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BOB CHASTAIN, PRESIDENT & CEO WILL RETIRE IN JUNE 2026 – After an international executive search, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s Board of Directors announced today that they have elected Dave Ruhl, CMZoo’s current executive vice president, as the Zoo’s incoming president & CEO, effective June 12, 2026.

Dave Ruhl, incoming President & CEO of Cheyenne Mountain Zoo — Dave Ruhl, incoming President & CEO Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

“The Zoo’s future is in excellent hands with Dave leading our tremendous staff and supporters,” Ann Naughton, CMZoo board chair, says. “In the past 20 years, under Bob Chastain’s excellent leadership, the Zoo has grown to become financially stable and culturally strong. Dave’s experience and stellar reputation in the greater zoo community and his proven record of accomplishment at our Zoo will elevate Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s already-gold standard. Dave has shown us he can lead our unique Zoo to continued success in animal welfare, conservation, staff support and morale, financial acumen, community involvement, vision and stability.”

The announcement comes nearly two years after Bob Chastain, CMZoo’s current president & CEO, announced his retirement, effective June 12, 2026. The board’s executive search committee hired a third-party executive search firm to manage the recruitment process, which attracted candidates from across the continent.

“Over the last two years, Dave and I have worked tirelessly toward making sure he was the right person to entrust the Zoo to,” Bob Chastain, CMZoo’s 20-year president & CEO, says. “His work ethic and dedication to our mission are admirable.”

Ruhl joined CMZoo as vice president of operations and campus planning in April 2020. After three years on the executive leadership team at the Zoo, he was promoted to executive vice president. Ruhl is active with the Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC, the Better Business Bureau and Leadership Pikes Peak.

In his time at CMZoo, Ruhl has worked in partnership with Chastain on the design, construction and financial management of the International Center for the Care and Conservation of Giraffe – an innovative giraffe habitat set to open in summer 2026. Chastain noted that without Ruhl’s daily guidance, the Giraffe Center would likely be opening months later than planned. In June 2020, Ruhl led the team through the final stages of opening of the Zoo’s new home to hippos, penguins, lemurs and more, Water’s Edge: Africa.

In addition to high-profile roles at CMZoo, Ruhl has focused on equally important but less public efforts like starting the Zoo’s first intramural kickball and soccer teams, enthusiastically supported by more than 40 participating staff. Known for his people-first approach and a quiet “believe” mindset, he brings levity to the workday through work-friendly Taylor Swift playlists in his office, depending on meeting attendees’ levels of Swiftieness.

“My leadership philosophy is very much people-first and service-driven,” Ruhl says. “I believe if you take great care of the people doing great work and give them a clear vision and direction, they’ll take care of the mission and the day-to-day operations. I try to lead with compassion, trust and curiosity, giving people the support, clarity and autonomy they need to do their best work. I see my role as removing barriers, asking good questions and helping people grow. I describe it as coaching from the side, not commanding from the front. It’s a blend of servant and transformational leadership, grounded in relationships and focused on building confident, capable teams that thrive well beyond me.”

Ruhl’s experience in the zoo profession spans back to 1998, when he supported Toledo Zoo as a third-party estimator and project manager for a major construction project. In March 2001, he joined Toledo Zoo’s team as a project manager and later as assistant director of facilities construction, and led capital planning and construction for eight major construction projects and countless smaller projects, totaling over $100 million.

His passion for conservation grew there, too. He established a set of ‘green guiding values’ and ‘principles of green construction’ used in the design and construction of all projects. He also led successful campaigns to gain county voters’ approval for a capital property levy and an operating property tax levy in the early 2000s. Although CMZoo is one of the few AZA-accredited nonprofit zoos that does not receive tax support, his experience leading community campaigns will be vital as CMZoo sets its sights on its next capital campaign and a new ten-year master plan.

