Last month, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo members cast their votes to help the Zoo decide how to spend $75,000 of member conservation funds among six conservation projects vying for members’ support. The three projects with the most votes received the full funding they requested. The number of votes received for the remaining three projects helped CMZoo decide how to distribute the remaining funds.

Every membership and every visit to the Zoo is conservation in action. From 2015 to 2024, including this year’s contributions, the program has provided $675,000 of membership revenue to support field conservation worldwide.

“I hope our members recognize what an impact they make for wildlife and wild places through these staff-championed conservation efforts,” 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 efforts that support their personal passions. Thank you, members!”

Each year, a total of $100,000 of membership revenue is contributed 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 Member Conservation Vote top-ranked projects to fully fund are:

1. Track and protect FLAMMULATED OWLS in Colorado – $4,150
Purchase ten tracking tags that provide researchers with crucial migration data for these tiny owls. Migratory birds are currently facing many threats such as pollution, pesticides, habitat loss and collisions with human-made structures. The installation of two Motus towers at CMZoo and Fountain Creek Nature Center last year allows researchers the ability to track hundreds of local bird species in efforts to protect them. As a continuation of this project, a local researcher will utilize these towers to track ten flammulated owls, a species that lives right here in Colorado Springs, to learn about their migration patterns and use that information to help protect the species.

 


2. Support agroforestry to protect OKAPI habitat – $24,600
Provide farmers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with sustainable agricultural resources. Okapi populations are facing a major threat of habit loss due to slash-and-burn agriculture and human settlement. In a continued partnership, the Okapi Conservation Project (OCP) will use these funds to provide farmers with tools, seeds, land plots and the education necessary to build and maintain sustainable agriculture and reforestation practices. In doing so, the local communities are empowered to produce their food sustainably and reduce their dependence on mining and poaching – leading to the long-term protection of okapi.

 


3. Help build a new island home for ORANGUTANS in Borneo – $17,642
Help provide the materials to construct a new, forested island home for non-releasable orangutans in Southeast Asia. Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS) Foundation is an established organization that rescues, rehabilitates and releases orangutans back into their natural habitat. Unfortunately, a small percent of orangutans come to BOS with injuries, illnesses or other conditions that prevent them from being released into the wild safely. BOS houses and cares for them for the rest of their lives. Member funds will help provide the construction materials for a new orangutan island that will create a spacious and enriching forever home for three non-releasable orangutans currently residing with BOS.

 

With the remaining funds, CMZoo has decided to partially fund:

Protect PANCAKE TORTOISES through community conservation in Kenya
Conduct community awareness training and research to protect critically endangered tortoises and their habitat. Wild turtle and tortoise species are in the midst of a worldwide extinction crisis. The African pancake tortoise faces severe threats, not only from grassland habitat destruction used for farming, but also an additional threat of poaching for the pet trade. In a continued partnership, the Turtle Survival Alliance will protect and develop research strategies for a newly found pancake tortoise population, as well as establish additional awareness for the local communities surrounding this tortoise population.

Expand AFRICAN PENGUIN chick rearing capacity
Provide construction materials and equipment to rear penguin chicks. African penguins, found mainly in South Africa and Namibia, are facing threats from overfishing and climate change, which often results in penguin parents abandoning their chicks. Due to an exponential increase in egg and chick abandonment, the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) is looking to expand their chick-rearing facility through our ongoing partnership. This expansion will double their capacity of penguin chicks and eggs that they can rescue, rehabilitate, and release each year.

Support kids’ education camps to help protect AFRICAN LIONS
Help protect large carnivores by empowering a new generation in Kenya. Human-wildlife conflicts can occur between farmers and predators, such as lions, that may threaten local livestock. The education programs that Ewaso Lions will implement through this ongoing partnership will help to shift the attitude towards predators and allow Kenyan communities to more easily and efficiently coexist with wild carnivores by reducing the frequency of potential human-wildlife conflicts.

For more information about how to become a CMZoo member, and the many benefits that memberships provide, visit cmzoo.org/membership.

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Through Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s annual Member Conservation Vote, CMZoo members are funding an important ongoing study on the movements of wild black bears in the Pikes Peak region. In 2022, members voted to spend conservation-allocated membership revenue on GPS ear tags that Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) officers use when reintroducing black bears to the wild.

In early February 2024, CPW transported two yearling black bear cubs that were fitted with the GPS ear tags from a rehabilitation facility to an artificial den on Pikes Peak. Later this spring, they’ll wake up and start their second chance at living wild.

According to CPW, one of the bears placed in the den this month was orphaned by its sow last summer in the Broadmoor neighborhood in southwest Colorado Springs – just down the road from CMZoo. The sow had four cubs, which is extremely unusual. CPW biologists speculate she may not have been able to care for all four cubs. It’s likely that as the runt of her litter, this little one was abandoned.

The other bear wandered into the Rifle Falls Fish Hatchery without its sow last summer. It would not have been able to survive on its own in the wild at that young age, so it found a home as a surrogate sibling with the ‘Broadmoor Bear’ at the rehabilitation center.

