredible opportunity to participate in a wide range of exciting and meaningful initiatives. On any given day, I might help clean a giraffe stall, assist with drawing blood from a giraffe’s jugular vein, mentor a trainer in another state via video call or help coordinate the international transport of a giraffe to support AZA’s Species Survival Plan goals. I love collaborating with others to solve the complex challenges facing giraffe conservation. Some days, I truly have to pinch myself—because this job (quirks and all!) feels almost too good to be true.

One of the things that makes this role especially meaningful is the Giraffe Center’s partnership with Behavior Works, an organization dedicated to improving quality of life for all learners through the science of behavior change. This collaboration allows us to remain at the forefront of giraffe training, using the least intrusive, most positive and most effective strategies to teach essential medical behaviors such as hoof care, ultrasounds, x-rays, blood draws and injections. For the past few years, I’ve been fortunate to serve as a dual training consultant for Behavior Works and CMZoo’s Giraffe Center. Together, we’ve helped caretakers make lasting improvements in giraffe care and training practices.

When Bianca Papadapoulos, animal training coordinator with Zoos Victoria, in Australia, and Behavior Works consultant, reached out to ask if I would present as a keynote speaker at the Australasian Society of Zoo Keeping’s Animal Training Conference, I jumped at the opportunity. I knew it would be the perfect chance not only to highlight the work being done at CMZoo’s Giraffe Center, but also to learn from an incredible community of behavior professionals in Australia.

In November, I traveled to Sydney, Australia. I spent two inspiring weeks ‘Down Under’ with an exceptional group of conference hosts, keynote speakers and more than 240 attendees. I presented a 90-minute lecture on The Modern Approach to Animal Training and led four workshops throughout the week focused on Reading Animal Behavior. It was a true honor to present alongside fellow keynote speakers and personal training idols, including Ken Ramirez of the Karen Prior Academy, Tim Sullivan from Brookfield Zoo, and Dr. Susan Friedman from Behavior Works.

After the conference, I flew with the Behavior Works team to Melbourne, where the CMZ giraffe team has long-standing relationships with the zookeepers at Melbourne Zoo. Over the years, many of their giraffe keepers have attended workshops at the Giraffe Center or participated in extended keeper exchanges at our zoo. After more than a decade of collaboration, it’s always exciting to see what they’re working on. During my visit, I had the chance to observe their impressive voluntary head x-ray training program, which allows keepers to monitor giraffe dental health. They even invited me to practice training one of their giraffe who is already well established in the behavior.

While spending time with giraffe is always a highlight, I also had the chance to experience some truly unforgettable wildlife encounters in Australia. I saw a massive colony of flying foxes, watched a wombat forage in the wild, spotted a koala lounging in a eucalyptus tree and observed cockatoos soaring overhead. Seeing animals in the wild always inspires me to stay hard at work making animals’ lives better in human care. Many people never get to experience these animals in the wild, and it’s our honor to help them feel that same inspiration by visiting animals at CMZoo.

My favorite experience, though, was feeding a quokka at Melbourne Zoo. If you don’t know what a quokka is, I highly recommend looking it up immediately—I promise even a single photo will make your day.

All in all, it was an incredible experience. I’m deeply grateful to Bianca Papadapoulos, Susan Friedman and the team at Behavior Works, the conference organizers and our friends at Melbourne Zoo and Taronga Zoo for the opportunities, collaboration and warm hospitality they shared with me.

In addition, I am incredibly thankful for the constant support of my home team at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. Every single person shows up and steps up for me, whether it’s covering my responsibilities while I’m away or leadership wholeheartedly supporting my outreach, enrichment and professional growth. I couldn’t do this work without you, and I’m endlessly grateful to call you my team. You are truly my heroes.

Back to The Waterhole

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is reflecting on the incredible legacy of Khalid (pronounced “Kuh-LEED”), a 17-year-old breeding male giraffe. Khalid was humanely euthanized on Fri., Dec. 12. His care team had been supporting him through mobility issues, and Khalid’s health rapidly declined over the past week.

After exhausting all possible humane treatments for Khalid, and considering his advanced age, they made the compassionate decision to say goodbye. Khalid would have been 18 years old in May, and the median life expectancy for male giraffe in human care is sixteen-and-a-half years.

