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ROCKY MOUNTAIN WILD NAMED #2 BEST ZOO EXHIBIT IN NORTH AMERICA – Colorado Springs, Colo. (March 13, 2024) – For the eighth consecutive year, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has been voted one of the top ten zoos in North America in USA TODAY’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards. This time, America’s mountain Zoo was recognized in two categories:

#5 Best Zoo in North America
#2 Best Zoo Exhibit in North America, for Rocky Mountain Wild

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo aims to set itself apart by making every guest experience inspiring. With its simply stated vision, “Every Kid. Every Time. Goosebumps.” at its cultural core, CMZoo creates environments and experiences that bring people closer to animals. Exhibits are designed to remove as many physical barriers as safely possible between guests and animals. Guests can experience this for themselves by hand feeding the giraffe herd – one of the largest herds in North America, with 17 giraffe – or by waddling alongside penguins or getting eye-to-eye with hippos at CMZoo’s newest exhibit, Water’s Edge: Africa. CMZoo’s goal is to foster connections that inspire guests to take action to protect animals and their habitats in the wild.

Rocky Mountain Wild, an area of the Zoo that is home to animals from the Zoo’s native region, was named #2 Best Zoo Exhibit in North America. Rocky Mountain Wild opened in the summer of 2008, appropriately hugging the highest elevations of CMZoo’s developed mountainside acreage. The area is home to a pack of endangered Mexican wolves, Canada lynx, an Alaska moose, a bald eagle, two grizzly bears, three mountain lions and four river otters. Rocky Mountain Wild is known for its expansive natural exhibits, exquisite views, and enthusiastic and passionate team of animal keepers.

This is the sixth time Rocky Mountain Wild has been nominated in the Best Zoo Exhibit category, and the eighth time Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has been nominated in the Best Zoo category. A panel of travel experts, recruited by USA TODAY editors, nominated 20 North American Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited zoos and exhibits, and supporters had four weeks to cast their votes once per day for the nominees of their choice.

The 2024 USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice Top Ten Best Zoos in North America, in ranking order, are:

1. Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium
2. Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
3. North Carolina Zoo
4. Honolulu Zoo
5. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
6. Brevard Zoo
7. Audubon Zoo
8. San Diego Zoo
9. Saint Louis Zoo
10. ZooMontana

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.

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

Six life-sized bronze giraffe sculptures will welcome guests to Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, as part of the new admissions and giraffe habitat updates happening in the coming years – and their creation is a tall order.

“I’ve been using a lot of ladders,” said Antonia Chastain, public art manager at CMZoo. “These are the largest sculptures I’ve ever done, and it’s quite a process. We have probably years ahead of us in this creation. But it’s exciting to see the first one coming together now, and the plan is to unveil them as part of the hundred-year anniversary of the Zoo, in 2026.”

The sculptures started as six-inch clay thumbnail sketches. Once the team was happy with the general design, Chastain sculpted detailed four-foot clay maquettes. To create the most lifelike sculptures, she relied on the expertise of the giraffe team to portray giraffe attitudes and postures correctly.

Chastain spends weeks with the CMZoo giraffe team, leaning on the giraffe herd’s voluntary hoof care behaviors to measure the giraffe. They measure from hoof to knee, around the diameters of their calves, the lengths of their tails, legs, necks and more, to get the proportions right in the maquettes phase. Known for her attention to detail, Chastain also meticulously studied and sculpted eyelid wrinkles, hair, hoof texture, spots and skin folds.

“Then, you need to make sure the four-foot models’ knees and ankles are proportional, because if you enlarge them to five times the size for the final sculptures, you could end up with knees that look like elephant knees above ankles made for giraffe,” said Chastain. “It’s so important that the proportions are correct.”

To create the next size up, the foundry artists scan the four-foot clay models into a 3-D printer that produces foam pieces five times their size – one piece at a time. The foam pieces are reconstructed into a life-sized full giraffe, then Chastain reapplies a layer of clay to the huge replicas. Once every detail is carved back into the clay, the team casts each piece in bronze and welds them together.

The one being sculpted in its final size now is posed bending down to nuzzle her calf, and she is ten feet tall at the curve of her neck. The other mother giraffe sculptures are posed more upright, and will be around 18 feet tall when they’re finished.

As of now, the plan is to create three visual stories of mother giraffe and their calves. The statue of Penny, a giraffe calf who inspired millions during her short life at CMZoo, will move from its current location by the giraffe barn to become part of this larger display. The three mother giraffe and two additional giraffe calf statues are not representations of any individual giraffe. However, especially attentive giraffe fans might notice spot patterns, poses or ossicone shapes inspired by other giraffe from CMZoo.