Both cubs, about a year old now, spent the last several months together, being kept as wild as possible in preparation for their reintroduction. Earlier this month, CMZoo staff joined CPW to observe their journey back to the wild.

“CPW officers pulled the little bears – who were under anesthesia – on sleds through the snowy evergreen forests on Pikes Peak and tucked them into a nice warm den,” said Zwicker. “They’ll stay in this den for the rest of winter, and then they’ll wake up and start helping their species by giving us a glimpse into their whereabouts over the next several months.”

The GPS data uploads from the ear transmitter tags about every two weeks. CPW tracks those snapshots of the bears’ locations to help define successful rehabilitation and care for orphaned bear cubs, and where to release them.

This is the second time member-funded GPS trackers have been used to track black bear movements after wild reintroduction. The first two cubs with these ear tag transmitters were released in January 2022 to the same artificial den.

One of the 2022-released bears dropped its ear tag several months after waking up in the den, as planned, and by all accounts is still living wild on the mountain. The other unfortunately reoffended and had to be euthanized after human-wildlife conflicts.

“It’s a sad fact, but it’s also a stark reminder that we need to help bears stay out of trouble,” said Zwicker. “With this data from the GPS trackers, biologists will be able to compare what four cubs do in the same space. They can look at the rehab strategies used for each and compare their success as wild bears. It’s going to help us help more wild bears stay wild.”

CPW reports that urban bear conflict is one of their biggest issues, especially bears getting into garbage at area homes and businesses. It will be valuable to study the effectiveness of rehabilitation efforts with orphaned bear cubs and see if they really do learn to avoid humans in the future. Zwicker urges Coloradans to be good neighbors of native wildlife by following simple ‘bear aware’ guidelines.

“Working with CPW on projects like this has enhanced my understanding of the natural world,” said Zwicker. “The folks at CPW truly care about wildlife. They’re incredibly dedicated and impressive professionals fighting the good fight for our local wildlife. Our roles can be different, but we’re all passionate stewards of our environment. I’m grateful our members are funding this connection between the Zoo’s animal advocates and the animal advocates at CPW.”

Since 2015, the Member Conservation Vote has provided $600,000 of membership revenue to support field conservation worldwide. Each year, a total of $100,000 of membership revenue supports conservation projects in two ways:

  • $25,000 to the Quarters for Conservation program, which has raised more than $5 million dollars for CMZoo’s legacy conservation projects since the program began in 2008.
  • $75,000 to projects voted for by CMZoo members through this annual vote.

Next month, CMZoo members will get the opportunity to vote on the 2024 Member Conservation Vote projects. Members, keep an eye on your email for your members-only link to vote! Interested in becoming a member? Visit cmzoo.org/membership.

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COMMUNITY EVENT – 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, March 3, 2024. Guests and members who visit the Zoo on Sun., March 3 can visit five conservation education booths with a Conservation Explorer Card to learn all about the Zoo’s conservation partners. Guests who visit all five booths earn a free feeding with a giraffe, budgie, chicken or goat! Animal keepers will have special conservation-themed presentations with their animals throughout the day. Advance tickets are required and available at cmzoo.org. Event details available at cmzoo.org/Q4C5.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and its guests and members are celebrating a huge milestone, having raised $5 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 in the Zoo’s admissions plaza.

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, thanks to community support and the growing number of annual visitors, CMZoo collects about a million dollars every eighteen months through Q4C. The Zoo’s membership and EdVenture program participants also contribute to conservation. CMZoo’s current conservation species include giraffe, Panama frogs, orangutans, black-footed ferrets, African elephants and rhinos, Wyoming toads and Amur tigers.

About Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s 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 protect, relocate 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 efforts and sends staff to assist with wild giraffe relocations in Africa, supporting anesthesia and moving the giraffe from threatened habitats to safer locations. Ongoing Q4C funding supports the teams who continue to monitor and protect these newly established wild populations.

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 zoos and partner organizations.

Wyoming toads are symbolic of 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 important lessons learned from successful Wyoming toad breed-and-release efforts, and travel to Panama to help study the endangered amphibians in the wild.

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 the WAZA PalmOil Scan – a global free sustainable palm oil shopping app, which allows shoppers to scan the barcodes of items to learn whether producers have committed to using 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 permanent housing that allowed staff to live on the land where these critically endangered giants live. It also paid for a vehicle maintenance shop, community outreach and pilot hours for frontline aerial surveillance that protects rhinos and elephants from poachers.

The seventh Q4C legacy partner is Wildlife Conservation Society, whose dedicated staff works 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 staff 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 2023, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo was voted #4 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. Since 2008, CMZoo’s Quarters for Conservation program has raised $5 million dedicated to frontline conservation efforts around the world. Of the 238 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.

In early November, the International Center for the Care and Conservation of Giraffe (The Giraffe Center) traveled to Bristol Zoo, in the United Kingdom, to host their first giraffe care workshop abroad. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo established The Giraffe Center in 2022 to serve as a resource for giraffe caregivers worldwide.

