Conservation Archives - Page 10 of 12

Zoo members give $75,000 to projects in Colorado Springs and worldwide

Colorado Springs, Colo. – Each year, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo members vote to select which CMZoo staff-championed conservation projects will receive funding. This year, $75,000 was allocated to support projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, Kenya, Laos, Vietnam, and right here, in Colorado Springs.

Since 2015, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo member conservation grants have provided $375,000 of membership revenue to support field conservation worldwide. These funds are contributed directly by the Zoo’s members, as a part of their membership fees.

“This funding allows us to stay nimble in supporting frontline conservation efforts,” said Dr. Liza Dadone, vice president of mission and programs at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. “Our legacy conservation partners, which receive support through our Quarters for Conservation funding, receive our long-term support. These staff-championed member-vote projects can support more emergent needs, like Save Vietnam’s Wildlife’s immediate need to care for 168 pangolins rescued from illegal wildlife trade.”

CMZoo members voted for their choice of eight nominated projects in March. The three projects that received the most votes received the full funding requested. Taking member votes and other indicators into consideration, a committee of CMZoo staff members determined how to distribute the remainder of the annual contribution.

“Our members are invested in these conservation efforts,” said Emmaline Repp-Maxwell, CMZoo membership manager. “This vote provides them the opportunity to help decide which projects receive funding that their membership fees support. By helping members connect with a specific cause, they realize their impact, and hopefully continue to take an interest in that cause. We work to help people make connections that inspire them to take action.”

The top three 2019 Member Conservation Vote winners, which will receive full funding, are:

African Lions – $3,000
A continued partnership, the Ewaso ‘Lion Kids Camp’ educates Kenyan children of pastoral families in ways to avoid lion predation of their livestock. Without the help of local communities, African lions could be extinct in the wild within 20 years. This funding will help support a youth camp designed to connect these children to the local wildlife and nature, encouraging them to protect and champion big cats.

Pollinator Gardens for Five Local Schools – $15,000
Pollinators, like butterflies, birds and bees, are incredibly important to a healthy habitat and help fertilize many of the plants, fruits and vegetables we enjoy. This program helps to teach students the importance of protecting pollinators by building a garden they nurture and grow. In 2018, members voted to support three Colorado Springs schools’ pollinator gardens, which are being established now, in 2019. Because CMZoo members voted this project in the top two for the last two years, CMZoo will offer an additional two grants, for a total of five new gardens, for $3,000 each. The region from which applicants may be considered will be expanded to include communities that neighbor Colorado Springs.

Mountain Tapir – $26,566
Found in Columbia, Ecuador and the far north of Peru, only 2,500 mountain tapir remain in the wild. CMZoo is one of two zoos in North America that this species calls home. A continuation of past monitoring projects, these funds would support the radio collaring of five additional tapirs in the wild, and collaboration with community education programs. This project, based in Ecuador, has already yielded important information regarding the movement, behaviors and territory of this critically endangered species. That data is vital in proving which areas of wilderness need protection if this species is to survive.

The remainder of the $75,000 grant fund was distributed to support three additional projects:

Save Vietnam’s Wildlife’s Emergency Pangolin Care – $5,000
Found in Africa and Asia, pangolins are the most trafficked animals in the world. Because they are also threatened by deforestation, all eight species of the pangolin are considered threatened with extinction (two of which are critically endangered). Save Vietnam’s Wildlife focuses on the recovery and release of native species confiscated in the illegal wildlife trade. This contribution is allocated for emergency funding to assist in the care of 168 recently confiscated pangolins, the largest group confiscated to date. These funds will help provide veterinary care until the pangolins are re-released.

Okapi Conservation Project – $15,000
Found in the heart of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and one of the most biologically diverse areas in all of Africa, okapi have only been known to science since 1901. Threatened by habitat destruction, mining, poaching and civil unrest, there may be as few as 10,000 left in the wild. Through the Okapi Conservation Project, this funding would support a community outreach program for World Okapi Day to promote local education and co-existence between okapi, their habitat and local villages. This project is co-supported by four other zoos.

Project Anoulak – $11,250
Based in the Annamite Mountains of Laos, Project Anoulak works to conserve and study wildlife in the Nakai-Nam Theun National Protected Area. One of the most important and biodiverse forests left in the region, it is threatened by unsustainable harvesting and farming practices, as well as illegal poaching. This funding will purchase the equipment needed to continue their critical conservation monitoring and research.

Of the $100,000 of conservation funding annually raised through membership revenue, $25,000 goes to Quarters for Conservation legacy projects and $75,000 goes to annual Member Conservation Vote grants.

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 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 the few operating without tax support. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo depends on admissions, membership dues, special event attendance and donations for funding.

CMZoo continues work to repopulate Wyoming toads, listed as extinct in the wild

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.

Colorado Springs, Colo. – A Mexican wolf pup was born at 5:10 a.m. Friday, April 19, 2019 to second-time parents, Luna and Navarro, to the excitement of Cheyenne Mountain Zoo staff and guests. The pup appears to be strong, and Luna is exhibiting quality maternal instincts.