“The various poses are homages to their nurturing instinct and the special connection between mother and baby,” said Chastain. “One set is stretching towards each other to nuzzle face-to-face and there’s a line between their necks that’s just beautiful form and flow. The third pair is a nod to when kids are little and they’re shy to meet someone new. Their instinct is to lean against mom for security, kind of a ‘hold my hand’ feel.”

As the sculptures continue to take shape and eventually make their way to the Zoo, CMZoo will share updates.

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A MESSAGE FROM BOB CHASTAIN, CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN ZOO PRESIDENT & CEO – You may recall that several months ago, we reported that an out-of-state animal rights group sued the Zoo and me as CEO for the release of our five elephants to a sanctuary of this group’s choosing. For the past five months, we have been working with former Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers’ law firm of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck to defend us in this important case. The Zoo’s board of directors selected this firm, in particular, because of their national presence and Mayor Suthers’ long history with Colorado Springs and the state of Colorado, having served as the state’s Attorney General and then as the city’s mayor.

On Dec. 3, 2023, 4th Judicial District Judge Eric Bentley denied this group’s petition and sided with CMZoo and our right to care for our elephants in their own home. Judge Bentley went on to say that even if he accepted every fact this group presented as truthful and accurate (as he is required by law to do), they still did not have a legal case against the Zoo. To further make sure he followed every point of law and was above reproach in his court opinion, he detailed their argument in full to demonstrate his complete understanding of the case for 27 pages. Furthermore, he stated that if anyone had earned the right to speak on the best interest of the elephants, it would not be this out-of-state group, but instead, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, who has dedicated itself to these amazing animals.

Judge Bentley said in his ruling, “This is not just a technicality. There is a legitimate question in this case as to who properly speaks for the elephants (or, in other words, who gets to be the “elephant Lorax”) – the NHRP, which represents that it wants to improve their lives by moving them to an accredited elephant sanctuary, or the Zoo, which has fed them, nurtured them, and taken care of them for many years. It appears to be the Zoo, and not the NHRP, that has the more significant relationship with Missy, Kimba, Lucky, LouLou, and Jambo.”

While this is a victory in this frivolous case against a community treasure, where more than 800,000 people come every year to enjoy time with each other in the presence of some of the world’s most inspiring creatures, there is likely more to come from this small group of extremists, who are clearly using this as a fundraising tactic and to change Colorado law. One need to look no further than their IRS Form 990 to see this.

What comes next: In Colorado, there is an appeal as of right to the Colorado Court of Appeals. Such an appeal could likely take up to a year. If they lose again, they would have an option to petition the Colorado Supreme Court to hear the case.

It is unfortunate that the judge denied the Zoo’s request for attorney’s fees. While it is a relief to get over this first hurdle, it is sad to know that we will continue to pay significant legal fees to further defend ourselves after this group has lost so many times and wasted so much of the court’s and four different accredited zoos’ time. This out-of-state group makes money off of our distraction from our mission of saving animals from extinction.

Even Judge Bentley said in his ruling, “…it is unfortunate that this case pits two organizations against each other that perhaps ought to be on the same side. As noted above, the role of zoos has evolved, and today zoos, including the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, play a leading role in wildlife conservation efforts and education. (E.g., https://wildwelfare.org/the-conservationmission-of-zoos-nabila-aziz/). The Zoo is known, in particular, for its work with giraffes, for which it is nationally recognized. (https://www.cmzoo.org/conservation/giraffe-conservation/).”

I would like to personally thank you for your continued support, and encourage you to keep sharing the good work we do with your friends and family in the community. With our community rallying around us, we plan to continue to win this battle on behalf of our elephants.

The first signs of a longtime vision to move the main road within the Zoo are starting to take shape at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. The second week in July 2023, crews will bring in the heavy equipment to begin excavating the far edge of the play hill yard to make way for a brand-new road.

“We’re really excited to see this extensively planned project start to come to life,” said Dave Ruhl, vice president of operations at CMZoo. “Other than moving the carousel – which we know many of our guests and members will miss until it reopens later this year – this initial phase of construction should not impact our guests.”

For now, guests might see some extra fencing and construction going on near the center of the Zoo, but guest pathways and animal exhibits will not be impacted during this first phase, which is expected to last until fall or winter 2023. The play hill and eateries will also remain open. Looking for Carousel Sweets, the red trolley formerly next to the carousel? That amenity moved to the walkway above Australia Walkabout a couple of months ago.

