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.
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.
Thirty-four-year-old Goma moved to CMZoo, in 2016, on a breeding recommendation from the Western Lowland Gorilla Species Survival Plan, supported by Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited organizations, including CMZoo.
Goma joined a tightly bonded group of females after coming from a bachelor group, and with time, introductions, and strong social bonds, the troop became a cohesive group. Though inexperienced, Asha helped Goma learn how to breed and he became a first-time dad on July 21, 2025. It’s exciting to see how far Goma has come and the important contributions he continues to make to his species.
Written by Primate World Lead Keeper, Jon Wild –
In Primate World, there is an abundance of excitement from members, guests and Zoo staff, as everyone hopes to catch a glimpse of 32-year-old Western lowland gorilla mom, Asha, and her one-month-old baby. You can see just how special it is for someone to see a gorilla infant for the first, second or third time. I get it. I feel that excitement, too. The birth of a gorilla baby has always been a highlight of my career as an animal keeper, and I have been lucky to work with six gorilla babies over my career. Still, I think daily how amazing it is that my talented teammates and I get to experience this every day.
Working with Asha throughout her pregnancy and seeing her be a wonderful caring mother is incredible. But, that is not the whole story playing out directly in front of everyone. The animal care team is also watching Goma, the group’s silverback.
Goma makes this particular gorilla birth extra exciting for me because he is a first-time dad! I have worked with many silverbacks, but Goma is the first one I have cared for that has integrated into a family group after spending the majority of his life in a bachelor group.
Bachelor groups are normal social groupings found in wild gorillas. Bachelor groups can also be found in some zoos. Goma, along with his brother, joined a bachelor group at a young age. When he arrived at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in 2016 to be the silverback of the family group, following a recommendation from the Western Lowland Gorilla Species Survival Plan, he lacked experience with adult females. It was a challenge for him as he learned to interact with the females of the group.
It took some time, but with the help of the animal care team and the female gorillas, Goma assumed his role as a silverback. He leads the group as their protector, and knows where they are at all times. One of the ways he has recently exhibited his protectiveness is by patrolling the outdoor habitat and barking at construction cranes he can see across the Zoo. The female gorillas also show their respect for him by moving out if his way as he approaches.
Another gap in Goma’s knowledge was his lack of experience with infants. Now, at 34 years old, he is experiencing one for the first time as a new dad, and that makes me smile. We are observing a bachelor silverback join a family group, learning the skills necessary to lead that group and now learning how to be a father. This is a huge accomplishment for Goma.
His behavior has been spot-on. He is quietly looking after Asha and the baby, respecting her position, but always closely in case they need him. On the baby’s second day, Asha and baby rested near the window while guests focused on the baby. What I observed was Goma sitting close by watching over them, keeping his eye on the guests. Prior to the birth, Goma would have been resting as well. But on this day, he sat vigilant for hours while she slept.
Asha is helping Goma learn appropriate skills. She is strong and confident and allows him brief moments to be close to the baby and her. At first, when he reached out to touch the baby she was quick to let him know one brief touch was enough. More recently, she has let him touch and smell the baby’s head. His approaches towards them are kind of sweet, as he appears gentle and careful near them.
For me, it has been a joy to see Goma’s growth as a father run parallel to the baby’s development. I’m very much looking forward to the day Goma and his son start playing together. I think that will probably be one of the most special days of my career. Until then, I will enjoy watching Asha bond with her newborn as Goma continues to learn his new role as a father.
Wednesday, Sept. 26 is World Gorilla Day, and gorilla fans can make a difference for gorillas in the wild by taking small electronics to be recycled in Primate World at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.
“Many of the lowland forests and swamps that Western lowland gorillas call home are also sources of deposits of coltan, a mineral used in manufacturing cell phones and other electronics,” Nicole Chaney, CMZoo conservation manager, says. “Due to the ever-increasing demand for cell phones across the world, the destruction of this critically endangered species’ habitat for mining purposes has unfortunately increased.”
The good news is that coltan is recyclable. To reduce the need to mine for coltan in these vital gorilla habitats, CMZoo can collect and send old cell phones to be recycled at a specialty recycler.