“We have hosted giraffe care workshops all over the U.S. and virtually with teams in other countries, but Bristol Zoo’s workshop was our first international in-person outreach,” said Amy Schilz, senior animal behaviorist at The Giraffe Center. “It’s really helpful for us to work hands-on with teams and their giraffe herds in their facilities. Our training and care teachings share a common foundation, but we can understand their challenges and obstacles better when we experience them, which means we’re better able to customize their training.”

Through their combined decades in the giraffe care field, The Giraffe Center team had previous working relationships with a Bristol Zoo giraffe keeper, who managed logistics for the workshop in England so The Giraffe Center team could focus on the 4-day workshop curriculum. Attendees included Bristol Zoo’s giraffe care team and British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Giraffe Focus Group members. The workshop included lecture-style presentations, group discussions, role-playing and actual practice focused on giraffe nutrition, natural behaviors, hoof anatomy and care, and positive reinforcement training.

“Just like when we’re training animals, we use small approximations to move through training steps with our workshop attendees,” said Diana Miller, giraffe specialist at The Giraffe Center. “Before we start training with the giraffe, we practice hands-on with humans, so we’re presenting the best polished training to the giraffe. Instead of realizing questions you need to ask while you’re working with a giraffe, you can recognize what you don’t know while you’re practicing with a human.”

Practicing hoof care on humans isn’t as far-fetched as it sounds. Attendees move through the motions they will present to giraffe, with Schilz and Miller guiding them. They role play where they’ll stand, where the giraffe needs to stand, how they’ll hold their target stick and hoof trimming tools, how they’ll deliver verbal and physical cues, how they’ll access reinforcers – like crackers or carrots – and how quickly to reinforce the right behaviors. They also practice trimming hooves on cadaver hooves from reputable sources.

“The fact that Bristol Zoo invested in this workshop shows how dedicated their team is,” said Schilz. “When we started working with their giraffe, it was even more obvious how strong their relationships are with their keepers. The Bristol Zoo giraffe were comfortable, social and engaged, and that gives us a great foundation to build upon with new or different techniques.”

In positive reinforcement training, one of the first questions The Giraffe Center team asks themselves is, ‘what does the animal need to know in order to know something else?’ Because giraffe are often food motivated, the first thing they need to know is how to eat politely.

“Teaching a giraffe to eat and stay still while they’re eating is a prerequisite for blood draws, ultrasounds, hoof care and more voluntary behaviors,” said Miller. “It’s a lot harder than you think to teach that. You’re learning to communicate as a giraffe-caregiver team, and you’re finding a balance between maintaining their excitement for the reward food item and teaching them they can trust that we will deliver it when they stand still.”

The teams worked together to make progress on hoof care, stand-still behavior, target training and more. They also shared insight on giraffe nutrition and natural foraging behaviors, and other topics central to good giraffe welfare in human care.

The Giraffe Center team’s experience with their first overseas workshop further ignited their passion for giraffe care and for supporting the people who can truly make a difference in setting the standard for excellent giraffe care.

“In 2015, when we were starting training programs, we were focused on showing people what’s possible,” said Schilz. “Now, we’re really honing our teaching skills. We’re constantly pursuing education, connecting with other experts in our field and sharing what we’re learning, so we can be the best central resource for other giraffe organizations.”

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo made an investment in The Giraffe Center that gives all giraffe caregivers access to a dedicated team focused entirely on giraffe care and conservation.

“The more we host these workshops, the more we learn and share,” said Miller. “It’s all about creative collaboration. We take the same science and apply it differently depending on the animals, humans and environment they are in. That’s our goal for the Giraffe Center – to be a custom-built resource for other giraffe care teams.”

The Giraffe Center is booking workshops for giraffe care teams and giraffe enthusiasts globally. For more information, visit cmzoo.org/giraffecare.

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It was a big year to celebrate for black-footed ferret (BFF) conservation enthusiasts. Including Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s kits, 417 BFF kits were born into the program. That’s the most kits born in a single year program-wide in a decade!

Led by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Black-Footed Ferret SAFE (Saving Animals From Extinction) and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, breed-and-release programs at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Phoenix Zoo, Toronto Zoo, Louisville Zoo and National Black-Footed Ferret Conservation Center work together to save the species. CMZoo contributed 21 kits this year and released 12 kits and 2 beyond-breeding-age adults into wild conservation habitats in Colorado.

Once the kits are old enough to live independently – around 3 months old – they are transported from the conservation center at CMZoo to BFF ‘boot camp,’ in Fort Collins, where they spend time in a pre-release pen that simulates the opportunities and challenges they’ll encounter in the wild. When they prove they can hunt, find shelter and survive in the pre-release pen, they are cleared for wild release. Ferrets that don’t graduate from boot camp are brought back to support breeding efforts or serve as ambassadors for their species, if they’re too old to reproduce.

In November, CMZoo staff and board members traveled to protected prairie lands in Pueblo, Colo., to see the ferrets run free into their new home.

“We invite staff from all departments to participate in releases, and we especially aim to bring staff from The Loft and EdVenture department, who can share their inspiration when guests asks about Rouge – a BFF that lives in The Loft,” said Jeff Baughman, field conservation coordinator at CMZoo. Baughman manages the BFF breeding program at CMZoo and has attended annual releases for nearly 20 years. ”The experience is rewarding, and it inspires us to inspire others to care for wildlife and wild places, and continue our work contributing to conservation efforts.”