“We’re working really hard to balance giving everyone an awesome summer experience at the Zoo while we get started on these needed improvements,” said Ruhl. “Growing pains are real, and we appreciate everyone’s support and enthusiasm as we take this on together.”

The historic carousel will be disassembled at the beginning of July. Guests and members who want to use all of their frequent rider punch cards should do so by July 4, 2023. After that, teams will move the carousel to its safe storage for the summer. Guests should be back in the saddle by winter 2023-2024.

“If you’ve ever managed a construction or remodeling project, you know that there are a lot of constantly changing factors,” said Ruhl. “We’re staying flexible and will make adjustments to the plan as needed. Our goal is to do this safely, quickly and with the lowest possible impact to our guests and animals.”

The new road within the Zoo, which will largely serve Zoo staff and Shrine visitors, will eventually replace a large portion of the main road adjacent to the giraffe yard. Currently, guests and vehicles share that road from African Rift Valley to Australia Walkabout. For now, the main road will continue to be used without guest interruptions while the new road is created.

The new main road will one day span from the guest parking lot below the Zoo, on the existing road behind Water’s Edge: Africa and Primate World, next to the Cozy Goat and along the far edge of the play hill yard, to meet up with the current main road. The main road below the elephant bull statue is set to become additional animal space.

These improvements are part of a huge undertaking to elevate our guests’ experiences at the Zoo. It’s in part funded by the ELEVATE Capital Campaign to update the Zoo’s admissions plaza, better manage traffic within the Zoo, and expand animal areas. Stay tuned to CMZoo’s social media channels for updates.

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Today, we learned by way of local media, that we are being sued by an organization known in the Zoo industry for wasting credible organizations’ time and money. The Nonhuman Rights Project filed a 376-page petition, naming our five beloved aging African elephants as plaintiffs in a case against our Zoo, and attempting to force us to send them away.

The fact that we first learned about this litigation from a local reporter who received a news release is evidence enough to us that they’re using litigation as a way to gain public attention for their misguided claims.

Anyone can sue anyone for anything. Those who know us know the truth about us. NhRP is the same organization that targeted, publicly attacked and sued Fresno Chaffee Zoo and Bronx Zoo – and NhRP lost in court both times.

We exist to advance animal welfare and conservation.

We openly share public updates about our elephants on social media and in member newsletters, but in case you’re unfamiliar with our Zoo, we provide specialized care for this special group of elephants in a myriad of ways.

Our elephant care team knows the needs of our elephants and tailors specific care and exercise programs and tends to each elephant based on their preferences. Suggesting they’d be better off at a sanctuary is simply incorrect. Knowing what’s considered best for elephants in general does not equal knowing how to give Jambo, Missy, LouLou, Kimba or Lucky the care they need.

Our expert elephant care team has a combined 65 years of experience. We dedicate four full-time keepers most days to care for five elephants. The team consistently studies our elephants’ behaviors and adjusts their care programs to provide more of what they positively respond to.

As incredibly intelligent animals, the elephants need diversity. Multiple times per day, these elephants move from yard to yard, or indoor space to indoor space, where they find new opportunities to stimulate their bodies and minds. One such activity, which they have access to during summer months, is a space called the vacation yard. This nearly 2-acre yard is not visible to guests, and it’s full of tall grasses and lush trees, where the elephants are free to roam as long as they want to. Depending on how much rain we’ve received that year, the elephants might visit several times per month. The limit on the number of times per month they visit is also part of the plan to maintain the novelty of this area for them, which makes it physically and mentally stimulating.

Walking is another thing most often cited by critics of elephants in human care. We have found that elephants here and in the wild don’t walk for fun. They are looking for food, water and safety. In the wild, elephants often walk such great distances because they are forced to travel long distances – for example, during the dry season to find water or if being pursued by poachers. Our elephants walk less because they are getting older.

Because elephants are widely known to thrive in herds does not mean that these individuals would do best in that setup. We know because we have tried. These elephants didn’t grow up in large herds. We’ve offered them a variety of group settings, and we do not force them to share direct space if their behavior shows us they don’t want to. The elephant pairs who live together at our Zoo live with who they show the most positive behaviors with. We believe they deserve to be given that choice to make the decision. People are also social in nature, but it does not mean you want to live with everyone you meet just because they are another human. This is also true with our elephants, and we give them a chance to show us who they want to live with each day.