“It’s very squirmy and snuggly with Luna, and has already grown a lot since it was born on Friday, which is a good sign,” said Dina Bredahl, Rocky Mountain Wild animal manager. “It’s got a really cute full, round belly and dark fur. Mexican wolves grow up to have sandy, gray fur, but their pups are born with dark fur.”

The Rocky Mountain Wild animal care team wasn’t sure how many pups Luna was carrying, and watched for a full 24 hours after the first pup was born before concluding that the pup was a singleton. The newborn pup joins the existing wolf pack consisting of the two parents, Luna and Navarro, and nearly one-year-old sisters Bluestem, Hope and Shadow, and brother Phoenix, who were born May 8 and 9, 2018.

“Wolf packs in the wild will stay together as new litters join the pack, so we don’t see any need to separate the older siblings from this new pup,” said Bredahl. “It’s a win-win for all. The yearlings get to observe Luna with a young pup, which helps them gain experience they can use if they become parents later in life. The single pup benefits because it has a larger pack to learn from and bond with, instead of just its two parents.”

A couple of hours before Luna gave birth early Friday morning, the yearlings were seen on camera in the den nuzzling and cuddling with her.

“It was really cool to see the one-year-olds observing Luna’s behavior, probably noticing something was going on and wondering what was about to happen,” said Bredahl. “Every individual pup makes an impact on the survival of the species, because the Mexican wolf population is so small. Even in human care, we rarely intervene with wolves, so we’re cautiously optimistic that this pup will grow into a healthy adult that can contribute to the long-term survival of Mexican wolves.”

The birth is not only incredibly exciting for the Zoo staff, who have been actively working to successfully breed the species for many years, but it is also highly significant for the future of the species. It is possible that this pup could go on to help repopulate the species in the wild.

For now, Luna is caring for the pup in a cozy underground den within the wolf exhibit. A camera mounted inside the den is connected to a monitor in the guest viewing area, so everyone who visits the Zoo will be able to see live footage of mom and baby at the exhibit.

“From time to time, we see Luna move around outside of the den, carrying the pup with her,” said Bredahl. “We didn’t see that with her litter last year, but that’s probably because this individual pup is so much more ‘portable’ than a full litter. In the wild, mothers will sometimes move their pups from one den to another. Luna has multiple dens in her exhibit, so she’s taking advantage of that and finding the most comfortable spot.”

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo will share photos and video clips of mom and pup, as they become available, on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and The Waterhole, the Zoo’s monthly e-newsletter.

For many years, the Zoo housed a bachelor pack of wolves, but within the past eight years, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ (AZA’s) Species Survival Plan (SSP) has placed various breeding pairs at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo with the hopes of offspring. Until Luna and Navarro, none of the breeding pairs were successful. When they are older, it is possible that Luna’s pups could be released to help provide genetic diversity in the wild.

The birth of this pup is significant because there are currently only 131 Mexican wolves in the wild, and only about 300 in human care. Until the 1900s, the Mexican wolf thrived throughout central Mexico, Arizona, New Mexico and western Texas. But by the 1950s, the species was virtually eradicated, with the last known wild wolf in the U.S. shot in 1970. When the Endangered Species Act went into effect in 1973, it led to the Mexican wolf being declared an endangered subspecies. Their number has since been increasing through captive breeding programs.

The population of Mexican wolves in human care at Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA)-accredited zoos is an important part of the plan to repopulate the species in the wild. The Mexican Wolf Recovery Program is run by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, with cooperation from the AZA Mexican Wolf Species Survival Plan. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has been a participant in the program since 1994.

About Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

Cheyenne Mountain Zoological Society was founded in 1926. Today, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, America’s only mountain zoo, offers comprehensive education programs, exciting conservation efforts and truly fantastic animal experiences. It is Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s hope that 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 ten operating without tax support. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo depends on admissions, membership dues, special event attendance and donations for funding.

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 also allows the Zoo to support immediate needs that might not fit into our annual Quarters for Conservation donations. One such member-elected conservation effort was providing emergency care for radiated tortoises that had been confiscated from the pet trade in Madagascar. The emergency pangolin project up for vote this year is another example.

“These conservation grants help our Zoo support really impactful conservation projects around the world,” said Dr.Liza Dadone, vice president of mission and programs, and head veterinarian at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. “Most of the projects have a connection to species that live at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and often involve wildlife that are on the brink of extinction.”

A team of CMZoo employees forms the committee that spends months reviewing the staff-nominated conservation projects to select proposals with the greatest potential impact. The committee narrows the number of applicants down to a small group for the member vote. This year, there are eight projects for members to consider.

“It’s an amazing opportunity for members to make a direct positive impact in the wild because they get to vote on which grants get fully funded,” said Emma Repp-Maxwell, CMZoo membership manager. “It’s also a way for our staff to get support for conservation projects in our back yard and around the world.”

The three projects that receive the most votes will be fully funded. CMZoo will determine how to distribute the remainder of the annual $75,000 Member Conservation Grants among the remaining five projects.

Of the $100,000 of conservation funding annually raised through membership revenue, $25,000 goes to Quarters for Conservation legacy projects and $75,000 goes to these annual conservation grants.

