Join Digger and Emmett, CMZoo’s two 15-year-old male grizzly bears, and Rocky Mountain Wild Keepers, Sarah and Kristen, to get up close with the bears and learn about hibernation and torpor. Cooler temperatures mean the boys are preparing for winter, when they go into a slight stage of torpor and generally slow down a bit.
Their keepers say the seasonal change doesn’t impact Digger and Emmett as much as it affects their wild relatives, because our boys have year-round access to food sources.
Three pink-backed pelicans, Pluto, Penelope and Pandora, joined Water’s Edge: Africa at the beginning of October, and they’re settling in well sharing space with our flock of African penguins and guests!
Water’s Edge Keeper, Grace, tells us about the pelicans as we get up close with these big-beaked birds and say hello to the penguins. Pandora, who is with us temporarily while her new exhibit at another Associations of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited facility, and Penelope start the video on the guest sidewalk and then take a dip in the lower outdoor pool. Plato shows off his impressive fish-catching skills from the inside beach.
Next time you’re at CMZoo, swing by Water’s Edge: Africa, our new home for hippos, penguins, pelicans, warthogs, lemurs, guinea pigs and guineafowl, to say hello!
Today is #WorldOkapiDay! We’re in African Rift Valley with #CMZoo keepers, Diana and Rachael, to raise awareness for these unique rainforest inhabitants, affectionately known as the unicorns of the forest. Our 7-year-old male okapi, Bahati, joins us for some hoof care training as his keepers tell us all about him, his wild relatives, and their important role in their delicate rainforest habitat.
During our annual member conservation vote, CMZoo members help us decide how to share $75,000 of membership revenue with important wildlife conservation efforts around the world. In 2020, our members sent $11,000 to fund an agroforestry project to protect okapi habitat. In a continued partnership with the Okapi Conservation Project, this grant provides farmers with tools, seeds, natural fertilizers, and education in sustainable agriculture practices. In addition, funds support reforestation in the region.
Every visit to #CMZoo helps protect okapi in the wild, because 75¢ of every admission goes to conservation. Thanks to our visitors, we’ve raised $3 million to support conservation since our Quarters for Conservation program started in 2008. #SavingSpecies
Our little giraffe calf explored with the big yard for the first time this morning with several members of the herd! She enjoyed the sunshine, stretched those legs with some major zoomies, investigated some of the guineafowl and was met with enthusiasm from staff, guests and giraffe alike. So far, she has met Ohe, Mashama, Msichana, Panya, Laikipia, Twiga, Msitu and Muziki. Today, she was outside with her mom, Bailey, and Ohe, Mashama, Msichana, Laikipia, Twiga, Msitu and Muziki.
She’ll continue exploring the big yard as weather allows and will meet more members of the herd as she grows up. These excursions won’t be scheduled, but guests should be able to see her on a regular basis outside with the herd and inside the barn. Speaking of the barn, it’s nearly time to turn off the temporary birth cam. On the calf’s 3-week birthday on Monday, Oct. 19, 2020, we will turn it off permanently at 4:45 p.m. Enjoy the birth cam until then. After that, you should be able to see her more and more on our year-round outdoor cams, available daily from 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. MT.
We’ll keep you posted as this adorable little girl continues to grow up! Watch her entire video playlist here
It’s snack time with 4-month-old Alaska moose calf, Atka, who joined us in July. He’s grown to nearly 250 pounds and stands just under five feet tall! Our big guy is gaining about 14 pounds per week, but is still a safe size for his keepers to go into his exhibit with him. He’s eating more solid foods, like grain and browse, and has nearly completely weaned off of bottles. He has mastered the art of making ‘noodles’ out of his favorite elm browse, as you can see in the video!
Atka fans will notice his coat is changing colors and texture. His winter coat is coming in thick and has turned from its formerly reddish hue to a dark chocolate brown. He’s also sporting incredibly fuzzy ears, ready for cooler temps coming our way in the next few weeks. We get a lot of questions about when he’ll grow his first set of antlers. We should start seeing growth in the spring!
To learn more about Atka, check out his YouTube playlist
#CMZoo Vice President of Mission and Programs, Dr. Liza, is here with giraffe keepers, Rachael and Kayla, with an update on baby’s progress. She’s nursing well, sleeping well, getting up and down, and hitting the giraffe calf milestones her care team wants to see. The ligaments we suspect were contracted in her two front legs appear to have loosened substantially. Baby’s legs look strong and much straighter than when she was born. We’ll keep monitoring her, but for now, things seem to be right on track!
Guests can visit baby and Bailey in the giraffe barn, which is now open at a limited capacity, as long as things continue to go well. The calf has been exploring the side yard with mom at unscheduled times during the day, so guests have a chance to see them outside, too.
Her keepers will tell you about how they’re seeing baby’s “brave and goofy” personality develop, and you’ll get to see “Big Daddy” Khalid check in with Bailey and the baby from the stall next to theirs.
We’ll continue to keep you updated on this little calf’s progress.
You can also learn more about our calf through the following resources:
– View mom and baby on our 24/7 temporary birth cam at cmzoo.org/giraffecam or on our YouTube channel.
– Watch the three live-streamed videos of the calf’s birth on Monday, Sept. 28 on this playlist: https://www.facebook.com/watch/55670076018/276758846645183/
– Keep up with all video updates on the calf on this playlist: https://www.facebook.com/watch/55670076018/630410841177208/
– Read her birth announcement here.
Our littlest mountain lion, nearly 5-month-old Koda, ventured out into one of the exhibit yards on Thursday! Guests can see Koda, who joined us mid-June after being found alone on a logging road in Washington, intermittently as he adjusts to his new surroundings. He will spend increasing amounts of time exploring this yard, so be sure to look carefully as you go by the mountain lion yard closest to the moose barn. He may be napping in a nook, and he can get startled by loud voices, so it’s best to remain quiet when you visit.