Each elephant has the option to participate in voluntary husbandry training that we know improves their strength, flexibility and overall health. We call this “elephant yoga” because people can relate to the fact that they, too, need to remain flexible and strong.

In addition to our unfaltering commitment to providing these elephants with the best possible care as they age with dignity, we have partnered with Tsavo Trust, a frontline elephant conservation organization that is working to save wild African elephants and rhinos in Kenya. Our elephant feeding opportunity raises $75,000 per year for Tsavo Trust. Through that program and through a portion of admissions and programs, our Zoo has sent $608,000 directly to elephant conservation. If you count all our species combined our efforts amount to more than $4.5 million. We are funding change, and our guests are funding change.

We have a stated goal that we won’t have elephants at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo unless our elephants are helping wild elephants survive. With the help of our guests and members, we deliver on this promise every day. We are proud to collaborate with others and be part of the solution. How much has NhRP invested in animal welfare or conservation, and how much energy, time and money have they cost other conservation organizations like ours? We need the community’s support to stand up to this distraction, which will take away from the day-to-day care and the real in-the-field conservation work that happens at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo every day.

We’re extremely proud of our elephant care program. We always have been and we are still open to media who would like to learn more about our program.

We’re also extremely proud of our Zoo. We recently earned a completely clean report of inspection from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). We have been continually accredited for more than 35 years. We are only the fourth organization to earn a ‘clean’ report in the history of AZA accreditations, which means there wasn’t a single major or minor concern reported. Over the multi-day inspection of the entire Zoo with four dedicated inspectors, one AZA elephant expert is assigned the job of evaluating our elephant program in detail. They did not have a single concern.

Thank you to everyone who has been by our side since we decided to take on this role for aging elephants in human care, and thank you to everyone who will continue to. We look forward to sharing more of our stories and reaching even more people with our mission from this exposure. Let’s look ahead and see how we can work together for a better future for elephants.

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 more than $4.5 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.

With buds forming on trees, migratory birds chirping and daffodils starting to emerge, Spring is upon us in Colorado Springs. Although experts recommend waiting to plant new greens in your garden until the end of May, now is the time to start planning for your backyard or patio oasis. CMZoo’s Annual Plant Sale, on May 19, 20 and 21, 2023, is a great place to stock up.

“Our greenhouse is bursting with locally grown native, drought-resistant and pollinator-feeding plants this year, and we’re excited for everyone to join us at our annual Plant Sale in May,” said Denny Patton, senior horticulturist at CMZoo. “Bees, birds and butterflies will be hungry as they emerge and migrate at the end of May, and by planting early blooming perennial plants – which grow back every year – we can all help make their search for food a little easier.”

This year, the Zoo’s fundraising Plant Sale will be behind Water’s Edge: Africa. Zoo admission is not required to attend the Plant Sale, and Zoo guests can stop in to shop on their way out. Plant Sale attendees can access the sale from the far west end of the parking lot.

There are no reservations or tickets required to attend the Plant Sale, which will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fri., May 19, and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sat., May 20 and Sun., May 21 – when the Zoo closes early for Run to the Shrine. Plants will be available on a first-come first-served basis, so don’t be late!

This year’s Plant Sale is in-person only. There will be no online shopping or shipping options available. Come out to the Zoo and chat with our expert horticulturists about which plants work best in your garden, and know you’re supporting the ongoing beautification of the Zoo with your purchases.

The Plant Sale will feature a variety of perennial plants, shrubs, vines and more. Some of Patton’s favorites, which attendees can purchase from the Plant Sale this year, are:

Gaillardia aristata, commonly known as blanket flower, is a peachy orange and yellow daisy-shaped perennial that is native to this region. They’re highly drought tolerant and do best in full sun. Bumblebees and other pollinators are drawn to their bright, plentiful flowers, which typically grow – mostly upright with not a lot of width – to be 12 to 18 inches tall.

Solidago, often called goldenrod, is true to its common name. On a woody base, it features dense wand-like clusters of tiny gold and yellow flowers that make massive meals for pollinators. Goldenrod is drought tolerant and prefers full sun. They can grow to be more than 5 feet tall, but typically grow from 1 to 3 feet high and 3 or 4 feet wide.

Nepeta, better known as catmint, (but not to be confused with cat nip!) is a perennial herb from the mint family. These bushy plants with delicate, blue flowers prefer full sun or partial shade. They do well in dry growing conditions, which encourages more and stronger-scented flowers. They can grow to be 2 feet tall and 2 feet wide. Because they are members of the mint family, they spread easily and make good border or ground cover plants to spruce up any space while feeding hungry pollinators.

