At 6 weeks old, the Rocky Mountain goat kids are hitting milestones, including eating solid foods, sparring with each other, exploring all the yards, and meeting their dad, Albert, and older sister, Blanca. They are finding their footing like little pros and learning how to be Rocky Mountain goats from their mom, Lena. Visit the twins across from the Sky Ride during your next trip to CMZoo!
Kids, kits, joeys and pups! This season, we’ve welcomed seven baby skunks, two Rocky Mountain goats, two wallaby joeys, and five meerkat pups. These adorable littles are already awesome ambassadors for their species and quickly becoming guest favorites, each bringing their own unique energy and playfulness to CMZoo.
The seven skunks will head to other AZA zoos when they’re mature and independent in the coming months. At their new homes, they’ll represent their wild counterparts and help even more people learn to love and appreciate skunks. There are no current plans for meerkats, joeys or Rocky Mountain goat kids to leave CMZoo.
Be sure to visit the cuteness overload firsthand during your next visit!
CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN ZOO WELCOMES TWO ROCKY MOUNTAIN GOAT KIDS – Two bouncy, squeaky and fluffy kids joined the CMZoo family on Sun., May 19, when second-time Rocky Mountain goat mom, Lena, gave birth to her first set of twins.
The double bundle of joy were on their hooves, taking their wobbly first steps within minutes. Both kids have nursed and continue to bond well with their attentive mom, who is moonlighting as a jungle gym.
“Less than 24 hours after its birth, Baby #2 climbed on top of Lena, who patiently laid still as the little one climbed from her back end all the way to her head, where it slid gently around the back of her neck with its front legs on either side of her head,” says Joanna Husby, animal care manager. “We’ve got an adventurous one on our hands! We’re seeing both babies hit all the milestones for healthy kids, and we’re excited for everyone to meet them.”
Baby #1, in the foreground of the photo above, is slightly smaller than Baby #2, and has a distinctively adorable floppy left ear. Baby #1 seems calmer than Baby #2, so far. Both are very vocal, making loud calls to mom, which are catching the attention of their 2-year-old sister, Blanca, and 14-year-old ‘grannie goat,’ Yazhi, from separate yards. 10-year-old dad, Albert, who is sharing space with Blanca, hasn’t seemed to notice, which is very on-brand for laid-back Albert.
Staff were eagerly awaiting the arrival of the kids, whose gestation lasted the full 180 days expected for a Rocky Mountain goat pregnancy. On Sunday, staff noticed Lena was in active labor around 11:15 a.m. Baby #1 was born at 12:09 p.m. and took its first steps 9 minutes later. At 12:34 p.m., while Baby #1 was nursing, Baby #2 was born. Baby #2 took its first steps at 1:02 p.m.
Because both kids are nursing and bonding well with Lena, staff have not intervened, so their weights and sexes have not been confirmed. Following Zoo tradition, they’ll get names after 30 days.
“Lena was a great mom to Blanca, her first baby, and she’s proving to know just what to do with these two,” Joanna says. “She did look a bit surprised to see the second baby arrive, which is understandable considering no one told her she was pregnant with twins!”
Twins aren’t uncommon for Rocky Mountain goats after a first pregnancy. Big sister, Blanca, seems very interested in the new sounds and smells in the barn. For the goats’ safety and comfort — and taking Blanca’s bold and energetic nature into account — their introduction to Big Sis may take a while. The twins are likely to meet calm-natured Albert next. But first, they’re exploring outside with Mom.
“The babies are following Lena well and she’s comfortable moving to a different spaces, so we welcomed them outside for the first time today,” Joanna says. “We have a side yard that has more suitable terrain for little hooves than our big yard with rocky cliffs, so they’ll find their footing there. My guess is that it won’t be long until they’re leaping and chasing all over the rocks. Having a twin means having a built-in play partner, and it’s going to be hard to do anything but watch them. Rocky Mountain goat babies are pure joy.”
The kids are the fifth and sixth babies born at CMZoo this season, along with two wallaby joeys in Australia Walkabout and two meerkat pups in Encounter Africa.