Every single day, members and guests can place used devices in the recycling box near the indoor gorilla viewing area. CMZoo sends those devices to ECO-CELL, an organization that recycles phones, tablets, smart watches, Bluetooth devices, GPS devices, e-readers, digital cameras, handheld gaming systems and their accessories.
If guests are unable to visit, they can drop electronics off at the Zoo’s admissions plaza, and the Guest Experience team will bring them to be recycled.
“We have been so impressed with our guests this year, especially,” Nicole says. “Last year, guests recycled 221 small electronic devices at CMZoo, and this year, we have already sent 250 to be recycled – and we have more to send.”
Every visit to CMZoo is conservation in action, because every visit and every membership contributes to the Zoo’s Quarters for Conservation program, which has raised nearly $6 million for conservation efforts around the world. Visiting Asha, Goma, Kwisha and the baby gorilla in Primate World helps people form connections with gorillas, and by taking advantage of this free recycling service, guests can make a direct impact to help save wild gorilla habitats.
Each spring, the elusive flammulated owl returns to the quiet forests of Pike National Forest, Colorado, to raise a new generation. Thanks to the support of Cheyenne Mountain Zoo members, CMZoo staff joined Dr. Brian Linkhart — who has dedicated over 40 years to studying these owls — to continue this long-term research.
Funded by CMZoo’s annual Members-Only Conservation Vote, Motus tracking devices help researchers uncover owls’ incredible migration routes from Central America through the U.S. and Canada. This season, the team banded a fledgling after witnessing its very first flight and collected vital biological data to monitor health and population trends.
These owls face threats from habitat loss and human impacts, making member-funded conservation efforts essential to helping Colorado’s forests and flammulated owls thrive for generations to come.
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and its members and guests are celebrating a huge milestone: $1 million raised for orangutan conservation. Over the years, funds allocated from Zoo membership revenue and daytime admissions have supported a variety of efforts that benefit critically endangered wild orangutans in Southeast Asia.
Wild orangutans’ biggest threat is habitat destruction. Efforts funded by CMZoo’s supporters focus on preventing deforestation through global consumer empowerment, connecting and restoring wild orangutan habitats, and rescuing and rehabilitating displaced wild orangutans.
In 2021, CMZoo members voted in the annual Members-Only Conservation Vote to send $20,000 to support Hutan’s work to restore a wildlife corridor. In support of two established organizations working to save species in Southeast Asia, the funds helped the Hutan organization provide tools and funds to local women reforesting the Genting Wildlife Corridor, in Borneo. It also helped the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF) repair orangutan rehabilitation islands damaged by a devastating flood.
The Hutan corridor is an important animal ‘wildway’ that will connect rainforest with a wildlife sanctuary potentially used by hundreds of species in the area, like orangutans and Asian forest elephants. The BOSF grant provides emergency funds to reopen islands used for orangutan housing and forest school prior to release.
In addition to funds raised through a portion of every Zoo membership, every visitor to the Zoo is making a direct contribution to conservation, through CMZoo’s Quarters for Conservation program (Q4C). Each Zoo guest receives three ‘quarter’ tokens representing the 75-cent 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 in the Zoo’s admissions area. Orangutans are one of CMZoo’s legacy beneficiary species, receiving support since Q4C was established in 2008.
CMZoo has been a leader in sustainable palm oil advocacy for more than 15 years, encouraging numerous zoos and companies to join the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) with increasing success. In 2014, CMZoo created a free mobile app to educate consumers in the U.S. and Canada. By 2022, more than 160,000 verified users were making better shopping choices with CMZoo’s palm oil shopping app. In 2023, that app design, database and user experience served as the foundation to launch a free global app, called PalmOil Scan, under the direction of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), and in partnership with several zoos around the world.
Now, PalmOil Scan is available in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, The United Kingdom and Singapore. The app has the potential to reach millions more people around the world.
Companies that continue to use unsustainable palm oil in their products need to see that consumers have the tools and knowledge to find out whether they value the habitats that so many endangered species depend on. Sustainable palm oil production is possible, and CMZoo’s work on sustainable palm oil advocacy, including the support on PalmOil Scan, gives consumers the power to hold companies to a higher standard.