Dark Knight spirea, also called salvia or Bluebeard, helps birds, bees and butterflies fuel up in late summer. Its appearance is similar to a butterfly bush, with a woody base and long silver-gray leaves. Deep purplish-blue cone-shaped flowers emerge at the end of summer and continue to bloom until frost. Spirea are exemplary plants for xeriscaping, because they don’t require a lot of water and do well in sandy soil. This shrub is considered small in the shrub world, reaching about 3 feet in height and width at maturity.

Echinacea is a drought-tolerant perennial, and a member of the daisy family. They come in many colors, and the CMZoo Plant Sale is offering a variety with a black center, surrounded by burgundy-orange petals. Their flowers bloom at the ends of long stems, typically mid-summer to early fall. They can grow up to 4 feet high and 36 inches wide.

With a garden of pollinator perennials that bloom throughout the season, you’ll be ready to welcome butterflies, bees, hummingbirds and more to your own personal paradise. Check out the flora options and speak with CMZoo’s expert horticulturists about which plants could work well in your garden at the Plant Sale, Fri., May 19 through Sun., May 21! Get more information at cmzoo.org/plantsale.

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ROCKY MOUNTAIN WILD NAMED #2 BEST ZOO EXHIBIT IN NORTH AMERICA – For the seventh consecutive year, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has been voted one of the top ten zoos in North America in the USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards. This time, America’s mountain Zoo was recognized in two categories: #4 Best Zoo in North America and #2 Best Zoo Exhibit in North America, for its Rocky Mountain Wild exhibit.

This is the fifth time Rocky Mountain Wild has been nominated in the Best Zoo Exhibit category, and the seventh time Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has been nominated in the Best Zoo category. A panel of travel experts, recruited by USA TODAY editors, nominated 20 North American Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited zoos and exhibits, and supporters had four weeks to cast their votes once per day for the nominees of their choice.

The 2023 USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice Top Ten Best Zoos in North America, in ranking order, are:

Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium
Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
Brevard Zoo
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
Brookfield Zoo
at Lowry Park
Audubon Zoo
Saint Louis Zoo
Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
Indianapolis Zoo

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 more than $4.5 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.

Our new shipping container farm recently produced its first crop!

The container is equipped with the latest hydroponic vertical growing technology, including blue and red LED grow lights with specialized wavelengths for leafy green production. In this first harvest, the CMZoo horticulture team looked for uniform shape and size in each plant, signs of disease or deficiency, any dead or damaged leaves, and ways to best transplant the next crop.

Through surveying the weight, time, and resources of this first crop, the horticulture team was happy with the success of the beautiful harvest and is already fine-tuning the farm in preparation for the next harvest.

This harvest is the first of many tests of the fully automated computer system that tells the CMZoo horticulture team the recipe of light, water, nutrient and spacing needs for the specific plant species. After a period of testing, the goal is to add more shipping container farms sourcing 50 percent of the lettuce for the giraffe feeding experience. An even longer-term goal is to grow 80 percent of lettuce for Zoo animals in farms like this one.

The next time you visit CMZoo and feed our giraffe herd, you might be feeding them lettuce straight out of our own farm!

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A magical experience is waiting for you at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo this winter!

With gorgeous views of Colorado Springs, CMZoo is the perfect place to be outside in nature, breathe fresh mountain air, grab a warm beverage from the Cozy Goat, get tickets at a discounted rate and visit your favorite animal friends.

Almost all of our animals can be seen all year long and the Zoo is open every single day! Animals such as our wolves, moose, Rocky Mountain goats, mountain lions, tiger, leopards, bears and otters thrive in the cooler weather. Animals native to warmer climates, like hippos, penguins, lemurs, primates, giraffe and wallabies, are given the option to go outside if it is a safe temperature. But guests can still see them in their warm indoor spaces, when they choose to stay inside.

Get more of the Zoo to yourself during our slower season, which is also our Value Days admission pricing season! Did you know you can get lower-cost daytime admission tickets through the end of February? Depending on the time of day, adult tickets range from $14.75 to $24.75 and child tickets (ages 3 to 11) range from $10.75 to $20.75. Children age 2 and under are just 75¢. Advance tickets are required. Find tickets and more information at cmzoo.org.

Take some time for you and your loved ones by enjoying a breathtaking adventure with us this winter.

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