CMZoo will share updates on the kids on the Zoo’s social media channels and in the Zoo’s newsletter, The Waterhole.
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 2024, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo was voted #5 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 $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.
Five Rocky Mountain goats call CMZoo home. Twinkie (17), Yazhi (12), Albert (8), Lena (3) and Blanca (9 months) make up the herd seen high up in their customized habitat made up of cascading rock formations. This steep habitat mimics the terrain Rocky Mountain goats experience in the wild.
Their unique hooves have two toes with a soft center that acts as a kind of climbing shoe. Keepers help our goats get the best grip on the rocks through important voluntary hoof care training.
Our goats also participate in target training and scale training. When keepers ask the goats to touch or move to a target, they are rewarded with their favorite treats. This training allows keepers to weigh them on a scale, administer vaccines or other medications, and check their hoofs for overgrowth or foreign objects.
Next time you visit CMZoo, stop by the Rocky Mountain goat exhibit and watch members of the herd scale rocks with their nimble hooves!
Blanca, our 3-month-old Rocky Mountain goat, is growing up fast! She recently weighed in at 53 pounds. Her mom, Lena, weighs 126 pounds, and her dad, Albert, weighs 358 pounds, so we’re curious who Blanca will take after as she continues to grow. Speaking of growing, check out her little horns!
Blanca is growing in confidence, too. She approaches Yazhi and Twinkie, our two older female Rocky Mountain goats in the herd, and even eats food right out of her keepers’ hands. Blanca is still nursing sporadically in addition to eating solid foods. Rocky Mountain goats typically stop nursing around four months, so we expect she’ll transition to eating completely solid foods in the near future.
Have you seen Blanca in person yet? Visit her and the rest of the Rocky Mountain goats across from the Sky Ride on the rocky cliffs, next time you’re at CMZoo!
The adorably fluffy Rocky Mountain Goat kid born on May 4 has a name! Meet Blanca, named after Blanca Peak – one of Colorado’s tallest mountains. Blanca is growing in leaps and bounds! The young female goat is incredibly independent and energetic. Wait until you see her version of zoomies! She now weighs nearly 30 pounds, has met the full five-member herd of Rocky Mountain goats at CMZoo, and is even learning to take food from keepers.
There’s a very fluffy, adorably squeaky new kid on the rocks at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. Around 3:15 p.m. on Wed., May 4, first-time Rocky Mountain goat mom, Lena, delivered a baby who was on her feet and working out her wobbly legs within minutes.
“Rocky Mountain goat kids are famous for being capable right out of the gate,” said Michelle Salido, lead keeper at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. “They’re native to some pretty demanding habitats, so they have to be hearty to thrive in those elements and that’s what we’re seeing with this little one. She’s getting the hang of her lanky legs, and we’ve already seen her climbing up rocks and on her mom.”
After a short intervention from animal care staff, the baby and mom are bonding well, and guests can see them – as long as they choose to stay visible – in the Rocky Mountain goat habitat.
The animal care team stayed with Lena and her baby through the evening on Wednesday, because they hadn’t seen nursing. The first feeding is really important for a newborn animal, because brand-new mother’s milk contains colostrum, which has important nutrients and antibodies. After about three hours of the kid attempting to nurse unsuccessfully, the team stepped in and hand-fed its first meal.
While feeding the baby a colostrum substitute, the team confirmed that it’s a girl and that she weighs about 8 pounds. After feeding the little one, the team reunited her with her mom and the two have been bonding well since. The baby has been seen nursing consistently since last night, so the team hopes mom and daughter will continue to take it from here.
“It took Lena a little while to get the hang of nursing, which isn’t unusual for a first-time mom, but since then, we’ve seen her really embrace motherhood,” said Salido. “She’s being protective, and she’s letting her daughter snuggle up to her and climb on her. She was really focused on making sure the baby was clean – especially her ears. She was licking the kid’s ears and the baby was making little goat whinnying sounds and wobbling around during the grooming session. They’re so cute.”
Following Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s tradition of not naming baby animals until they’re at least a month old, there are no immediate plans to name the youngster. Fans can follow Lena’s baby as it grows up on the Zoo’s social media channels.