“Our Zoo members are directly helping wildlife and make these conservation grants possible,” said Repp-Maxwell. “Every vote for these grants and every visit is directly helping our Zoo help wildlife.”

Learn about the individual staff-championed projects up for members’ consideration below, and click here to find out about becoming a Cheyenne Mountain Zoo member.

2019 CMZoo Member Vote Conservation Projects

African Lions – $3,000
A continued partnership, the Ewaso ‘Lion Kids Camp’ educates Kenyan children of pastoral families in ways to avoid lion predation of their livestock. Without the help of local communities, African lions could be extinct in the wild within 20 years. This funding would help support a youth camp designed to connect these children to the local wildlife and nature, encouraging them to protect and champion big cats.

Project Anoulak (white-cheeked gibbon, Asian otter, saola, etc.) – $11,250
Based in the Annamite Mountains of Laos, Project Anoulak works to conserve and study wildlife in the Nakai-Nam Theun National Protected Area. One of the most important and biodiverse forests left in the region, it is threatened by unsustainable harvesting and farming practices, as well as illegal poaching. This funding will purchase the equipment needed to continue their critical conservation monitoring and research.

Golden Lion Tamarin – $16,466
Urban expansion in their native Brazil has reduced golden lion tamarin habitat by 98 percent. While re-introduction programs have been successful, the survival of this species will rely on habitat restoration, protection and expansion. Through a local partner, these funds will support the planting and care of two acres of forest for three years. By connecting fragmented forests in protected areas and working with local communities, golden lion tamarins’ population and habitat will continue to grow and succeed.

Mountain Tapir – $26,566
Found in Columbia, Ecuador and the far north of Peru, only 2,000 mountain tapirs remain in the wild. CMZoo is one of two zoos in North America that this species calls home. A continuation of past monitoring projects, these funds would support the radio collaring of five additional tapirs in the wild. This project, based in Ecuador, has already yielded important information regarding the movement, behaviors and territory of this critically endangered species. That data is vital in proving which areas of wilderness need protection if this species is to survive.

Saola Working Group – $5,000
Found in the Annamite Mountains of Laos and Vietnam, the saola, nicknamed the ‘Asian unicorn,’ is one of the rarest large animals on earth. Scientifically discovered in 1992, their main threat is not deforestation, but commercial poaching and snare hunting. Because not much is known about this elusive species, this funding will purchase 25 camera traps to continue to monitor and research the forests they call home.

Pollinator Garden for Local Schools – $9,000
Pollinators, like butterflies, birds and bees, are incredibly important to a healthy habitat and help fertilize many of the plants, fruits and vegetables we enjoy. For the second year in a row, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo will provide pollinator grants to three local elementary schools for $3,000 each. This program will help teach students the importance of protecting pollinators by building a garden they nurture and grow.

Pangolins – $5,000
Found in Africa and Asia, pangolins are the most trafficked animals in the world. Because they are also threatened by deforestation, all eight species of the pangolin are considered threatened with extinction (two of which are critically endangered). Save Vietnam’s Wildlife focuses on the recovery and release of native species confiscated in the illegal wildlife trade. They are seeking emergency funding to assist in the care of 168 recently confiscated pangolins, the largest group confiscated to date. These funds would help provide veterinary care until they are re-released.

Okapi – $6,000
Found in the heart of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and one of the most biologically diverse areas in all of Africa, okapis have only been known to science since 1901. Threatened by habitat destruction, mining, poaching and civil unrest, there may be as few as 10,000 left in the wild. Through the Okapi Conservation Project, this funding would support a community outreach program for World Okapi Day to promote local education and co-existence between okapis, their habitat and local villages. This projected is co-supported by four other zoos.

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 nearby protected beaches, and provides education to the public. In the case of an oil spill, they provide disaster relief by cleaning, rehabilitating and releasing the birds back into the wild.

Originally, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo members voted in 2016 to allocate funds to support SANCCOB in the event of an oil spill. Annually, CMZoo membership registrations contribute $25,000 to Quarters for Conservation and $75,000 to grants like this one. Members help us select the grant recipients each year.

Luckily, Cape Town has not had a major oil spill in more than two years, so this winter SANCCOB asked if the grant could be used to help during the busy penguin chick season. In addition to sending our team, our Zoo was also able to provide $6,500 to SANCCOB to help with rehabilitation and reintroduction of African penguins.

African penguins are endangered, with multiple factors negatively affecting their populations. One issue affecting African penguins in South Africa is unusual molting patterns thought to be caused by climate change. Rising temperatures and changing ocean currents are causing adult penguins to molt during chick season, which means they’re no longer waterproof and are susceptible to hypothermia in cool ocean waters. Some have to turn back without providing food for their families.

Adding to their vulnerability in the cool waters is the need to swim further for food. Overfishing is contributing to the decreasing supply of fish that penguins can hunt in the wild. Adult penguins raise their chicks in pairs, so while one parent stays with the chick or egg, the other parent goes out to fish and hunt for their food. With a dwindling food source, the hunting penguins must travel further to find fish, leaving the parenting penguins without food for lengthy periods. This extended wait sometimes causes the mate caring for the chick to respond as if the hunting parent is not going to return. The parenting mate will often have to abandon the chick to find food.