Known affectionately by many as “Big Daddy,” Khalid’s presence at CMZoo was as big as the legacy he leaves behind. Weighing in at 2,500 pounds and standing sixteen-and-a-half feet tall, he was the Zoo’s only breeding bull since he arrived in June 2010. He fathered seven calves, including 6-year-old Viv and 3-year-old Wednesday – two female giraffe that currently live at CMZoo. Giraffe are critically endangered in the wild, and Khalid’s kids represent important contributions to the genetic diversity of the assurance population of giraffe in human care. He recently became a grandfather when his daughter, BB, gave birth to Thorn, a male, in March 2025 at Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance.

“He was a gentle giant,” Kacie Meffley, giraffe animal care manager at CMZoo, says. “He had this huge imposing head and body paired with a surprisingly gentle demeanor. Many people will remember him leaning over the fence into the nursery stall when his babies were born, so he could delicately smell them and lick their heads. He was also gentle with guests, who would save lettuce especially for Khalid when feeding our herd.”

Khalid had an enormous fan club. They would visit him on his birthday, World Giraffe Day and every day of the year, making sure they fed Big Daddy after visiting the rest of the herd. He met thousands of people through up-close encounters over the years, when guests would remark at the size of his hooves, often exclaiming, “They’re bigger than dinner plates!” His care team remembers one very special moment between Khalid and a blind guest who visited the Zoo.

Khalid’s head was bumpier than the rest of the herd’s, which is a natural occurrence for male giraffe whose testosterone encourages calcium deposits to grow on their heads and around their ossicones (the horn-like points on top of giraffe’s heads). Noticing the visually impaired guest exploring the Zoo with her hands, Khalid’s keeper team asked if she wanted to feel his head – an offer she quickly accepted. Khalid calmly leaned his big, bumpy head into her. She gasped with delight at the sensation and size of his head, and the time he spent with her. She made an incredible connection with Khalid that day, and he enjoyed the head scratches.

Khalid’s relationship with his keepers was vital in his care. His trusted team provided a myriad of treatments and environmental changes, like different ground substrates to stand on, enriching activities and places to explore. The team, led by leading hoof care experts at CMZoo’s International Center for the Care and Conservation of Giraffe, worked tirelessly for Khalid, and consulted with giraffe care experts around the world on his case.

Care teams at CMZoo always work hard to give animals their Last Best Day. For Khalid, it was a peaceful passing, and his expertise in training allowed him to receive his injection cooperatively and calmly.

“He was the best boy today, as always, and he will be deeply missed,” Diana Miller, giraffe specialist at CMZoo’s International Center for the Care and Conservation of Giraffe, says. “He got lots of head scratches, bananas and browse. He nuzzled some of the giraffe and then he came over to train for the most beautiful voluntary hand injection, then shifted into spaces where we could give him his final care. He had a good last day and that’s all we could hope for. His legacy will live on in all of the things we learned from him.”

Khalid’s care knowledge will be shared with other giraffe care professionals in workshops, educational videos, consultations and network through the Giraffe Center. Even after his death, Khalid will continue to make contributions to his species. Veterinarians will perform a necropsy (an autopsy for animals) and his hooves will become part of a groundbreaking study on giraffe hoof anatomy that will benefit giraffe in human care and in the wild for decades to come.

Committed to continuing to grow and diversify the population of giraffe in human care, CMZoo plans to welcome another breeding bull to the Zoo as soon as possible. There are no concrete plans at this point, and CMZoo will share more when the time is right.

About Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

Cheyenne Mountain Zoological Society was founded in 1926. Today, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, America’s mountain Zoo, offers comprehensive education programs, exciting conservation efforts and truly fantastic animal experiences. In 2025, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo was voted #2 Best Zoo in North America and CMZoo’s Rocky Mountain Wild was named #2 Best Zoo Exhibit in North America by USA TODAY’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards. It is Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s goal to help guests fall in love with animals and nature, and take action to protect them. Since 2008, CMZoo’s Quarters for Conservation program has raised more than $6 million dedicated to frontline conservation efforts around the world. Of the 237 zoos and aquariums accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is one of just a few operating without tax support. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo depends on admissions, membership dues, special event attendance and donations for funding.

QUARTERS FOR CONSERVATION PROGRAM HELPS MEMBERS AND GUESTS CONTRIBUTE DIRECTLY TO FRONTLINE CONSERVATION ORGANIZATIONS WORLDWIDE – Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and its members and guests are celebrating a huge milestone, having raised $6 million for wildlife and wild places, since the Zoo’s Quarters for Conservation (Q4C) program launched in 2008.

Every visitor to the Zoo receives three ‘quarter’ tokens representing the 75¢ Q4C allocation from their admission fee. They can then show support for the legacy projects they love by placing their tokens in the corresponding slots in the Q4C kiosks near admissions.