Native to prairies stretching from Mexico to Canada, BFFs were thought to be extinct in the 1980s. During Western frontier explorations in the early 1900s, cargo ships from Europe and Asia inadvertently brought sylvatic plague to North America. The spread of the plague bacteria by fleas among prairie dogs (and other animals), combined with poisoning and eradication programs led by newly settled farmers and ranchers who saw prairie dogs as pests, drastically reduced the prairie dog population. Because prairie dogs are their main food source, BFF populations declined dramatically along with them.

On Sept. 26, 1981, a ranch dog named Shep caught a BFF. Shep’s catch led to the discovery of a small population of the elusive animals in Meeteetse, Wyoming. Since then, zoos, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, National Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center and other organizations have banded together to breed, prepare, release and monitor BFFs to increase the population.

Because they or their offspring could be released to the wild, every effort is made to keep the BFFs born and raised at CMZoo as wild as possible. So, they are not visible to CMZoo guests. Guests can visit Rouge, a former breeding male that now lives in The Loft.

Prior to the CMZoo releases last month in Pueblo, the sites were managed for sylvatic plague through oral bait vaccines for prairie dogs living on these sites and dusting to eliminate plague-carrying fleas. Sylvatic plague transferred by fleas is now prairie dogs’ primary threat – and BFFs need prairie dogs as their primary food and shelter source. BFFs and other prairie species live in abandoned prairie dog tunnels.

“Being in the field with people who advocate for BFFs but haven’t released them before takes me back to my most inspiring black-footed ferret release at a ranch in New Mexico in 2008,” said Baughman. “On our way to the ferret release area we drove through a huge herd of powerful bison. It helped me imagine a time when bison, swift foxes, burrowing owls, prairie dogs and black-footed ferrets were abundant together in the prairie.”

“We released them before dusk and after sunset we went back to spotlight and monitor the first ferret we had released,” said Baughman. “To our surprise, it was above ground with two swift foxes. They looked almost the same size from a distance and their interaction seemed more curious and playful than threatening. It was as if they were old friends reunited after a long time apart. It looked like they were dancing on the prairie, under the moonlight, as they have done for thousands of years. The bison, the swift foxes and the prairie were truly magical. That was a day that I will remember forever.”

Bison have a similar story to the black-footed ferret. They were nearly eradicated to extinction and are now recovering with the help of people dedicated to them. Baughman sees them as proof that animals can possibly recover, and if people work together, they could potentially bring back some of the prairie ecosystem to its original splendor.

“Zoos have been so instrumental in those recoveries,” said Baughman. “The work we’ve been doing at CMZoo for 42 years, helping black-footed ferrets recover, helps the entire ecosystem because prairie species need each other.”

At the core of the prairie’s survival is the prairie dog. Prairie experts estimate that 170 prairie species depend on the prairie dog – and bison make life richer for the prairie dogs, which in turn support the BFFs. Bison graze differently than livestock. They cut the grass instead of uprooting it, which benefits natural vegetation, healthy drainage and nutrient-rich soil for the mostly herbivorous prairie dogs. The bison’s literal heavy presence also loosens soil, which prairie dogs dig to create tunnels that house their colonies and later become homes for BFFs and other species, like box turtles and burrowing owls.

“It is a complicated balance that we want to support without getting too involved in,” said Baughman. “Ultimately, we want a future that doesn’t need our breed-and-release program because it’s sustaining itself in the wild.”

Until then, Baughman and his inspired team will continue the work with the support of CMZoo guests and members. Back at the conservation center up above CMZoo, the meticulous yearly cycle of preparing for another breeding year has already begun. They recently welcomed new breeding females and males and are moving them through the simulated light cycle that triggers their natural instinct to breed in the spring. After such a successful breeding year, program partners are optimistic about 2024.

Every CMZoo guest helps support this important program because 75 cents from every admission goes to Quarters for Conservation, which helps fund BFF conservation and other important efforts around the world. Since 2008, Q4C has raised nearly $5 million for these programs. To learn more about the black-footed ferret breeding program and CMZoo’s Quarters for Conservation program, visit cmzoo.org/conservation.

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Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s members are taking the joys of birdwatching to another level – and the biggest benefactors are the birdies.

In March 2023, as part of the annual CMZoo Member Conservation Vote, members chose to fund the purchase and installation of three cutting-edge technology bird-tracking towers that will support a growing global network of conservationists. To understand birds’ obstacles and declining populations, scientists need to study their migration paths, stopover sites, summer breeding and over-wintering locations.

Birders have tracked bird movements for decades by banding and releasing individual wild birds and hoping to catch them again later to document their ages and locations. While it is and has been a beneficial science, it provides data based on single moments in time, rather than providing a full picture of a bird’s migration and movements.

With the Motus Wildlife Tracking System (Motus), unassuming towers and tiny bird ‘backpacks’ work together to collect ongoing data via radio telemetry. The lightweight and unobtrusive tracking ‘backpacks’ come in a variety of sizes fit for birds, bats and butterflies – and some are even solar powered. Conservationists just need to catch a bird once to attach a tracker that ‘pings’ the towers when it flies by. The towers are peppered across North, Central and South America and in several parts of Europe, Australia, Africa and Asia.