Patty Wallace, CMZoo senior lead animal keeper (who is an experienced penguin keeper), and Miriam Piper, CMZoo IT manager, shared extensive responsibilities at SANCCOB, including feeding, administering medication and exercising the birds.

To prepare food for the penguin chicks, Piper and Wallace thawed and counted Cape sardines and made a ‘fish formula’ comprised of pureed sardines along with several vitamins for weight gain, feather development and overall health. They measured medications and mixed them into fish formulas, then tube-fed the birds multiple times daily.

“We gained valuable knowledge in the chick rearing process, which will come in handy as we have chicks of our own in Water’s Edge: Africa,” said Wallace. “We learned everything from formula recipes and feeding techniques to assessing feather quality.”

Since they were caring for birds at different stages of life, and with varying health, they also fed whole fish, applied topical medications, administered breathing treatments with a nebulizer and monitored the birds in swimming areas according to how waterproof their feathers were.

“The healthier the penguins got, the feistier they got,” said Piper. “That’s one way we knew we they ready to make their way back into the wild.”

Ultimately, the quality of waterproof feathers determines their release date. Penguin chicks have fluffy feathers that don’t protect them from cool ocean water temperatures, so they eat and exercise at SANCCOB until they mature enough to fend for themselves in the wild.

“During our two weeks at SANCCOB, more than 50 penguins were released back into the wild,” Piper said. “The day we went on the release, there were 24 penguins. We arrived early in the morning and prepared them for their journey by removing tags and attaching tracking devices. Then, we packed the penguins into cardboard crates and rode for nearly two hours in the back of a truck with them until we arrived at our final destination, Stony Point Colony in Betty’s Bay, Western Cape.”

When Piper and Wallace arrived at the bay, which is protected from any kind of fishing to ensure the penguins have food nearby, they saw hundreds of adult penguins and even some thriving chicks.

“We met up with park rangers and carried the penguins to a beachy area where we unloaded all 24 penguins and watched them make their way out into the ocean,” Piper said. “Some were eager to get back to the ocean and others needed a little nudge in the right direction and off they went. It was a beautiful sight to see the chicks we had worked with for the last few weeks set off into the beautiful bay full of wild penguins in a protected area.”

Thanks to CMZoo members, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo was able to provide support for SANCCOB and African penguin chicks during this fragile phase of life that is so vital to the well-being of their species.

“Penguins are such amazing animals,” said Wallace. “Being a part of this experience was a defining moment in my career, and I feel even more prepared to welcome and care for CMZoo’s flock of African penguins, and share what I learned from the awesome team at SANCCOB.”

You can meet a flock of African penguins for yourself, when CMZoo’s new flock joins us at Water’s Edge: Africa, scheduled to open in phases throughout summer 2019.

For more information on Water’s Edge: Africa, click here>.

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 loss.

In November 2018, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s Vice President of Mission and Programs and head veterinarian, Dr. Liza Dadone, traveled to Niger to assist with Operation Sahel Giraffe. Dadone was part of a multinational, multi-organizational team led by the Giraffe Conservation Foundation in support of the Republic of Niger and in partnership with the Sahara Conservation Fund, with additional assistance from Ivan Carter Wildlife Alliance, San Diego Zoo Global and Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, with involvement from members of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Giraffe & Okapi Specialist Group.

West African giraffe are a subspecies of northern giraffe. The world’s only remaining population lives about 40 miles southeast of Niamey, Niger, in an area known as the “giraffe zone” – where giraffe are the only large wild mammals coexisting (and competing for resources) with humans.

“There was a lot of local pride and respect for the West African giraffe there,” said Dadone. “The locals felt they were a chosen community to have the last of this subspecies of giraffe anywhere in the world.”

The ongoing goal of Operation Sahel Giraffe is to establish the first-ever satellite population and increase the number of West African giraffe population by relocating giraffe from their sole location in the giraffe zone to Niger’s Gadabedji Biosphere Reserve (GBR), a reserve area conservationists have identified as a site to rehabilitate. West African giraffe haven’t occupied GBR for nearly 50 years.

The need was evident, the plan was in place and the partners were invested. Now, the team of conservationists, government officials, veterinarians, giraffe experts and rangers needed to put the plan into motion. First, they set up the boma – a paddock where the giraffe would stay together for three weeks before their relocation to the GBR.

“To contain an animal that could stand 18 feet tall and weigh one ton, you need a very strong, very tall fence,” said Dadone. “It took a large team over a week to dig holes, bring in trees we could use as pillars and build the wall structure.”

Next, they needed to identify which of the 600 giraffe were the best candidates to establish this important foundational herd in the GBR.

“We were trying to find young adult giraffe that were old enough to be independent from their mothers, but not so old that they were fully mature and harder to restrain and move. Ideally, that’s between one and three years old,” said Dadone. “Because you can grow a population faster with proportionally more females, we intentionally sought more females than males. We were obviously seeking animals that appeared to be healthy. Logistically, we needed animals that weren’t located at the far end of the existing population’s roaming area, so they didn’t have to be transported many hours to the boma.”