Before launching Q4C in 2008, CMZoo was supporting conservation, but at a fraction of what is possible now. As more people visit the Zoo each year, the Zoo can contribute more money to conservation. In the past few years, CMZoo has collected approximately one million dollars every 20 months through Q4C. The Zoo’s membership, special events, admissions and EdVenture programs also contribute to conservation. CMZoo’s current Q4C beneficiary species include giraffe, Panama frogs, orangutans, black-footed ferrets, African elephants and black rhinos, Wyoming toads and Amur tigers.

About Our Current Q4C Legacy Projects

Q4C beneficiary species truly run the gamut, from 18-foot-tall giraffe in Africa to tiny toads in Wyoming.

Q4C supports Giraffe Conservation Foundation and their efforts to study, protect and grow wild giraffe populations. While CMZoo staff help raise awareness of giraffes’ silent extinction by inspiring guests at the Zoo, Q4C funds on-the-ground giraffe conservation efforts. CMZoo and the Kratt Family Fund (KFF) support efforts such as giraffe translocations to safer habitats, population monitoring and surveying, removal of illegal snare wires and veterinary treatment for giraffe and other wildlife injured by snares. They also provide veterinary support with vehicles and supplies. In addition, CMZoo’s contributions fund critical medications to treat injured animals, giving them a second chance at life.

Q4C also funds CMZoo’s on-site breeding programs for black-footed ferrets and Wyoming toads. These endangered prairie species were declared extinct in the wild in the 1980s and early 1990s, and are only around today because of decades of recovery efforts from U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, zoos and partner organizations.

Wyoming toads are like so many amphibian species in decline all over the world, including Panamanian frogs, which also receive support thanks to Q4C funds and CMZoo staff support in the field. CMZoo staff members assist the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project by sharing ideas and information from Wyoming toad breed-and-release efforts, and travel to Panama to help research strategies to reintroduce these endangered amphibians into their natural habitats.

CMZoo’s work to save habitats for orangutans through advocacy for sustainable palm oil production is also largely supported by Q4C. Thanks to that financial support, CMZoo’s sustainable palm oil team consults staff at other conservation organizations on starting their own palm oil programs. The CMZoo sustainable palm oil team continues to focus on international work through the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA). The team was instrumental in the creation of WAZA’s PalmOil Scan – a global free sustainable palm oil shopping smartphone app, which allows shoppers to scan the barcodes of items to learn whether producers have committed to using sustainable palm oil – and to choose to support companies that have committed to sourcing sustainable palm oil.

Through Q4C, CMZoo also supports Tsavo Trust – a conservation organization in Kenya that works to protect the last of the big tuskers, which are African elephants with tusks weighing more than 100 pounds, and Eastern black rhinos. CMZoo’s funds helped Tsavo Trust build out their headquarters and provide a clean water source for the local community, who are partners in conservation efforts. It also paid for vital infrastructure for aerial and ground vehicles that rangers use for surveillance that protects rhinos and elephants from illegal hunting, in addition to collecting data on how these endangered giants utilize the habitat.

The seventh Q4C legacy partner is Wildlife Conservation Society, whose dedicated staff work to protect and define secure habitats for wild Amur tigers in Eastern Russia. Amur tigers, previously known as Siberian tigers, are critically endangered. Their numbers in the wild continue to be treacherously low at around 500. CMZoo supports efforts to prevent human-wildlife conflicts as well as anti-poaching efforts and funding for field conservationists to study this species in the wild.

For more information about these projects and Quarters for Conservation, visit cmzoo.org/conservation.

About Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

Cheyenne Mountain Zoological Society was founded in 1926. Today, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, America’s mountain Zoo, offers comprehensive education programs, exciting conservation efforts and truly fantastic animal experiences. In 2025, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo was voted #2 Best Zoo in North America and CMZoo’s Rocky Mountain Wild was named #2 Best Zoo Exhibit in North America by USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards. It is Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s goal to help guests fall in love with animals and nature, and take action to protect them. Of the 237 zoos and aquariums accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is one of just a few operating without tax support. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo depends on admissions, membership dues, special event attendance and donations for to fund animal care, conservation, Zoo operations and improvements.

CMZoo’s Giraffe Center Makes Impressive Progress and Nears Pivotal Deadline

The International Center for the Care and Conservation of Giraffe is getting taller, and this week, construction teams celebrated the arrival and placement of the first steel beams. Finalizing the steel structure of the Giraffe Center this fall is pivotal. To open on time in 2026, teams are working diligently to beat the deadline – before winter weather presents new challenges.