“Colorado and the Rocky Mountain corridor have some Motus towers, but not as many as other migration flyways,” Rebecca Zwicker, animal care manager at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. Zwicker and other CMZoo staff presented the Motus tower project for members’ consideration in 2023. “If you build it, they will come. We need more towers to encourage researchers to put the backpacks on the birds. Without more receiver towers, it’s not worth tagging the birds with these state-of-the-art trackers. We’re really looking forward to seeing our first backpacked bird’s data pop up on our tower – hopefully by this spring during the Great Migration.”

Members funded the purchase and installation of three Motus receiver towers. The first CMZoo member tower – a 10-foot tall mast with two perpendicular antenna facing Colorado Springs from the Zoo – is reminiscent of an old-school TV antenna. It is a permanent structure on the south side of the Lodge at Moose Lake.

“It’s in a really great spot because the towers have an unobstructed view above the trees,” said Zwicker. “We put it here because we wanted members and guests to see it and to ask questions about it. A digital display board in The Loft will collect the data from tagged birds that fly by our tower. That board connects to Motus.org, where the data is compiled and shared globally on a daily basis.”

Each tower can track a 5- to 8-mile radius of birds carrying the Motus telemetry tags. The second CMZoo member-funded tower will soon be installed at Fountain Creek Nature Center, so the two towers’ tracking radiuses should overlap. The third tower will later be installed in an undecided location, once CMZoo conservationists learn best practices for the first two towers.

“One of the beautiful parts of contributing to this conservation collaboration is that most towers’ data is available to anyone,” said Cassie Spero, animal keeper in The Loft and part of the Motus team at CMZoo. “Conservationists will use this data to understand species and propose important habitat protections. But, if you’re working on a research project for school, or you’re tracking migrations out of personal curiosity, the data will be there for you.”

The Zoo does not have current plans to band or ‘backpack’ any birds and will leave that to the wild bird banding experts. CMZoo’s strength as conservation advocates lies largely in its ability to reach so many people with opportunities to support conservation partners and collaborative efforts, like Motus. By adding more towers to the fledgling Colorado network of receivers, Zoo members are helping lay the groundwork for enormous progress in bird protections.

“Birds enhance our natural world – not just with their beauty and the magic of their presence,” said Zwicker. “They bring a little wonderment to your day, but they also serve important roles in our natural world – across all ecosystems as pollinators, clean-up crews, seed dispersers and food sources. It’s a really feel-good effort and it makes me grateful that our members have allowed us to join this global community committed to the conservation of the beautiful birds of the world.”

Every membership and every visit to the Zoo is conservation in action. In addition to the nearly $5 million raised through admissions for the Zoo’s Quarters for Conservation legacy conservation partners, since 2015, CMZoo’s Member Conservation Vote has provided $675,000 of membership revenue to support field conservation worldwide.

Each year, a total of $100,000 of membership revenue is contributed to conservation in two ways:

  • $25,000 to the Quarters for Conservation program, which in total contributes half a million dollars on average annually to CMZoo’s legacy conservation partners.
  • $75,000 to projects voted for by CMZoo members through this annual vote.

Bird enthusiasts at home can try their hands at birdwatching for Colorado winter birds by playing with these CMZoo Colorado Backyard Bird Bingo cards!

Ewaso Lions is a longtime member-supported conservation organization in Kenya dedicated to conserving lions and other large carnivores by promoting coexistence between people and wildlife. They provide local communities with conservation advocates, transportation, veterinary equipment and vaccinations for pet dogs, among other things. Since 2017, CMZoo members have sent more than $80,000 to support their important conservation work through the annual Member Conservation Vote.

In October, Dr. Jessicah Kurere, the lead veterinarian for Ewaso Lions’ domestic animal mobile veterinary unit, spent a few days on the mountain to inspire, educate and even practice some veterinary techniques that could help animals in the wild.

In the U.S., many learn about the plight of iconic African animals, like African lions, elephants and giraffe, and it can be hard to understand why they aren’t better protected. By connecting with people like Dr. Kurere, more animal advocates can start to understand how difficult it must be for communities to live with these animals, no matter how revered they are in other parts of the world.

“In Colorado, we share recreational and living spaces with wild bears and mountain lions, so we can understand the struggles that might arise when human-wildlife conflicts inevitably occur anywhere in the world,” said Amy Schilz, senior animal behaviorist at the International Center for the Care and Conservation of Giraffe at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. Schilz worked with the African lions at CMZoo for 10 years before embarking on her journey at The Center, and has maintained a relationship with the team at Ewaso Lions. “In Kenya, they’re choosing to live with wildlife and share the landscape. If we consider the number of bear-human conflicts we hear about in our home state and relate that to native African animals and the pastoral farming communities that live amongst them, it’s easier to understand.”