Then, the team would need to find the right age and sex of giraffe in the wild, anesthetize them and transport them by trailer to the boma, where they could ensure the giraffe were safe, contained, fed, shaded and watered.

There were 600 animals in this area, but it took a lot of work to find them. One day, the team engaged the help of a colleague who flew his ULM microlight over the area to help with spotting giraffe in the large area with limited road access.

“He circled to the herd, then circled back to us and was trying to lead us, but we didn’t have any form of communication,” said Dadone. “At a certain point a Coca Cola bottle with a note in it was dropped from the plane. We drove to retrieve it, and sure enough, the note told us which direction to head toward the herd.”

The team followed the pilot’s message in a bottle and found the herd. At least one of the giraffe met their needs.

“Each time we brought in a giraffe, it was a different experience,” said Dadone. “When we would find a giraffe that met the needs of the project, we referred to a catalogue that identified all of the giraffe by their unique spot patterns. Because of the rangers’ work over many years creating that catalogue, we could identify each individual animal before starting anesthesia.”

Wildlife veterinarian Dr. Pete Morkel, who has led field conservation efforts like this countless times across Africa, led the field anesthesias for the Operation Sahel Giraffe team. He would estimate the size of the animal being targeted and load the anesthesia dart appropriately for that animal.

“These animals have lived in close proximity with humans, so they were less wary of us, which allowed Pete to slowly walk over toward the animal to get into dart range, then dart the animal in the shoulder or rear,” said Dadone.

Usually, the animal would stop running and go down on its own, but sometimes the team would have to help it down safely with a series of ropes. Once down, the team applied a blindfold and earplugs to the giraffe, to minimize stimulation and help calm the animal. To avoid potentially harmful side effects of anesthesia, the team immediately administered an anesthesia reversal drug, which would wake the animal within about a minute.

“Any time we’re working hands-on with a species that’s almost gone, we try to make the most of every moment we have,” said Dadone. “During that time, I was able to administer medicines, like parasite treatments, to help minimize the risk of spreading diseases. I also took bloodwork for anesthetic monitoring, which is a long-term project with GCF and other partners to identify which anesthetic combinations are safest and most effective for giraffe anesthesia in the field.”

From those same blood samples, Dadone performed additional research and overall health assessments. While waiting for the giraffe transport vehicle, the team also took measurements, skin samples for follow-up genetic studies and hoof assessments that continue to benefit giraffe in human care around the world.

Once the team loaded the giraffe into the transport vehicle, which was a modified horse trailer, they headed for the boma, where they would introduce the giraffe to the rest of the giraffe selected for relocation and reintroduction. After three weeks allowing the giraffe to acclimate to each other in the boma, the team transported two loads of four giraffe each in the back of long-bed open-top trucks, to release them to the GBR nearly 500 miles away.

The team released eight West African giraffe into the GBR, where GCF now supports a reserve and community based monitoring system to ensure the giraffe thrive in their new home. Giraffe have 15- to 18-month gestation periods, so it may be a few years before any calves are born.

“It’s exciting to get involved with yet another critically necessary project that will ultimately serve as proof that these projects work and can save species on the brink of extinction,” said Dadone. “We have a few years to see how they do, but we’re hopeful it’ll lead to an increase in effort to try to save giraffe in that area and to reestablish more animals in the coming years.”

Every admission and membership to Cheyenne Mountain Zoo supports conservation efforts like Operation Sahel Giraffe. The Giraffe Conservation Foundation is a key conservation partner of Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, who supports their giraffe conservation efforts throughout Africa.

For more information on CMZoo’s commitment to conservation, visit www.cmzoo.org/conservation.

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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 endangered species for generations to come.

One way to support wildlife conservation (while learning a lot and having a great time) is by visiting the Zoo! Through CMZoo’s Quarters for Conservation program, guests contribute to conservation around the world, simply by visiting the Zoo. For each paid admission to the Zoo, 75¢ is directly allocated for conservation programs including safeguarding African vultures, rescuing frogs in Panama, protecting wild orangutans, restoring the population of black-footed ferrets, saving wild giraffe, increasing the population of endangered Wyoming toads and helping to protect African elephants and rhinoceroses. Each year, Quarters for Conservation allows Cheyenne Mountain Zoo to contribute $500,000 to these conservation efforts and more.

Learn more about Quarters for Conservation here and continue reading to learn about some of 2018’s conservation highlights.

Operation Twiga

Giraffe conservation was given a generous boost from many helping hands when Operation Twiga continued in 2018 with Operation Twiga III in Uganda. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo staff and other concerned conservationists took part in translocating endangered Nubian giraffe to a safer location, where they could establish new herds and maintain the important genetics of their subspecies. Additionally, the operation generated more critical health data which will feed research that helps conservationists understand disease management and threats facing all giraffe in the wild.

During Operation Twiga III, the team was able to capture and move a total of 14 giraffe from Murchison Falls National Park, where oil drilling is set to begin, to their new home in Kidepo Valley National Park.