Ruhl has extensive experience in zoo safety and emergency leadership. During his time at Palm Beach Zoo and Conservation Society, he developed a two-key/two-lock system to increase safety of animal keepers who work in dangerous animal areas. Today, that system is used in many facilities across the zoo profession. He has certifications in Mental Health First Aid, wildland firefighting, large animal rescue, incident command system and active threat response, and he served as incident commander for Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society in Florida during Hurricane Irma.

“With nearly 30 years’ experience in zoos, I can truly say that Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is special,” Ruhl says. “I’m committed to maintaining the experiences that our members and guests love, while finding new ways to invite more people to our Zoo. We will continue to improve the experiences we create for our members and guests while improving the wellbeing of animals in our care and our community’s impact on worldwide conservation. We’ll also strengthen our commitment to sustainability and reduce our impact on the planet, while doubling down on our investment in our people, supporting their growth, wellbeing and satisfaction at the Zoo. The weight of this role is not lost on me. Over the next four months, I’ll continue absorbing every lesson I can from Bob before stepping into this exciting and meaningful role for our community.”

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.

CMZOO IS NOMINATED FOR BEST ZOO IN THE U.S. BY USA TODAY’SREADERS’ CHOICE AWARDS
Supporters can vote daily at cmzoo.org/vote.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo wants you to vote for Sully – or Viv, or Som, or Digger, or Cora! For the tenth consecutive year, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is nominated for Best Zoo in the U.S. in USA TODAY’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards. Supporters can vote daily through Mon., March 9 at cmzoo.org/vote.

A vote for CMZoo is a vote for your favorite animal and for your community, because a high ranking elevates the entire Zoo – and Colorado Springs.

10 reasons to vote for CMZoo in this top-ten contest:

In 2026, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is celebrating 100 years of growth in animal care, conservation, education and community!
America’s mountain Zoo is one of the only nonprofit zoos accredited by the Association of Zoo and Aquariums (AZA) that does not receive any tax support. Zoo improvements, operations, animal care and field conservation are funded through admissions, memberships, programs, donations and grants.
CMZoo’s International Center for the Care and Conservation of Giraffe connects giraffe care teams across the globe to resources, best practices, trainings and research, improving and even saving the lives of countless giraffe. The new 12,000 sq. ft. Giraffe Center will open this summer!
More than 800,000 people visit the Zoo each year. While visiting the Zoo, guests to the Pikes Peak region also patronize Colorado Springs’ local lodging, restaurants and tourism attractions.
Understanding its unique opportunity to connect people to native, rare and endangered animals, CMZoo aims to make every visit inspiring. The Zoo does that by designing animal homes that bring guests closer than ever to species from all over the world, and right here in Colorado.
It’s one of the few zoos in the country where guests can see an Alaska moose, Atka, who was orphaned in the wild in 2020 when CMZoo took him in. CMZoo is also home to Mochi, one of only three mountain tapirs in human care in the country.
Through keeper talks and animal demonstrations during daily visits, special events just for the grown-ups, small-group tours, camps, birthday parties and more, Colorado Springs’ Zoo works to make everyone welcome to tap into their inner child and explore the mountain at their own pace.
In 2025, CMZoo celebrated raising $6 million for frontline conservation efforts, including over a million dollars for African elephant and black rhino conservation and over a million dollars raised for orangutan conservation.
Its latest AZA accreditation was historic. In nearly 50 years of AZA accreditations, CMZoo was only the fourth organization to earn a completely ‘clean’ report, which means there wasn’t a single major or minor concern reported.
In the past year, the Zoo welcomed a baby gorilla, two penguin chicks, lar gibbons and more to the family, while continuing its important work breeding and releasing critically endangered native black-footed ferrets and Wyoming toads.

Anyone who has made eye contact with a tiger, petted a wallaby, felt the roar of an African lion, hand-fed a giraffe or walked alongside an African penguin knows how special our hometown Zoo is. This friendly competition amongst zoos nationwide is an excellent way to show your support.