Ewaso Lions works to help locals understand, respect and coexist with native African species. According to Ewaso Lions, the African lion population has declined by 43% in the last 20 years and lions now occupy only 8% of their historical range in Africa. The estimated number of lions across Africa is approximately 20,000. In Kenya, the national population now numbers less than 2,500 individuals. This reduction in lion numbers is primarily due to habitat loss and conflict with humans, typically when lions kill people’s livestock.

During her visit, Dr. Kurere met with staff, Teen Program participants and docents, sharing stories of helping livestock injured by lions from her mobile vet clinic, complete with a flip-down exam table that hangs from the side of the van. In addition to the conservation programs detailed below and others, Ewaso Lions jumps in to assist wildlife in emergencies. They dig wells for wildlife during droughts and rehabilitate struggling grasslands, which attract hoof stock to wildlands and thus, lions away from communities and toward those food sources, hopefully helping to restore the natural ecosystems that animals and people need to thrive.

“Hearing her passion and the stories from the field brings us all closer to the important work our Zoo members are supporting,” said Schilz. “Dr. Kurere told us about an entire pack of African painted dogs that contracted canine distemper and passed away, and the work they’re doing with Kura’s Pride vaccinations is helping to address that.”

In between updating staff on the progress of Ewaso Lions, Dr. Kurere worked closely with big cat keepers in African Rift Valley, sharing what she knows about wild lion behaviors and assisting with voluntary blood draws on Abuto, CMZoo’s 12-year-old African lion patriarch.

During blood draw training, the team asks Abuto to enter an open-ended mesh tunnel, which he always has the choice to leave if he wants to. Communicating the steps with Abuto throughout the process– and feeding him lots of yummy snacks – the team asks him to position himself so he can present his tail through a small port at the bottom of the mesh.

“It was very different from what I am used to, but very exciting,” said Dr. Kurere. “I was fascinated with the trust and ease he presented his tail for blood draws. That makes it very easy to give him medical exams. It was my second time to draw blood on a lion, but certainly the first-time drawing blood on a wild carnivore wide awake!”

Dr. Kurere has been assisting a local veterinarian in Kenya on clinical cases in lions and other wildlife, and this experience with Abuto is another way she’s continuing to gain more skills in wildlife clinical practice.

The benefit to wild lions doesn’t end there. Because Abuto and the rest of the pride – 16-year-old matriarch, Lomela, and their 8-year-old daughter, Elsa, and son, Aslan – inspire new African lion advocates every day by connecting with CMZoo guests. Furthermore, through the CMZoo members who have developed relationships with CMZoo’s lion pride and voted to support Ewaso Lions in the annual Member Conservation Vote, they are making a direct impact by supporting Ewaso Lions’ imperative conservation efforts.

Ewaso Lions hosts a variety of programs that monitor and protect wildlife, connect communities to conservation and lift up underserved populations, and provide veterinary care to local pets, livestock and wildlife.

Mama Simba – which means “Mothers of Lions” in Swahili – is one of their programs, which provides a platform for traditional women to reclaim their place as the owners and protectors of wildlife, through environmental literacy, lion habitat recovery activities, engagement and awareness work on coexistence and culture.

Warrior Watch is a community-led program that engages Samburu warriors – a group traditionally neglected, overlooked or blamed for wrongdoing – in conservation decision-making. The program builds on the warriors’ traditional protection role by increasing their ability to mitigate human-carnivore conflict. The Warriors serve multiple communities, informing herders of lion presence so they can avoid certain areas, averting depredation. This network also monitors threatened species and records conflict incidents over a wide-ranging area. Following lion attacks on livestock, Warriors encourage herders not to take retaliatory action and work with them to prevent future livestock attacks.

Lion Kids Camp are five-day camps that teach tomorrow’s conservationists about peaceful wildlife coexistence. Most Kenyan children, despite living in close proximity to world famous national parks and reserves, have never had the chance to observe wildlife at close range. Instead, they are exposed to negative interactions between wildlife, livestock and people, which shape their perceptions of wildlife. The program empowers a new generation of wildlife ambassadors by engaging young people in environmental education and long-term conservation values.

Kura’s Pride provides vaccinations for local pets, with a goal to reduce the spread of diseases like canine distemper and rabies among beloved pets and wildlife.

“At our Zoo, we have the privilege of knowing Abuto as an individual and witnessing how incredible he is,” said Schilz. “Dr. Kurere and the Ewaso Lions team are saving the world’s wild ‘Abutos.’ I picture every single lion being as beautiful and amazing as he is, and that’s who she and our members are protecting. She’s our hero, and no matter how old you are, it always reignites your passion to save wildlife and wild places when you meet your wildlife heroes.”

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PALMOIL SCAN APPTM NOW AVAILABLE FOR CONSCIENTIOUS CONSUMERS IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND – Auckland Zoo and Zoos South Australia are the latest zoos joining Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (CMZoo) on a worldwide effort, led by the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), to empower consumers to advocate for wildlife with their shopping choices.

Smart shoppers can save the rainforests from the comfort of their smartphones with a free global mobile app called PalmOil Scan, available for free on the App Store and Google Play. It launched last year in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom – and is now available in Australia and New Zealand.