Tsavo Trust

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s Quarters for Conservation has allowed us to send more support to Tsavo Trust – a field-based non-profit organization in Africa that uses aerial surveillance and on-the-ground field efforts to protect wildlife in Tsavo National Park, the largest national park in Kenya. The organization was founded to help protect the last of the “big tuskers,” which are likely the last viable genetic pool of African elephants with tusks weighing more than 100 pounds each. The park is also home to a number of black rhino sanctuaries established by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KSW) and supported by the Zoological Society of London. The black rhino is critically endangered, due primarily to illegal poaching for their horns.

In partnership with the Kratt Foundation in August, CMZoo sent $53,333 to support ongoing anti-poaching aerial surveillance efforts, bringing the total contribution to $145,000. These funds also helped complete the construction of Tsavo Trust on-site staff housing. This donation means Tsavo Trust can continue to monitor and protect roughly 16,000 miles of land that is vital to the survival of these endangered species.

Black footed-ferrets

In mid-September, four kits and four adult black-footed ferrets (BFF) were moved to a preconditioning center outside of Fort Collins, Colo., where biologists observe the ferrets to ensure they can hunt, avoid predators and shelter themselves to survive without human intervention and continue to increase the endangered species’ population when they’re introduced into the wild.

Since the 1981 discovery of a small population of BFFs in Meeteetse, Wyoming, conservationists launched a black-footed ferret recovery plan which continues to increase the population. Numbers fluctuate, but recent reports estimate 350 BFFs are thriving in the wild, thanks to this program.

Protecting wild orangutans

Palm oil is widely used in many products, ranging from food to cosmetics, but is grown in just a few countries throughout the world. This includes much of Indonesia and Malaysia, which are home to orangutans and other unique species. As the demand for palm oil has increased globally, Indonesia’s and Malaysia’s natural rainforest has decreased in size as a result of unsustainable slash-and-burn clearing to make way for more palm oil crops. This loss of habitat threatens the survival of many native species.

CMZoo is committed to educating the public about the use of sustainable palm oil, providing guidance about which companies are members of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, which means they are committed to using sustainably produced palm oil in their products. In September, CMZoo’s palm oil team traveled to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums annual conference to share knowledge and resources. CMZoo’s palm oil app has been named as a reliable guide for information on sustainable palm oil in many publications and forums, including most recently by National Geographic.

African vultures

Vulture conservation has been a focus at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo for nearly a decade, and while strides have been made toward protecting them, this critically important species still hovers on the brink of extinction. They need our help more than ever.

This year, the Association of Zoos & Aquariums voted to include African vultures as one of their SAFE (Saving Animals From Extinction) projects, thereby creating an opportunity for more united conservation efforts. Currently, 12 zoos across the country are committed to partnering with African conservation organizations in order to address the African vulture population crisis. As part of this group, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo supports Vulpro in their efforts to re-introduce African vultures to their wild habitat through one of our Quarters for Conservation legacy projects.

In addition, these birds have been part of our annual membership vote the past three years. We are proud to say that Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has donated nearly $67,000 to vulture conservation to date.

Wyoming toads

CMZoo made favorable strides in the management of endangered Wyoming toads in spring and early summer as CMZ experienced a robust egg-laying season, followed by the release of hundreds of year-old toads into the wild. Wyoming toads are currently listed as “extinct in the wild” by The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

On May 30, our CMZoo staff released more than 200 head start toads into the wetlands of the Laramie Basin of Wyoming. At the same time, 856 head-start toads were released by Saratoga National Fish Hatchery and around 50 were released by the Leadville National Fish Hatchery.

Head-start toads develop from tadpoles hatched the previous year. This year’s breeding season at CMZ began June 4 when, after hibernating for 35 days, 11 pairs of adult Wyoming toads were put together in the breeding center. Nine of the pairs produced fertile egg strands, which included 14,822 eggs!

The work continues, as we grow our conservation programs and educate the public about how they can help support efforts to protect wild species.

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 are very important to the continued survival of the species in human care, and as ambassadors for their endangered counterparts in the wild.

“Some people wonder why wolf demonstrations at the Zoo aren’t as hands-on as some of the other animal demonstrations,” said Basia Dann, Rocky Mountain Wild animal keeper. “We don’t want to create too much of a positive association between people and food because one of their biggest threats in the wild is the sometimes uneasy sharing of space between humans and wildlife. Regardless of how much we want to talk to them and encourage them with positive food reinforcement the way we do with other animals, it’s best for them if we keep our distance and they keep theirs.”

That’s because the ultimate goal is for CMZoo’s descendants to one day return to the wild, where populations have been dwindling.

The Mexican wolf has been protected as an endangered subspecies of gray wolf since 1976 under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Mexican wolves were near extinction in 1998, when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and partner agencies initiated a captive breeding program descended from seven founder wolves.

USFWS reports that there are only 114 Mexican wolves in the wild and 300 in human care. The population of Mexican wolves in human care at Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA)-accredited zoos is an important part of the plan to repopulate the species in the wild. The Mexican Wolf Recovery Program is run by USFWS, with cooperation from the AZA Mexican Wolf Species Survival Plan.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has been a participant in the program since 1994. But, until this year’s litter, it had been 20 years since wolf pups made an appearance at the Zoo. For many years, the Zoo housed a bachelor pack of wolves, but within the past seven years, the AZA’s Species Survival Plan (SSP) placed various breeding pairs at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo with the hopes of offspring.