Voting continues now through 10 a.m. MT on Mon., March 9. Supporters are encouraged to vote every day at cmzoo.org/vote.

About Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

We know. This is unheard of, but this is a big year and we want to celebrate the community that has supported the Zoo for 100 years! In 2026, CMZoo is celebrating 100 years of growth in animal care, conservation, education and community. We’re kicking off our centennial year with free daytime admission on Jan. 1, 2026. Member tickets are always free with a purchased membership, so they can also enjoy 25% discounts on food and retail at the Zoo!

Here’s how it works:

• This offer is for one day only: Thurs., Jan. 1, 2026.
• Everyone gets 25% off at our restaurants and gift shop.
• Attendees will enjoy all of the excitement of a regular daytime visit to the Zoo, plus free rides on the carousel and Sky Ride. (Schedules, tickets and more at cmzoo.org/visit.)
• Tickets are available now at cmzoo.org! Look for the “member and nonmember Jan. 1 daytime tickets” button in “Get Tickets” section of cmzoo.org/visit.
• This offer does not apply to Electric Safari on Thurs., Jan. 1, 2026. This offer is only for daytime admission on Thurs., Jan. 1, 2026. The Zoo closes at 3 p.m. on Thurs., Jan. 1, 2026.
• Tickets are timed and limited, as always, to manage parking, preserve the Zoo experience and avoid overcrowding.
• Rideshare tickets are limited for this offer to preserve the experience and avoid overcrowding, and they will be free on Thurs., Jan. 1, 2026. Just follow the signs to rideshare drop-off and show your tickets with your rideshare receipt at admissions. Reserve Jan. 1 rideshare tickets at http://cmzoo.org/rideshare.
• If you already purchased tickets to CMZoo for Jan. 1, 2026, you’ll receive an automatic refund and you can still use those tickets. You do not need to replace your tickets. Email us at [email protected] if you have any questions!
• BUYER BEWARE. Tickets purchased through third parties are not guaranteed. Only tickets reserved on cmzoo.org will be accepted at the gate.

Every visit to CMZoo supports efforts to save wildlife and wild places through our Quarters for Conservation (Q4C) program. Every admission ticket generates 75 cents for Q4C. A generous donor has agreed to cover that contribution for all of our Jan. 1 visitors, so every free visit is still conservation in action!

Together, we have made a mountain of memories, and our community’s support through Q4C has generated more than $6 million directly contributed to frontline conservation efforts since 2008. Their support by visiting has also helped us invest in scientific research to improve our animals’ welfare, and the resources needed to put what we learn into practice. During their Jan. 1 visit, guests will see their investment taking shape as we make progress on the International Center for the Care and Conservation of Giraffe, opening in summer 2026! (Yes, guests can still visit and feed the giraffe every day!)

In addition to sharing our legacy, historical fun facts and inviting the public to share their CMZoo stories, throughout the year, we’re planning a weeklong celebration when our Giraffe Center opens this summer. More to come later. Thank you for your support, and for making Cheyenne Mountain Zoo 100 Years Strong.

About Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

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

ZOO LIGHTS CONTINUE NIGHTLY THROUGH JAN. 1, 2026 (*EXCEPT CHRISTMAS EVE)! – Electric Safari just matched its highest ranking ever in a national contest for Best Zoo Lights. Dedicated Cheyenne Mountain Zoo supporters voted daily for nearly a month to earn the annual holiday event second place among accredited zoos throughout North America.

This is the seventh year in a row Electric Safari has ranked in the top three Best Zoo Lights by USA TODAY’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards.