Koda has had one introduction with one-and-a-half-year-old female mountain lion Adira in the dens. The intro went well, but Koda’s enthusiastic approach appeared to make Adira uncomfortable, although she was patient and gentle with Koda. So Koda will continue exploring this yard by himself and run off some more energy until his animal care team decides he’s ready for another introduction. Adira and Sitka will enjoy time nearby, in the yard closest to the porcupines. Once Koda is familiar with this new-to-him space and has learned some important prerequisite behaviors – like coming back to his keepers when called with so many new smells, sounds and sights competing for his attention – he will get to try introductions with Adira again.
Who’s ready for an update on our little moose?! The nearly 9-week-old male calf, who has not yet been named, is settling in and stealing hearts in Rocky Mountain Wild! Animal Care Manager, Rebecca, is in the moose yard with him to talk about how he’s been doing since he arrived last Wednesday morning. (To watch video updates of his journey from Alaska to #CMZoo, see his video playlist.
On your next visit, look out for him in the moose yard, but keep in mind that he is a baby and takes naps in his barn sometimes. This little guy is growing quickly (he already weighs 115 pounds!), meeting new friends, working on training, trying new foods and exploring his new home, which requires a lot of energy. He has access to his barn and his yard, so make sure you leave time during your visit to swing by twice if you don’t see him the first time around.
The biggest question about our little guy has been, “What is his name?” As of today, you can bid on the chance to name him in our virtual Zoo Ball online auction. Check out cmzoo.org/zooball for more information and to check out other CMZoo experiences, art and more. You can also make a donation to the Zoo, which we really appreciate after being closed for three months due to COVID-19.
Thanks for following along as we welcomed him home last week! We’ll keep you posted on this long-legged love’s progress.
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo welcomed another multi-ton resident to the brand-new exhibit, Water’s Edge: Africa, on Tuesday evening. Biko (BEE-koh), a 17-year-old male Nile hippopotamus, will join female hippos, Zambezi (zam-BEE-zee) and Kasai (kuh-SIGH), on a breeding recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ (AZA) Nile Hippopotamus Species Survival Plan.
He will continue to acclimate to his new home and complete a routine quarantine period. Then, keepers will begin the process of introducing him to the female hippos. If successful, this would be the first time any of the three hippos produced offspring.
Only 30 of the 233 organizations accredited by the AZA in North America house hippos. The last male hippo who lived at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo was Tony, who passed away in 1989. Although our female hippos first came to CMZoo decades ago, this is the first attempt to breed hippos at the Zoo in more than 30 years.
Since Zambezi and Kasai returned to Cheyenne Mountain Zoo from Dickerson Park Zoo, an AZA-accredited zoo in Springfield, Missouri, on May 22, 2020, they have taken turns sharing space and showing their keepers they would sometimes rather be in separate spaces. The hippo pools, yards and indoor beach areas in Water’s Edge: Africa were designed to accommodate separation for various pods formed by the hippos and their potential future offspring.
“We’ve been working on letting the girls spend time together until they show us they’d prefer a little time apart,” said Patty Wallace, senior lead keeper at Water’s Edge: Africa. “They’re spending more and more time together, but still seem to want time away from each other to appear totally comfortable in their new home. With the arrival of Biko, who is smaller than the females, the dynamics could completely change. Only time will tell. We will watch their behavior closely, and let them tell us what the next steps are.”
Biko came to Cheyenne Mountain Zoo from an AZA-accredited institution in central Florida on a breeding recommendation with both Zambezi and Kasai, who are 27 and 20 years old, respectively. Once Biko has cleared quarantine, the hippo keeper team will use a variety of underwater and above-ground gates to give the hippos opportunities to have their own spaces and also participate in ‘howdies,’ which are introductions with barriers between the animals. This allows the animals to smell, see and approach each other without risking injury.
“We always look for signs that the animals are confident during ‘howdies,’” said Wallace. “If they show us they feel uncomfortable, we help them see that they are in control by giving them the choice to walk away. They are always making the choice to interact with another animal or not. If we see signs that the two animals are comfortable and confident with each other, we move on to introductions in a shared space, usually for small increments of time that increase slowly.”
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List categorizes Nile hippopotamuses as a species vulnerable to extinction in the wild, estimating less than 150,000 remain in their native habitats. Their primary threats are habitat loss and illegal and unregulated hunting. Hippos are hunted for ivory, which is found in hippopotamuses’ canine teeth, and meat.
After Biko clears quarantine, guests will be able to see him at Water’s Edge: Africa, which is now home to three hippos, 11 African penguins, two common warthogs, three ring-tailed lemurs and roughly 30 guinea pigs. The design of the exhibit removes as many barriers as safely possible between guests and the animals, including the outdoor penguin beach that gives penguins access to waddle right up to guests. The outdoor hippo space features a knife-edge pool that puts guests eye-to-eye with the hippos, overlooked by lemur island – an outdoor/indoor space for lemurs to climb high onto trees with incredible views of Colorado Springs. Encouraging guests to participate in nature play, the exhibit also features a nature trail with natural obstacles like a log forest and boulder area, perfect for testing your traversing skills. The nature trail leads to a one-of-a-kind rope suspension bridge that leads guests over the outdoor hippo yard, for up-close overhead views of hippos unavailable anywhere else in the world.
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 2019, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo was voted #6 Best Zoo in North America and CMZoo’s Rocky Mountain Wild was named #5 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 233 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.
Learn all about Ohe, newest member of the reticulated giraffe herd at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.