Visitors can already see some of the beams in place from the guest parking lot. From the top of the concrete walls, already in place, the beams will elevate the building to its highest point, about 35 feet above the top of the concrete walls.

The $40 million dollar project, funded through Zoo revenue and donations, will increase the herd’s outdoor space by 25% and expand their indoor space with a 12,000-square-foot giraffe barn.

It’s hard to believe, but the Zoo’s African Rift Valley habitat, home to the Zoo’s iconic 15-member giraffe herd was built more than 20 years ago. In that time, giraffe professionals have learned a lot about providing world-class care. Home to the International Center for the Care and Conservation of Giraffe (the Giraffe Center), established in 2022, CMZoo is recognized as a leader in the professional field of giraffe care. This exhibit will reflect that expertise. The Giraffe Center is a concentrated effort to connect giraffe experts and to expand educational programs to improve and enrich the lives of giraffe in human care throughout the world.

The new giraffe barn is all about choice for giraffe and guests. Giraffe will have opportunities to interact with guests in new and exciting ways, and engage in enriching activities in their habitat independent of keepers and guests. The goal is to fill each giraffe’s day with positively reinforcing activities, such as exploring new spaces, munching on leaves and twigs or taking advantage of some quiet time. With a large herd of giraffe that has various preferences and different personalities, the habitat will be filled with meaningful choices. For example, it will have 11 feeding zones, in comparison to the three zones available in their former exhibit.

The giraffe barn will have an ETFE roof that will flood the interior space with natural light. This innovative material is low maintenance and fire- and hail-resistant. This lightweight material is used in sports stadiums, airports, and some European zoos to create visually striking and functional spaces. The clear roof that will cover the giraffe barn and gift shop will be the largest of its kind covering an animal exhibit in North America. It will bring the outdoors inside on cooler days, keeping guests and giraffe comfortable in Colorado’s 300 days of sunshine.

The relocation of the Zoo’s main road is making room to expand the giraffe yard to the west. The expanded yard will have additional spaces for giraffe to discover, and includes a new feeding tower to encourage giraffe to navigate the hills of CMZoo for the first time. The larger, more geographically diverse yard will provide the herd with new space to explore, contributing to their overall well-being. The giraffe herd will have expanded outdoor space and their barn with natural floors and fresh air, provided by giraffe-size garage doors – and guests can feed them from each location.

For more information, and to be part of something BIG, visit cmzoo.org/giraffeproject.

Explore Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun with a Limited-Time Guided Jeep Tour

Through Sun., Aug. 31 only, CMZoo members and guests can see Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun in a new adventurous way — by guided tour in a 4×4! This summer, the Zoo partnered with El Pomar Foundation and Adventures Out West to improve experiences for visitors to the Zoo and to Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun. By reducing vehicle traffic in the Zoo, Zoo guests share the road with vehicles less frequently. Instead of driving themselves to the Shrine, Shrine guests can sit back and enjoy the views — all while learning about area wildlife, history, geology and more!

Once guests reach Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun, they meet a Shrine tour guide and explore the unique structure, learning about the incredible legacy of Spencer Penrose, who founded the Zoo in 1926, and catching stunning views of Colorado Springs, North Cheyenne Cañon and Garden of the Gods from Cheyenne Mountain.
• Scenic Rides to the Shrine are available Tuesdays through Sundays from 9:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.
• Price: $5 per seat
• The full experience lasts about 1 hour, including the Jeep tour (up and down) and around 35 minutes to explore the Shrine.
• Scenic Ride to the Shrine tickets are limited and may sell out. Advance reservations are not required, but they are available at cmzoo.org/ride.
• The Shrine is closed on Mondays and most holidays.
• Daytime tickets to the Zoo are required to gain entry to the Scenic Ride to the Shrine pick-up area, near Grizzly Grill and the play hills.
• Reserve Scenic Ride to the Shrine tickets for the same day as your Zoo visit.
• Book Scenic Ride to the Shrine tickets at cmzoo.org/ride.
• Questions? Call our partners at Adventures Out West at 719-578-0935.

Guided Jeep tours are available through Sun., Aug. 31. After Labor Day, Zoo members and guests can drive themselves to the Shrine. Guests requiring wheelchair-accessible vehicle access to the Shrine are allowed to visit The Shrine at no cost by driving their own vehicles to the Shrine. Show your daytime Zoo admission at the drive-in gates to gain admission.