Luna, the 10-year-old mother of the 2018 litter, and two-year-old father Navarro and their pups, as exemplary animal ambassadors, continue contributing to the success of the Mexican wolf Species Survival Plan. One pup, Lupa has already moved on to another organization where the hope is that she will have her own litter one day. Her move was always part of CMZoo’s plan, but was expedited when keepers discovered Lupa limping one morning in November.

Immediately upon noticing Lupa limping, CMZoo vet staff took x-rays of her leg and discovered a fracture of the growth plate of her left femur, just above the knee. The injury is not uncommon among young wolves, but keepers and staff don’t know exactly how it occurred. With approvals from USFWS and the SSP, CMZoo took Lupa to the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colo., where surgeons discovered the fracture has worsened in the short time since her last x-rays.

After a successful surgery, Lupa returned to CMZoo, but staff quickly recognized the Zoo’s terrain and a quickly approaching Colorado winter we going to add challenges to her healing process. Although staff separated Lupa from the full pack for her recovery period and placed her in an adjacent area with a littermate, she was still a very active pup in a rocky and vertical natural habitat.

“Like your dog at home does after a surgery that requires stitches, she was irritating the wound by overstretching the incision, so it wasn’t healing as quickly as we would have liked,” said Dr. Eric Klaphake, associate veterinarian at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. “Because her leg was shaved in order to perform the necessary surgery, we decided the snow and cold temperatures would be uncomfortable for her. We didn’t want to keep her inside without socialization, so we found her a new home in a flatter, warmer environment, where she could receive a companion as well.”

Phoenix, Bluestem, Hope and Shadow, Lupa’s littermates at CMZoo, are flourishing. They have grown so much since their birth in May that it has become difficult to tell them apart from their parents by size alone. Luckily, CMZoo keepers have some tips on identifying them. Shadow’s face is darker than the rest of the pack, and she has light eyebrow patches. Phoenix is the biggest of the pups and has two dark spots in his left eyebrow. Bluestem and Luna are similar in appearance, with light fur and even lighter eyebrows. Bluestem is smaller than Luna. Hope has a dark face and dark eyebrows and has a black and white ‘V’ patter in the fur on her chest. Navarro is the biggest wolf whose face is a darker shade of red than the rest of the pack.

You can catch a glimpse of one of the rarest species in North America during a wolf keeper talk at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo every Monday, Saturday and Sunday at 10:30 a.m.

It’s no secret that Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is home to rare and unique animals. But, this month’s Animal Encounter features two CMZoo ambassador animals that are so extremely rare, that CMZoo is one of only two places in the nation where they can be seen. CMZoo’s mountain tapirs are two of only seven in the United States. Fewer than 2,000 exist in the world.

In addition to their rare presence, they have an unusual appearance. Their prehensile noses with long snouts, odd-and-even toed hooved feet and bear-shaped bodies look like something magical out of a children’s book. It’s not surprising that CMZoo’s mountain tapirs, Carlotta and Cofan (pronounced coe-FAWN), steal the heart of just about everyone who meets them.

Unlike their elusive wild relatives, Carlotta and Cofan are mostly calm, but have their playful moments. Cofan, a 15-year-old male tapir whose woolly fur is darker than his exhibit mate’s, is curious about new enrichment items and can sometimes be found splashing in the water feature in their exhibit. Carlotta, a 24-year-old female tapir is bigger than Cofan, and has a hole in her left ear (a common scar for female tapirs whose mates often bite their ears during breeding season). Carlotta likes water in moderation, too. One day, keepers found 360-pound Carlotta standing with all four feet in an 18-inch wide water bowl.

“Mountain tapirs are cool,” Michelle Salido, lead tapir keeper said. “They’re really interesting looking. Most people immediately think they’re a cross between a bear and an anteater, and you can see why.”

Mountain tapirs, from the Andes Mountains in Colombia, Ecuador and northern Peru, are one of four species of tapir. With the average female weighing about 400 pounds, they’re the smallest of the tapir species. Mature female tapirs usually weigh about 30 pounds more than adult males.

Carlotta and Cofan live down the path from Monkey Pavilion, in a mountain-inspired exhibit that they share with Muscovy ducks. In the wild, they live at between 6,000 and 12,000 ft. in elevation, so their high-altitude home on the Front Range is especially suitable.

“It’s estimated there are fewer than 2,000 mountain tapirs left in the world,” Salido said. “There are only seven in the United States at two zoos, so the fact that people can come and see them right here in Colorado Springs is a real privilege.”

Carlotta and Cofan were the last breeding pair in the U.S., but are no longer suitable for breeding because of Carlotta’s age.

CMZoo staff, thanks to support from Zoo members, works diligently to save mountain tapirs and their habitats south of the equator. Earlier this year, Salido and two other CMZoo staff members went to Ecuador for a second time to track and attach GPS collars to mountain tapirs.