Zoos are stepping up to the task of managing the app’s shopping product database for consumers in different regions. Americans and Canadians lean on the support of Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. In the United Kingdom, it’s Chester Zoo. In Australia, Zoos South Australia is keeping the app going. In New Zealand, Auckland Zoo is in charge. So, no matter the longitude or latitude, consumers can easily make brand shopping choices that help wildlife and wild places.

“We’re excited to welcome Zoos South Australia and Auckland Zoo to the team managing the app,” said Tracey Gazibara, executive vice president at CMZoo and co-chair of the WAZA Palm Oil Subcommittee. “Now, on nearly half of the world’s continents, people have the power to advocate for animals with their shopping choices, and to make large companies listen to their demands for products made with sustainably produced palm oil.”

Palm oil is an edible oil that can be found in about half of the products consumers purchase. It is used in candy, soaps, cosmetics, pet food and even toilet paper. Because of high demand, unsustainable palm oil production has resulted in deforestation across Southeast Asia, and other tropical areas, which means critically endangered species like orangutans, tigers and elephants are losing their homes.

However, when produced sustainably, palm oil is the most productive edible oil available. Oil palms – the trees that palm oil comes from – produce four to ten times more oil than alternatives like soy, olive, canola and coconut. Switching to these alternatives would cause even more deforestation in tropical areas, which is why consumers must demand sustainable palm oil.

Using PalmOil Scan, conscientious consumers can scan the barcodes on tens of thousands of products in the app’s extensive database (which is being updated and expanded continually) to see if they are produced by a company that has committed to sourcing sustainable palm oil. The free app also has a search feature, so if consumers scan a product that isn’t orangutan-friendly, they can easily choose an alternative that is.

Companies that have previously relied on their customers’ lack of knowledge about unsustainable palm oil and its impact on orangutans, tigers, rhinos, and elephants will soon recognize their competitors have the edge on them.

“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,” said Gazibara. “Sustainable palm oil production is possible, and it is time for us all to hold companies to a higher standard.”

CMZoo supporters won’t be surprised to hear the Zoo is continuing its palm oil advocacy work. CMZoo has been a leader in sustainable palm oil advocacy for more than a decade. Under the direction of WAZA, CMZoo helped launch PalmOil Scan, in July 2022. The Zoo launched a similar mobile app for consumers in the U.S. and Canada in 2014. More than 160,000 verified users educated themselves by using CMZoo’s app. Its design, database and user experience served as the foundation for the design of PalmOil Scan, which has the potential to reach millions more people around the world.

“If worldwide consumers show preference for companies that source only sustainable palm oil, we can create a demand that other companies can’t ignore,” said Gazibara. “When more companies realize their potential customers will not stand for the use of unsustainable palm oil, we can prevent more deforestation and help endangered animals recover in the wild.”

To learn more about sustainable palm oil, and how the power of consumer choice can save critically endangered animals in Southeast Asia, visit cmzoo.org/palmoil.

As a conservation organization in Colorado, water savings are high on the list of local preservation focuses for Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. Five CMZoo staff members and a CMZoo board member recently returned from a two-day trip to Del Norte in the Rio Grande Basin of Southern Colorado. There, they got to witness how water truly touches everything and everyone.

“The landscape and the community near the Conejos River are beautiful – and important to the survival of countless species of fish, plants, mammals and birds,” said Nicole Chaney, conservation coordinator at CMZoo. “Feeling the roar of Clear Creek Falls, witnessing the wildlife that rely on the river, and meeting the people whose livelihoods depend on it was really moving. The experience made us all the more grateful for our guests and members, who make the Zoo’s support for this effort possible.”

Earlier this year, CMZoo celebrated a huge conservation milestone reducing its water usage by nearly half, saving 13 million gallons of water per year. To offset its water usage, CMZoo also continued a commitment to Trout Unlimited, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection and restoration of habitat for animals that rely on our local rivers, which operates a program in the Rio Grande Basin of southern Colorado.

Under the program, Trout Unlimited arranges for releases of water from storage reservoirs to restore river flows for the benefit of fish populations and the riverine environment. Each year, CMZoo reviews its water use for the previous year and purchases that same amount of water, which is distributed to help restore stream flows in the winter months in the Upper Rio Grande Basin. This water is re-timed for winter releases, when normally the entire flow would be stored in reservoirs for future irrigation use in the summer months.

Trout Unlimited conducts complicated negotiations with water rights holders in efforts to get multiple uses out of that water. If the Zoo uses 20 million gallons per year, the Zoo purchases and restores flows by putting back 20 million gallons into the local waterways. Last year, the Zoo purchased 20 million gallons and spent $20,000 to offset that usage. Since the Zoo was able to reduce its water use by 4 million gallons in 2022, it will be purchasing 16 million gallons to restore to the waterways this year.

During their trip, the team visited reservoirs, water delivery facilities, and several streams where flows have been restored. In areas where winter flows have been restored, the surrounding areas have benefitted. If a stream stays flowing, it keeps the water table high, which has a dramatic effect on the landscapes the team visited, by improving the presence and health of vegetation that attracts the native wildlife back into this area. Flowing streams are very important for fish.