Skip the Parking Lot with Anytime Rideshare Tickets

Is your favorite time to visit the Zoo sold out? Try our new rideshare tickets — they're always available and can be used at any time for daytime admission.

For the past six summers, we have managed our parking lots by limiting capacity to the Zoo. Our goal is to reduce visitors' frustrations with limited on-site parking, and to avoid the hassle of off-site shuttles. Now, CMZoo members and guests can book rideshare Zoo admission tickets at cmzoo.org/rideshare. Arrive at your leisure and show your Uber, Lyft or taxi receipt with your rideshare tickets at admissions.

Rideshare tickets are free for members, and they're $5 less than peak-time nonmember tickets. They can be used any time during normal daytime admission (9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. when the Zoo closes at 5 p.m. Early member entry is at 8 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays through Labor Day).

Visit cmzoo.org/rideshare to reserve your rideshare tickets today! Questions? Email [email protected].

Back to The Waterhole

Kinda (rhymes with Linda) arrived at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo on May 27, 2025. She’s easy to spot in the herd because she’s currently the smallest, and her coat is a darker brown than others. The 1-year-old female giraffe is impressing her keepers with her confidence and adaptability.

“She may be the smallest in the herd, but she is certainly holding her own,” Jake Beiermann, African Rift Valley giraffe keeper, says. “It’s normal for established members of a herd to be curious about new giraffe, and some are more tactile than others in their approach. Kinda is super laid back, and she just rolls with whatever is going on around her with confidence.”

Some giraffe have been seen nuzzling Kinda, like Panya, a 7-year-old female. Ohe (pronounced OH-hee) is a 6-year-old male giraffe with a reputation for paying extra attention to the littlest members of the herd. Jake has seen Ohe positioning himself between Kinda and other members of the herd who might not understand personal space. Others have followed Kinda around, like 3-year-old Kay, who seems keen to get Kinda to respond to little nudges.

While she settles in, Kinda spends evenings – when keepers check in overnight via surveillance cameras, but aren’t there to watch continuously – with Muziki (27), Laikipia (18), and Amani (25) – or some combination of that group. Giraffe are social animals, and are most comfortable in groups. In the future, Kinda and her ‘nanny giraffe’ will return to spending the nights with the full herd, but they are comfortable in a smaller group for now.

Kinda seems mostly focused on getting to know her surroundings, and she has been confidently exploring since the moment she stepped off the trailer and into the barn.

“It’s so much fun to see her in the yard, exploring every inch of the space,” Jake says. “She’s so little compared to the others. She’ll stand next to Tumbili, who is about two-and-a-half times her size, but she’s right up there at the fences, stretching up as high as she can to take lettuce from guests.”

[Pro tip: Kinda and the shorter giraffe can more easily reach guests’ lettuce offerings near the drawbridge by the giraffe barn.]

Kinda has been outgoing with giraffe, guests, members and her keeper team. Jake says Kinda is eager to get close to keepers in the barn, with a fence between them for safety.

“She’s already a great ambassador for her species because she’s so interested in people,” Jake says. “It’s exciting to see the future of our herd, and to see how our new Giraffe Center will support giraffe who grow up in that space.”

Kinda is one of three giraffe in the herd under the age of four, along with Wednesday (3) and Kay (3). The International Center for the Care and Conservation of Giraffe, opening in 2026, was designed with the latest innovations and knowledge to support giraffe wellbeing and care. Kinda and future calves will benefit from the giraffe care expertise gathered since the last CMZoo giraffe barn was built, 22 years ago. To learn more about the Giraffe Center, visit cmzoo.org/giraffeproject.

Kinda will continue to settle into the herd, exploring outdoors and indoors as she chooses and weather permits. Next time you’re at CMZoo, swing by the giraffe feeding, and visit the newest and littlest member of the tower!

Back to The Waterhole

HE WAS THE SECOND-OLDEST MALE GIRAFFE IN HUMAN CARE IN THE COUNTRY WHEN HE PASSED – Cheyenne Mountain Zoo staff and giraffe fans are reflecting on the life of a legendary giraffe, Mahali [ma-HAUL-ee]. After an age-related decline in his health, Mahali’s care team made the difficult but compassionate decision to euthanize him on Thurs., April 10. Mahali was the second-oldest male reticulated giraffe in Association of Zoos and Aquariums facilities in the country at 22 years old.