The research is critical, given the limited number of animals left in the wild and the lack of available data about them. Salido said CMZoo’s mountain tapir conservation partner at Andean Bear Foundation (ABF) and Smithsonian National Zoo reported that the high-tech GPS collars collected more geo-data in a week than the previously used radio collars collected in five years. The team’s goal is to present complete data to organizations that can place land protections in the areas where tapirs most frequently roam.

“Their native habitats are being developed for pipelines, mining and agriculture. The tapirs living in those areas are considered a nuisance,” Salido said. “One morning we were there, it took a matter of hours to see the difference in habitat destruction going on in the forest. Seeing their habitat destroyed in front of my eyes made our work that much more important to me.”

Salido said the tapirs she tracked in the wild are much bigger than Carlotta and Cofan, so getting close enough to attach the collars was incredibly challenging, especially given the mountainous terrain and high altitude.

Another unique feature of the tapir is its feet. Ungulates – hooved animals – are usually either even-toed or odd-toed, but tapirs are the only ungulates to have four toes on both front feet and three toes on each back foot.

“They live on wet, steep inclines in the wild,” Salido said. “You can see how the ability for their hooves to spread and morph to the ground beneath them helps them better navigate difficult terrain. They’re wicked fast in the wild.”

Carlotta and Cofan are model ambassador animals, helping people form connections with animals whose species are threatened with extinction in this lifetime. One way they do that is by meeting guests up close and personal. Salido says every morning she greets these two ‘Labradors of the Zoo,’ as she calls them. She gives them a good chin scratch and armpit scratch, and they stick their legs out for more.

“These two are calm and gentle for the most part,” said Salido. “They love getting chin scratches. They’ll walk over and put their heads between the bollards so we can reach them. They go into a ‘tapir trance’ and get super relaxed. Cofan will close his big eyes and let his tongue hang out if you scratch him just right.”

Their appearance has earned them some unusual but endearing nicknames. They’re sometimes playfully called ‘snorkel pigs,’ referring to their long snouts and body shapes. Others call them ‘clown mouth tapirs,’ alluding to the white fur around their mouths – a feature that distinguishes mountain tapirs, also known as woolly tapirs, from the other four species of tapir.

CMZoo will continue working to protect mountain tapirs in the wild. To learn more about these rare mammals, swing by the Tapir exhibit to see Carlotta and Cofan at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.

– Cheyenne Mountain Zoo supports newly passed principles and criteria for the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil as progress in the fight again deforestation –

November 16, 2018, Colorado Springs, CO – Cheyenne Mountain Zoo was among those who voted “Yes” on passing the ratified Principles & Criteria (P&C) during 2018’s Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) conference in Malaysia this week. The new P&C is the result of months of extensive public and stakeholder consultation representing environmental NGOs, social NGOs, retailors, consumer goods manufacturers, palm oil traders, and oil palm growers.

Supported by many environmental organizations, the new P&C includes important environmentally friendly steps forward such as regulation on High Conservation Value areas, use of the High Carbon Stock Approach toolkit, no planting on peat regardless of depth, and banning fire as a method for land preparation. The new P&C also includes strengthened requirements on labor rights such as decent living wages and housing, and strengthens the RSPO’s commitment to not condoning child or trafficked labor.

These updated environmental policies are important because:

High Conservation Value areas are biologically diverse areas home to rare and endangered species, ecosystems and habitats. These areas also act as an important resource for local communities and can have cultural and historical significance.
The High Carbon Stock Approach toolkit incorporates the latest scientific research, feedback from on-the-ground trials, and new topics and input from working groups on best practices to identify and protect tropical forests.
Peatlands are a “carbon sink” for the planet that store billions of tons of organic carbon that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, a heavy contributor to the changing global climate. Peatlands are also important ecosystems that are home to many unique species of plants and animals.
No longer allowing fire as an acceptable method for land preparation will prevent significant biodiversity and carbon loss as well as prevent the emission of dangerous pollutants that can worsen air quality and cause harm to human health.

The newly adopted environmental and social criteria marks ongoing improvement in the certified sustainable palm oil supply chain. The not-for-profit RSPO is the largest sustainable palm oil certifying scheme and takes a holistic approach to improving the supply chain by bringing all stakeholders together. Currently the RSPO has more than 4,000 members worldwide who have committed to producing, sourcing, and promoting sustainable palm oil. Certified sustainable palm oil is the best way to protect the environment, along with the people and wildlife who live there. When grown sustainably, palm oil is the best option as oil palms produce four-to-ten times more oil than other edible oil crops such as coconut, olive, sunflower and rapeseed. Boycotting palm oil will increase the demand for less eco-friendly vegetable oils and can worsen deforestation and cause it to spread to other parts of the world.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has been a member of the RSPO since 2010 and takes an active role in North America as a leader in the sustainable palm oil movement. The Zoo works to educate consumers on the importance of choosing sustainable palm oil and then connects them with companies who could be doing better to demand change. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo also manages a free app that consumers can utilize during shopping trips to discover which companies are working to conserve endangered species such as orangutans, tigers and rhinos. Those who wish to support orangutan-friendly companies can find the app by searching “Sustainable Palm Oil Shopping” in the app store and looking for the green orangutan, or by visiting the Zoo’s Orangutans & Palm Oil page.