Download PalmOil Scan for free in the Apple Store or on Google Play. To learn more about orangutan conservation and palm oil, visit cmzoo.org/palmoil.
Last month, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo members cast their votes to help the Zoo decide how to spend $75,000 of member conservation funds among staff-championed conservation projects vying for members’ support. The three projects with the most votes received the full funding they requested.
Every membership and every visit to the Zoo is conservation in action. From 2015 to 2025, the program has provided $825,000 of membership revenue to support field conservation worldwide.
“Our members make a big impact for wildlife and wild places,” Ashley Cioppa, CMZoo membership manager, says. “Our members’ annual investment in their Zoo memberships directly supports animals here in Colorado and all around the world. Plus, they give our staff the opportunity to reach more niche organizations and projects that support their conservation passions. Thank you, members!”
Each year, CMZoo membership revenue contributes a total of $100,000 to conservation in two ways:
- $25,000 to the Quarters for Conservation program, which in total contributes a million dollars on average every 18 months to CMZoo’s legacy conservation partners.
- $75,000 to projects voted for by CMZoo members through this annual vote.
This year’s Members-Only Conservation Vote top-ranked projects to fully fund are:
1) FOSTER, RAISE, AND RELEASE AFRICAN PENGUINS – $38,271
Member funding will provide an incubator, veterinary care and rehabilitation support for wild African penguin chicks and adults. African penguins, found mainly in South Africa and Namibia, face significant threats from overfishing, oil spills and disease outbreaks. As a result, penguin parents are abandoning their chicks due to lack of food and other weather-related factors. The Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB )will use these funds to rescue abandoned penguin eggs, chicks and adults needing intervention and rehabilitation at their South Africa facility. The goal is to release as many rescued penguins as possible back into the wild to bolster the rapidly declining African penguin population.
2) SUPPORT LEADERSHIP TRAINING FOR KENYAN WOMEN CONSERVATIONISTS AND RESTORE HABITAT FOR AFRICAN LIONS – $17,000
Support will empower Samburu (a region in Northern Kenya) women to improve their community’s livelihoods and help protect lions. Ewaso Lions implements several programs to help protect lions. One of these programs is The Mama Simbas (which means “Mothers of Lions”). The group consists of Samburu women trained to help alleviate human- wildlife conflicts, which typically occur between farmers and predators that may threaten local livestock. Ewaso Lions will use these funds to provide leadership training to the women of The Mama Simbas program. This training will give the women new tools to help shift attitudes towards predators, allowing Kenyan communities to coexist more easily and efficiently with wild carnivores. Funds will also support the restoration of grassland habitat.
3) PROTECT EGYPTIAN TORTOISES THROUGH COMMUNITY CONSERVATION IN EGYPT- $19,729
Member support will fund local community guards and provide tracking tags to protect Egyptian tortoises. Wild turtles and tortoises are facing a worldwide extinction crisis. The Egyptian tortoise faces severe threats from habitat destruction due to farming and poaching for the pet trade. The Turtle Survival Alliance will use funds to deploy tracking tags to gather data and gain an understanding of how tortoises interact with each other and their environment, as well as population dynamics. Community guards will help address immediate threats to the species by physically protecting the most vital tortoise populations and their habitat.
Waddle we do with all this cuteness? A tiny, fluffy African penguin chick made its grand debut at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in early April! This little one is growing up big and strong. At just 22 days old, the chick weighs 983 grams!
Its care team monitors and weighs it every few days. This little one is an important ambassador for African penguins.
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.
Since 2010, CMZoo guests and members have contributed more than $159,675 to Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) in support of African penguin conservation. In 2020, the Zoo deepened its commitment by joining AZA SAFE (Saving Animals From Extinction) African Penguin, a collaborative program supported by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
Every visit to CMZoo is conservation in action. Guests visiting CMZoo can see African penguins up close, including this new chick, knowing their visit helps support a future for this species in the wild.
Keep an eye (and ear) out for the chick in the penguin building in Water’s Edge Africa. While it’s usually snuggled in the nest, you might see it wriggle out, or hear it peeping.
Stay tuned for updates!