The 2025 Top Ten Best Zoo Lights in North America are:

1. PNC Festival of Lights at Cincinnati Zoo

2. Electric Safari at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

3. Lights Before Christmas at Toledo Zoo

4. Zoo Lights at San Antonio Zoo Powered by CPS Energy

5. Memphis Zoo Lantern Festival

6. Wildlights at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium

7. Saint Louis Zoo Wild Lights presented by Commerce Bank

8. Wild Lights at Riverbanks Zoo & Garden

9. Christmas at the Zoo at Indianapolis Zoo

10. Wild Lights at Detroit Zoo

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has prepared the mountainside with hundreds of thousands of lights for the 35th year of Electric Safari. Twenty-seven nights of mountainside lights started on Fri., Dec. 5, and continue through Thurs., Jan. 1, 2026 – except on Christmas Eve.

This year, attendees can expect more than 50 acres of twinkling lights, 90+ hand-made light sculptures, giant illuminated animal inflatables, a holiday-safari drone show, plus breathtaking nighttime city views from the side of the mountain.

Zoo members can get early entry, from 4 to 5 p.m. General admission is from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Electric Safari ends at 8:30 p.m. Electric Safari is free for CMZoo members, and members can attend as often as they’d like! To manage on-site parking throughout the popular event, advance timed tickets are required for members (including Individual Plus, Family Plus and Grandparent members) and the general public. Capacity is limited and some nights will sell out. Get tickets and more details at cmzoo.org/electric. Guests can save $5 per ticket by visiting on a non-peak night or by purchasing rideshare tickets on peak nights, detailed on the Pricing Calendar at cmzoo.org/electric.

Attendees will enjoy lit trees, structures and sculptures, installed by Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s grounds and events team. Larger-than-life illuminated animal inflatables and a nightly holiday-safari themed drone light show will light up the Zoo, making the perfect setting for extra-special holiday memories. If all of those beautiful lights don’t un-Scrooge even the Grinchiest of holiday grumps, a cup of hot cocoa and a visit with Santa ought to do the trick.

Kris Kringle will be in Safari Lodge through Dec. 23 to hear holiday wishes, collect lists and pose for free photos. Take a spin on the historic carousel for $2 per ride, or hop on the Mountaineer Sky Ride for incredible once-a-year views of the holiday nighttime glow of Colorado Springs from the mountainside.

Electric Safari wouldn’t be complete without scheduled animal demonstrations and keeper talks! Guests can also visit select animal exhibits. Electric Safari offers paid feeding opportunities with CMZoo’s famous giraffe herd and budgie flock. See an animal schedule, feeding prices and open animal exhibits at cmzoo.org/electric.

Grizzly Grill, Cozy Goat, Pizza with a View and Elson’s Café will be open to serve food and beverages. The Gift Shop is open every night for Zoo-themed gifts and hot cocoa.

Electric Safari is supported by our partners at Children’s Hospital Colorado, Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, Sturgeon Electric, U.S. Bank and Toyota. For more information, visit: cmzoo.org/electric.

Electric Safari Fast Facts

– Electric Safari is from 5 to 8:30 p.m. nightly from Fri., Dec. 5 through Thurs., Jan. 1, 2026 – except on Christmas Eve. Early entry for members and their paying guests starts at 4 p.m.
– Advance timed tickets are required for members and the general public.
– Tickets are limited and some nights will sell out in advance. Rideshare tickets never sell out, and are available on peak nights at a $5 discount (free for members).
– Electric Safari is free for Zoo members. Members must reserve timed tickets, and can attend as often as they please.
– Santa will greet Electric Safari guests nightly through Tues., Dec. 23. Bring letters and take photos!

Electric Safari features:
• more than 50 acres of twinkling lights
• more than 90 hand-made light sculptures
• giant illuminated animal inflatables (weather permitting)
• a nightly holiday-safari themed drone show (weather permitting)
• access to the Mountaineer Sky Ride (weather permitting; $4 for members; $5 for general public)
• access to the historic carousel (weather permitting; $2 per person)
• access to most of the Zoo’s animal exhibits, including paid giraffe and budgie feedings
• nightly scheduled animal keeper talks and demonstrations
• get more information and tickets in advance at cmzoo.org/electric

About Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

27 NIGHTS OF ELECTRIC SAFARI START ON FRI., DEC. 5 – AND TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE NOW – Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is preparing the mountainside with millions of lights for the 35th year of Electric Safari. Twenty-seven nights of mountainside lights starts on Fri., Dec. 5, and tickets are available now at cmzoo.org/electric.