If flows are reduced in the winter months, fish have to crowd into small pools and compete for resources which affects their populations negatively and limits aquatic ecosystem productivity. In addition to its flow restoration efforts, TU also restores stream habitat in the area to provide healthier habitats for the fish during low flows. They also work with Colorado Parks and Wildlife to monitor the health of the fish populations in the basin.

“We learned that this basin is an important habitat for two threatened bird species,” said Chaney. “The Southwestern willow flycatcher, a federally endangered bird, and the Western yellow-billed cuckoo, a species of concern with declining populations, rely on these waterway habitats for their survival. Healthy rivers provide safe habitats, food sources and breeding opportunities for these birds.”

The team also learned about impressive conservation technology being used in the region that measures and controls water flows impressively accurately. Water rights holders can look at their smartphones each day for real-time data.

The region’s people, who are local stewards of this rich ecosystem, depend on the river for jobs, tourism and recreation. The town’s population triples in the summer months with tourists that make a huge impact on the local economy. The CMZoo team visited the Riverfront Project in Del Norte, Colorado – a large-scale renovation at a point in the river that flows through town. It was designed to facilitate recreation on the river including nature trails, picnic, swimming and fishing areas, and a “river wave” that people can surf or tube in.

Seeing the projects up-close left the team feeling inspired to continue their hard work in Colorado Springs, inviting people to visit the Zoo and inspiring them to take action to save wildlife and wild places. The Zoo is an exciting place to learn and make memories, and it’s an easy way for guests to contribute to reputable conservation efforts the Zoo vets and supports. All they need to do is visit the Zoo.

“Modern zoos act as links between frontline conservation organizations and the general public,” said Grace Sullivan, senior lead keeper at Water’s Edge: Africa, who went on the conservation trip. “Because of the number of people our animal ambassadors reach and inspire, we can help our members and supporters learn about and advocate for our shared conservation causes. This trip made a big impact on me, and I learned new ways to help connect our community to the Rio Grande Basin community, so we’re going to incorporate them into our education opportunities for guests right away.”

Every visit to CMZoo is conservation in action. Through the Zoo’s Quarters for Conservation program, which allocates 75¢ from every admission to frontline conservation efforts throughout the world, guests and members have raised more than $4.5 million since 2008. Annually, CMZoo members contribute $75,000 to smaller-scale staff-championed projects, and with additional conservation funds from Zoo revenue, CMZoo supporters help fund ongoing conservation partners, like Trout Unlimited.

“I hope our guests and members know what an impact they’re making for wildlife and wild places through this partnership,” said Sullivan. “We’re excited to bring back what we learned so we can inspire more members and visitors to continue supporting the Zoo as an easy way to continue supporting important work, like this.”

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In the coming weeks, 9-year-old female Red River hog, Zena, will head northeast to Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, New York. Her relocation supports the Red River Hog Species Survival Plan (SSP), with Zena moving as a companion animal.

To prepare her for the move, her care team has been refreshing her voluntary crate training, as Zena will be fully awake for the trip. Zena came to CMZoo from another zoo accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) in 2019, and quickly adapted to her new home with the support of her team. For this move, her keepers will also work with her new care team at Rosamond Gifford Zoo to make Zena’s transition go smoothly again.

“She was an excellent mother during her time with us here, and I know she’ll be a great companion and ambassador for her species in her new home,” said Brooke Powell, animal keeper in African Rift Valley at CMZoo. “We’ll miss her, but this gives even more people an opportunity to fall in love with Zena and Red River hogs as a species.”

Zena, whose keepers describe her as expressive, vocal, sweet and commanding, had two hoglets, Augustus and Pinto, with CMZoo’s late male Red River hog, Huey. Huey’s genetics were extremely valuable to the assurance population in human care, because his family line was relatively rare.

Now, it’s young Augustus “Gus” who has the breeding recommendation. Zena and Huey’s 1-year-old son, Gus, will stay at CMZoo. He’ll soon meet his first-ever potential mates: two 7-year-old Red River hog sisters from another AZA-accredited zoo.

“Gus is not quite mature enough to breed with the incoming sisters yet, but we’re hopeful they’ll be a good match when he’s ready in the next year or so,” said Powell. “Gus is used to living with other hogs, so we’re excited we can welcome the girls and introduce them as companions along the same timeline that Zena will be leaving.”

CMZoo has long supported the Red River Hog SSP by serving as a breeding facility. CMZoo has welcomed six healthy hoglets to the world since 2008, when Huey moved to the Zoo.

“It’s always exciting to contribute to a species by welcoming babies, but Red River hoglets are especially adorable,” said Powell. “They have these really cute brown-and-orange striped coats and tiny pink hooves, and they’re known for having zoomies almost nonstop.”

The African Rift Valley team is keeping their fingers crossed that Gus will help bring even more hoglets into the world in the coming years. According to the International Union for the Conservancy of Nature (IUCN) Red List, Red River hogs’ wild populations are decreasing. Guests who would like to wish Zena well on her travels to New York should plan to visit her when she’s outside with Gus in the Red River hog yard on warm and sunny fall days, before mid-November.

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