News Archive

When you think of vultures, chances are you don’t picture heroic, beacons of hope contributing to a strong and healthy ecosystem. That’s because vultures sometimes get a bad rap in our society, often depicted negatively due to their scavenger status. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has been supporting vulture conservation in various ways since 2009, including currently . . .

CMZoo’s conservation team gives an update on its black-footed ferret and Wyoming toad breeding programs. The two important breeding and release efforts contribute to saving species that were once considered extinct in the wild.

When Penny, a reticulated giraffe calf, was born at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo on June 4, 2018, Dr. Liza Dadone, head veterinarian and VP of mission and programs, couldn’t have known that the next few months of care for the sixteen-member giraffe herd would present such complicated cases. Since Penny’s passing late last summer, her legacy has continued both by helping people around the world fall in love with giraffe and by helping advance giraffe medicine in zoos.

Students at Rockrimmon Elementary School in Colorado Springs, are getting their hands dirty (with resounding encouragement from their teachers) to make an important environmental contribution, thanks to their passionate school leaders, supportive communities and a grant from Cheyenne Mountain Zoo members. In 2018, CMZoo members voted to provide three $3,000 grants to help local schools . . .

As amphibians face mass extinction, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo's conservation team works to repopulate the Wyoming toad. Hear from Field Conservation Coordinator, Jeff Baughman, about what's contributing to the widespread eradication, what CMZoo is doing to try to stop it, and how you can help.

Since 2015, the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Member Conservation Grants has provided $300,000 of membership revenue to support field conservation worldwide. Last year, members voted to fund projects from Central Asia to right here in Colorado. Once again, it is time for members to help CMZoo decide which staff-championed conservation projects will receive full funding. It . . .

Two CMZoo staff members recently returned from Cape Town, South Africa, where they helped hand-rear orphaned African penguin chicks at the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB), a Cheyenne Mountain Zoo conservation partner. SANCCOB rescues penguins, provides medical care, incubates eggs, hand rears chicks, helps park rangers monitor penguin colonies on . . .

The Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) estimates a little more than 600 West African giraffe remain in the wild today. Although that number seems small, it is a sign of successful conservation efforts over the past 30 years. Only 49 wild West African giraffe existed in the mid-1990s, due to illegal hunting, climate change and habitat . . .

Every day of the year, conservation is at the center of the inspiration and work at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. As 2018 comes to a close, we’re reflecting on some of CMZoo’s conservation contributions this year. We hope you’ll be inspired to take action, big or small, to join us in the important work of conserving . . .

It’s no surprise that Luna, Navarro and their gorgeous pups continue to be guest favorites at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. What did surprise guests, keepers and vet staff earlier this year was the arrival of the pups. After decades of unproductive breeding attempts, the Zoo welcomed a litter of the endangered species. The pups and parents . . .