Electric Safari is nominated for ‘Best Zoo Lights in North America’ – and Zoo fans can vote daily through Mon., Dec. 1 at cmzoo.org/lights. Electric Safari was ranked in the top-three Best Zoo Lights in North America for the last six years by USA TODAY’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards.

Fans of the Zoo can vote once a day at cmzoo.org/lights until the contest ends, at 10 a.m. MT on Mon., Dec. 1. Top-ten national rankings should be announced the following week!

This year at Electric Safari, attendees can expect more than 50 acres of twinkling lights, 90+ hand-made light sculptures, giant illuminated animal inflatables, a holiday-safari drone show, plus breathtaking nighttime city views from the side of the mountain.

Electric Safari opens on Fri., Dec. 5 and runs through Thurs., Jan.1, 2026 – except Christmas Eve. Zoo members can get early entry from 4 to 5 p.m. General admission is from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Electric Safari ends at 8:30 p.m.

Electric Safari is free for CMZoo members, and members can attend as often as they’d like! To manage on-site parking throughout the popular event, advance timed tickets are required for Individual Plus, Family, Grandparent, and Family Plus member guests (including age 2 and under). Capacity is limited and some nights will sell out. Get tickets and more details at cmzoo.org/electric. Guests can save $5 per ticket by visiting on a non-peak day, detailed on the pricing calendar at cmzoo.org/electric.

Grizzly Grill, Cozy Goat, Pizza with a View and Elson’s Café will be open to serve food and beverages.

ELECTRIC SAFARI FAST FACTS
• Electric Safari is from 5 to 8:30 p.m. nightly from Fri., Dec. 5 through Thurs., Jan. 1, 2026 – except on Christmas Eve.
• Early entry for members and their paying guests starts at 4 p.m.
• Advance timed tickets are required for members and the general public.
• Tickets are limited and some nights will sell out in advance.
• Electric Safari is free for Zoo members. Members must reserve timed tickets, and can attend as often as they please.
• Santa will greet Electric Safari guests nightly through Tues., Dec. 23. Bring letters and take photos!

Electric Safari features:
– more than 50 acres of twinkling lights
– more than 90 hand-made light sculptures
– giant illuminated animal inflatables
– a nightly holiday-safari themed drone show
– access to the Mountaineer Sky Ride (weather permitting; $4 for members; $5 for general public)
– access to the historic carousel (weather permitting; $2 per person)
– access to most of the Zoo’s animal exhibits, including paid giraffe and budgie feedings
– nightly scheduled animal keeper talks and demonstrations
– get more information and tickets in advance at cmzoo.org/electric

Vote for Electric Safari, nominated in USA TODAY’s Best Zoo Lights in North America, daily at cmzoo.org/lights through Mon., Dec. 1.

Over the past few weeks, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo members, social media fans and guests helped name Asha’s baby gorilla while fundraising for a new home for great apes at CMZoo. The votes are in – and this historic CMZoo baby has a name!

Meet Sully!

Primate World keepers chose three name options up for public vote. A $5 minimum donation was required to participate in the vote, with every donation supporting a brand-new home for gorillas, orangutans and more! In addition to helping make history by naming this little one, every dollar raised will fund historic improvements to great ape habitats at CMZoo.