Mahali’s team remembers him as self-assured and particular, and they’re most grateful for what he taught them. Later in life, Mahali experienced foot and leg issues that affected his mobility. In 2017 and 2020, Mahali went under anesthesia to receive treatments, and those procedures helped him heal and return to a good quality of life. In 2023, his care team decided to avoid future risky anesthesia, and focus on helping Mahali live well as an old giraffe by making environmental accommodations for him.

“Mahali changed the way we think about caring for aging giraffe,” Rick Hester, CMZoo animal behaviors curator, says. “It’s not often you have the opportunity to work with a male giraffe this old, and once we understood each other, we could try all sorts of accommodations to help him age comfortably.”

Mahali advanced giraffe care by allowing his team to glue orthopedic shoes to his hooves, and by helping his team understand quality-of-life measurements that made sense for him as an old giraffe, as opposed to a young giraffe. A good quality of life for an aging giraffe includes having comfortable places to rest, participating in husbandry training, socializing with giraffe friends, eating well, being able to lie down and stand up, and traversing all terrains.

When keepers noticed Mahali was ‘saying no’ to training consistently around 2017, Amy Schilz, senior animal behaviorist at the International Center for the Care and Conservation of Giraffe at CMZoo, asked Rick to put his decade of animal training experience to the test with Mahali. After Mahali developed a communicative and trusting relationship with Rick, it was game on.

Even in a busy barn, Rick could call out, ‘Hey, Mahali,’ in a low monotone voice. Mahali’s eyes would sharpen focus, his ears would perk up, and he’d start scanning the crowd. Once he spotted Rick, he’d walk right over. Rick and Amy worked consistently together with Mahali’s training, and Mahali learned to trust that he was in control with these humans, who were going to notice his subtle communication cues.

“Mahali had special needs, and what worked for the rest of the herd wasn’t working for him as he aged, so we worked to find the right nuance for Mahali,” Rick says. “When we were together, we were really focused on each other, and Mahali responded well for many years.”

Rick and Mahali stayed focused on each other for Mahali’s remaining years, perfecting the animal-human communication that all CMZoo animal trainers strive for, to provide excellent cooperative care for an animal. Thanks to his dedicated team, Mahali got many more years of quality health, and giraffe fans got many more years of Mahali.

“Mahali was a rascal in his younger years,” Amy says. Amy worked with Mahali for 12 years. “Some might remember we used to sell lettuce for giraffe feedings near the railing of the giraffe yard. We moved it because Mahali could reach over the railing, and he kept nudging staff to give him lettuce, like, ‘Hey, I see what you have there.’”

As Mahali grew up, his confidence was on full display. His team described him as ‘tactile.’ He was known for pulling on keepers’ shirts or pushing other giraffe out of his way to be the center of keepers’ attention. If Mahali didn’t want to move, he wasn’t moving. At the end of the day, when keepers welcomed giraffe to the barn from the yard, he would sometimes opt for a few more hours outside.

“He had a great last day,” Jason Bredahl, CMZoo curator of animal environments and former giraffe animal care manager, says. Jason was present for Mahali’s entire life. “He went out into the yard with an enthusiasm we hadn’t seen in a few days. He soaked up the sunshine and ate lettuce and tree branches while socializing with his herd and our guests. We’re proud of the ‘bonus years’ we’ve been able to give Mahali, and we’re grateful for all the guests he has inspired and animal welfare he has taught us. It’s always hard when we know it’s time to say goodbye, but it’s also our final act of compassion and stewardship for our animals.”

Mahali was the first giraffe calf born in the current giraffe barn, hours before Mother’s Day in May 2003. As the Zoo makes progress on its giraffe habitat expansion and a new 12,000 square-foot giraffe building, giraffe staff say they will take the lessons Mahali taught them to their new giraffe center, and share with keepers around the world through the International Center for the Care and Conservation of Giraffe’s workshops, information sharing and consultations. His legacy will live on in every giraffe that gets to live old well.

About Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

Cheyenne Mountain Zoological Society was founded in 1926. Today, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, America’s mountain Zoo, offers comprehensive education programs, exciting conservation efforts and truly fantastic animal experiences. In 2025, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo was voted #2 Best Zoo in North America and CMZoo’s Rocky Mountain Wild was named #2 Best Zoo Exhibit in North America by USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards. It is Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s goal to help guests fall in love with animals and nature, and take action to protect them. Since 2008, CMZoo’s Quarters for Conservation program has raised more than $5 million dedicated to frontline conservation efforts around the world. Of the 237 zoos and aquariums accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is one of just a few operating without tax support. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo depends on admissions, membership dues, special event attendance and donations for funding.