“The name Sully is so fitting for this baby – now and as he grows up,” says Ashton Asbury, Primate World lead animal keeper. “When I think of the character ‘Sully’ I think of a big, fluffy guy who might appear to be intimidating, but in reality he is a guy with a heart of gold. Gorillas, especially silverbacks, like Sully will be one day, are often misunderstood. They may seem intimidating, but they’re gentle giants who protect their families. I am looking forward to seeing this little guy grow up to be the leader of his own family, like his dad, Goma. I am excited to see him grow into this name and show people that there is more to him than meets the eye.”

Donation and vote amounts for each name:
Sully: $7,300
Abu: $4,346
Ryder: $2,805

In total, 462 generous people donated to vote for the baby’s name, raising $39,451 – including the $25,000 match and contribution from a generous individual donor. CMZoo is one of very few nonprofit zoos in the country that does not receive tax support. Animal care, conservation and Zoo operations and improvements depend on admissions, programs and generous donations.

“We weren’t sure anyone could be as excited as we were about the birth of our baby gorilla, but boy were we wrong,” Kelley Parker, senior director of development and marketing at CMZoo, says. “Our community blew us away with their support. Not only were we able to give little Sully a perfect name, but we were also able to raise significant funds for a new home for gorillas and orangutans. Thank you so much to all of the passionate people that participated in our naming vote – we’re glad you love Sully as much as we do!”

Asha, a 33-year-old critically endangered Western lowland gorilla, gave birth to Sully on Mon., July 21, 2025. It had been nearly 13 years since a gorilla was born at CMZoo before Sully’s arrival.

Western lowland gorillas are critically endangered in the wild, and their numbers continue to decline. Gorilla fans can help preserve wild gorilla habitats by recycling small electronic devices and cell phones at CMZoo.

In addition to disease and poaching, gorillas face habitat loss due to logging for agricultural use, human settlements and mining. Many of the West African lowland forests and swamps that these animals call home are also natural deposits of coltan, a mineral used in cell phones and other electronics. Due to the ever-increasing demand for cell phones across the world, the destruction of these gorillas’ habitats for mining purposes has unfortunately increased.

Coltan is recyclable, and by donating old cell phones, we can help supply valuable coltan for future phone production. Guests can bring electronics to CMZoo admissions or Primate World, where there’s a recycling collection bin near the gorillas’ indoor dens. CMZoo will send them to Eco-Cell, an organization that recycles the phones, as well as tablets, smart watches, Bluetooth devices, GPS devices, e-readers, digital cameras, handheld gaming systems and their accessories.

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.

SEVEN NIGHTS OF SPOOKY FUN STARTS THIS WEEKEND, CONTINUES NEXT WEEKEND AND ENDS ON HALLOWEEN NIGHT! – Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s Boo at the Zoo, kicks of Fri., Oct. 17! Around 20,000 community members are expected to enjoy the festivities over seven nights of spooky fun.

Boo at the Zoo is Oct. 17-19 and 24-26, plus Halloween night, Fri., Oct. 31, from 4 to 8:30 p.m. Advance timed e-tickets are required and available at cmzoo.org/boo. Capacity is limited and some nights are close to selling out.

In addition to visiting select animal exhibits and trick-or-treating at 20+ stations throughout the Zoo, attendees can enjoy frightfully fun attractions including scheduled animal demonstrations, all-evening giraffe and budgie feeding, a kid-friendly spooky haunted house, brand-new giant wooden pumpkins, Pirates’ Cove and handmade spooky decorations around the Zoo. Attendees can also enjoy rides on the Mountaineer Sky Ride and carousel, weather permitting.

An elephant-sized amount of candy (4.5 tons) will be handed out at trick-or-treat stations throughout the Zoo. Candy is purchased from companies that are members of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), and have committed to using sustainable palm oil for the protection of orangutan habitats in the wild.

Orangutan fans can support companies that have committed to using responsibly sourced palm oil by downloading the free globally available mobile app, PalmOil Scan. The mobile app allows shoppers to scan product barcodes and see immediately how that company ranks in prioritizing sustainable palm oil. Learn more at cmzoo.org/palmoil.

Boo at the Zoo is an important fundraiser for the Zoo, which doesn’t receive any tax support. Attendance helps support animal care, conservation and Zoo operations and improvements.

The Zoo will close for daytime admission on Boo dates at 3 p.m. Boo at the Zoo will go on – rain, snow or shine. Be sure to bundle up on cold nights and enjoy a fall Colorado evening on the mountain!

HALLOWEEN-THEMED ANIMAL ENRICHMENT AND DEMONSTRATIONS:

HALLOWEEN NIGHT AND FRIDAYS – Oct. 17 and 24
5 p.m. – African Lion Keeper Talk (Lion Relaxation Room, African Rift Valley)
6:30 p.m. – Hippo Keeper Talk and Feeding (inside hippo building, Water’s Edge: Africa)
SATURDAYS – Oct. 18 and 25
5 p.m. – Meerkat Enrichment (meerkat yard between giraffe and African lions, African Rift Valley)
6:30 p.m. – Elephant Keeper Talk (inside elephant barn, Encounter Africa)
SUNDAYS – Oct. 19 and 26
5 p.m. – African Lion Keeper Talk (Lion Relaxation Room, African Rift Valley)
6:30 p.m. – Hippo Keeper Talk and Feeding (inside hippo building, Water’s Edge: Africa)

COSTUME REQUIREMENTS
For the safety and comfort of all guests, full-face costume masks and costume weapons may not be worn by guests 12 years of age or older. Masks worn by guests 11 years of age and younger must have openings that allow the eyes to be seen and that do not obstruct peripheral vision. Balloons are not allowed inside the Zoo (even as part of a costume) for the safety of our animals and wild animals.

FAST FACTS
Boo at the Zoo at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
Dates: Oct. 17-19, 24-26 and 31
4 to 8:30 p.m.
Advance timed e-tickets are required.
www.cmzoo.org/boo

Boo at the Zoo is possible thanks to our generous partners, Black Bear diner, Blue Federal Credit Union, Children’s Hospital Colorado, Les Schwab Tires, Navy Federal Credit Union, Sturgeon Electric and Your Colorado Springs Toyota dealers.

Celebrate our seventeen ‘flockstars’ on International African Penguin Awareness Day (IAPAD), on Sat., Oct. 11 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Zoo! You won’t want to miss six-month-old Sparrow’s very first IAPAD!

Penguin enthusiasts can join us in Water’s Edge: Africa for crafts, games, and other activities available throughout the day. Don’t miss the keeper demonstrations during penguin feeding times at 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., as well as a walkabout with a penguin named Napoleon at 11 a.m. There’s no cost to attend IAPAD events, but advance daytime admission tickets are required and can be purchased at cmzoo.org.

In 2024, African penguins were officially uplisted to ‘critically endangered’ on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, with the number of wild breeding pairs falling below 10,000.

If current trends continue, these charismatic birds could be extinct in the wild by 2035. The wild African penguin population is dropping at a rate of nearly 8 percent per year, but thanks to support from CMZoo members and guests, these charismatic birds have a better chance of survival in the wild. Conservationists, with support from CMZoo members and guests, provide hope.

Since 2010, CMZoo members and guests have contributed more than $$200,000 to Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB saves seabirds) in support of African penguin conservation.

In 2020, the Zoo deepened its commitment by joining AZA African Penguin SAFE (Saving Animals From Extinction), a collaborative program supported by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

Every visit to CMZoo is conservation in action, because every visit and every membership contributes around one million dollars every 20 months to the Zoo’s Quarters for Conservation program, supporting efforts to save wildlife around the world.

Back to The Waterhole

THE SIX-YEAR-OLD SLOTH PASSED AWAY ON WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 24, DUE TO HEART DISEASE – Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is reflecting on the impact that Bean, a Hoffmann’s two-toed sloth who lived in The Loft, made on members, guests and staff. Bean passed away on Wed., Sept. 24 after a short illness.

Last week, Bean lost her appetite and was ‘off,’ so she went to the Zoo’s veterinary hospital for supportive treatment and bloodwork, which revealed kidney disease. By Wednesday, her kidney levels had improved due to her care team’s support, but Bean unfortunately passed away unexpectedly that evening. On Thursday, a necropsy (an animal autopsy) revealed significant heart disease, which did not present heart-specific symptoms that would lead to heart testing in such a young sloth.

Bean was born on May 14, 2019, in Monkey Pavilion, which used to sit where the Zoo’s playhills are now. A guest favorite from the start, she was the first sloth born at the Zoo in 15 years, and she was born in view of a few lucky visitors who happened to be in the right place at the right time.

In her first few months, she allowed guests and staff to feed her grapes, which she eagerly took, exposing her adorable bright pink tongue. She was extremely outgoing, appearing on several local television stations who sent crews out to meet her.

When Bean reached maturity, she moved to The Loft, where she quickly connected with guests who could look up to see her as she explored the rafters overhead. The confident and curious sloth had been known to temporarily snag a guest’s hat or two from her overhead vantage point.

“Sloths have a reputation for being slow, but Bean was pretty fast when she wanted to be,” Jackie Watson, senior animal keeper in The Loft, says. “I loved when she’d climb right in front of our ‘Welcome to The Loft’ sign, like she was our guests’ official welcome sloth. People would always ask with excitement, ‘Is that sloth real?’ and then we’d get to tell them all about her and her species.”

She had an endearing mischievous and adventurous side, but her keepers will remember her as focused, self-aware and incredibly intelligent.

“It’s my passion to connect people with animals, and Bean made my work easy,” Jackie says. “She had such a knack for it that I could sit back and watch her work her magic, with very little input needed from me. I think she had such good energy because she had good boundaries. If a group of guests wasn’t interacting with her to her preferences, she wouldn’t hesitate to just leave. I aspire to her level of genuine connection, intelligence and spunk.”

Bean’s intelligence was groundbreaking. She knew how to enter a crate voluntarily, position herself for visual health checks, and she was close to perfecting a cooperative blood draw – unheard of in sloth care as far as her care team knows.

She was also the only sloth in the Zoo’s history to perfect painting. Keepers fixed a paintbrush to a stick that Bean could hold in one hand while she hung upside down. They would hold a canvas near Bean, and she would paint on the canvas and receive her favorite snacks – hard-boiled eggs and primate biscuits — as rewards for participating. Many guests over the years enjoyed painting sessions with Bean, or purchased artwork created by Bean to support the Zoo’s animal care.

“When she first moved to The Loft, I started training her to paint so we had more opportunities to bond,” Cassie Spero, senior animal keeper in The Loft, says. “A couple of months later, she was swiping a paint brush on canvases, my hands, and often her face. We bonded so much that whenever I was training a skunk, owl, or porcupine, she would wake up, climb to wherever I was, and hang down from the ropes to interrupt my other training sessions. Bean helped shape my career, and I am forever grateful to have had the opportunity to get to know her.”

In addition to painting sessions, Bean was part of countless marriage proposals, birthdays, anniversaries and just-because special encounters inside and outside of The Loft. She loved the sunshine, and Bean’s team worked to extend her rope system outside to the front porch of The Loft so she could enjoy it frequently.

“On sunny days, we’d open up the doors and I’d hang out with her in the sunshine,” Alia Cooper, senior animal keeper in The Loft, says. “Her body would totally relax while she soaked up the sunshine, and I loved getting to tell people about her as they walked by. People would come to The Loft to see her, and she opened the door for people to stay and learn about reptiles and smaller animals that they might not otherwise visit.”

Bean made a lasting impact and will be deeply missed. Her father, Bosco (33), her half-sister, Olive (9 months) and Olive’s mom, Asyan (10), live in Scutes Family Gallery.

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.