Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has earned an incredibly rare clean report of inspection and its seventh consecutive five-year accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). In nearly 50 years of accreditations, CMZoo is only the fourth organization to earn a ‘clean’ report, which means there wasn’t a single major or minor concern reported.

Today, Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers joined Cheyenne Mountain Zoo President and CEO, Bob Chastain, to recognize the Zoo’s staff. Watch highlights from the recognition, here:

“The Greek philosopher, Aristotle, said, ‘We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit,’” said Dan Ashe, AZA president and CEO. “Congratulations to the entire team at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. AZA accreditation is the world’s most rigorous and comprehensive standard for a modern zoo or aquarium. Achieving a completely clean accreditation inspection is extremely rare and reflects a constant commitment and dedication to excellence.”

In the zoo and aquarium profession, the AZA accreditation is considered the gold standard. There are approximately 2,800 animal exhibitors licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), but only 242 are accredited by the AZA.

To maintain accreditation with the AZA, organizations must apply and be inspected every five years. CMZoo has been consistently accredited since 1983. The accreditation process includes a lengthy application and a multi-day on-site inspection by the Accreditation Commission, a team of accomplished zoo and aquarium professionals. The Accreditation Commission inspected 342 standards during their on-site review of the Zoo.

“This is one of those milestones that people outside of the Zoo profession may not realize is a huge deal,” said Bob Chastain, CMZoo president and CEO. “Our organization is led by a series of guiding sentiments, which we call our ‘We Believe’ statements. We believe our animals deserve the best home we can provide. We believe we can make the world a better place, and that the work we do and the way we treat people matters. We believe in holding ourselves to standards that put us above reproach. We believe people are the key to the future of wildlife and wild places. We believe every guest’s experience, from gate to gate, is crucial to our success. This accreditation wasn’t earned overnight. Six previous AZA accreditations and our dedicated staff have led us to this really amazing achievement.

“Another of our ‘We Believe’ statements is, ‘We value laughter as good medicine,’” said Chastain. “To put this clean accreditation into perspective, when I asked Dan Ashe, AZA president and CEO, for his comments about how rare this is, he joked, ‘A completely clean inspection report is so unusual, and so unlikely, it brings one word to mind — bribery!’ All kidding aside, this is rare, and we are so proud to achieve this high level of accreditation that has set a new standard of excellence for us.”

During accreditation inspections and through continuous monitoring between inspections, AZA’s rigorous, scientifically based and publicly-available standards examine the zoo or aquarium’s entire operation, including animal welfare, veterinary care, conservation, education, guest services, physical facilities, safety, staffing, finance, master and strategic planning, and governing body.

“Receiving a clean accreditation report is extremely rare, and it’s something Cheyenne Mountain Zoo staff, members and guests should take great pride in,” said Denny Lewis, AZA senior vice president of Accreditation Programs. “For nearly 25 years, I have been a part of the process to inspect about 250 zoos and aquariums in five-year rotations, and a clean report is very impressive – a rare gem. AZA first began accrediting zoos and aquariums in 1974. Since then, this is only the fourth completely clean inspection. It speaks to the high level of animal care and welfare, conservation programming, education and guest experiences that Cheyenne Mountain Zoo consistently provides.”

About Association of Zoos and Aquariums

Founded in 1924, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of zoos and aquariums in the areas of conservation, animal welfare, education, science, and recreation. AZA is the accrediting body for the top zoos and aquariums in the United States and 12 other countries. Look for the AZA accreditation logo whenever you visit a zoo or aquarium as your assurance that you are supporting a facility dedicated to providing excellent care for animals, a great experience for you, and a better future for all living things. The AZA is a leader in saving species and your link to helping animals all over the world. To learn more, visit www.aza.org.

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 2021, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo was voted #4 Best Zoo in North America and CMZoo’s Rocky Mountain Wild was named #3 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 242 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.

Do you know our two emus, Dora and Damian? These two ‘really big birds’ live in Australia Walkabout, near the wallaby yard. Join Australia Walkabout Keeper, Bruce, to learn about the unique personalities, backgrounds and features of these flightless feathered friends, then watch the two enjoy a summertime cooldown in a nice mud wallow.

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Animals age in many different ways. Some get to their golden years sooner than you might think, while others take a surprisingly long time to achieve that status. The Loft and My Big Backyard, at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, are home to a few furry (and scaly!) friends that have recently entered the golden years of life.

Striped skunk brothers, Fred and George, recently turned seven years old! That might not sound like an old age, but skunks in the wild live three-to-five years, on average. In human care, a 10-year-old skunk would be very old. Fred and George are still as mischievous as ever, but we have noticed that they have started to slow down a bit and prefer to spend more time napping than running around.

Virginia opossum, Hutch, is three years old, but in opossum terms he has reached the geriatric stage. Opossums tend to live three-to-four years in human care, and two-to-three years in the wild. You might see Hutch frequently sleeping while on exhibit, and this is because opossums are nocturnal and are more active at night. For now, Hutch is still participating in lots of training, encounters, and going for walkabouts around the Zoo. Though we know he’s starting to age, and keepers are monitoring him accordingly, he is still showing his care team he’s enriched and comfortable.

American beaver, Ginger, just celebrated her twelfth birthday!! This means she is a little over a year older than the median life expectancy for beavers. Ginger is also nocturnal and spends most of her day napping, but she usually wakes up in the late afternoon for a swim, some snacks and the occasional walkabout. She has some arthritis, which gives her a little wobble in her walk, but we monitor her closely and give her regular medicine and treatments to help her deal with her aches and pains.

Blue-tongued skink, Daryl, is 22 years old. Many blue-tongued skinks live into their twenties in human care, so Daryl has officially entered his golden years. Skinks are easy to recognize with long, wide bodies, and short stubby legs. Due to this body type, they are not particularly fast animals, and Darryl is no exception to that. He often spends his days napping and waking up to grab a couple bites of food, before enjoying another nap. Daryl receives nutritional supplements in his diet, but hasn’t shown keepers he needs additional medications or treatments at this point.

All of these animals are part of CMZoo’s animal ambassador team, which means they go on ZOOMobile programs, do meet-and-greets, and participate in special hands-on encounters for many different education programs, at the Zoo and off-site.

As they get older, they may start to show signs that they are no longer interested in these programs. Their keepers track their behaviors and any physical signs of discomfort, and when that data reveals trends that need to be addressed, their roles may change. They also receive medications, like anti-inflammatory and pain medications, when needed, and treatments like laser therapy, which helps them have a good quality of life, despite aging joints and other age-related ailments. When their care team sees that they’re ready to retire from programming, their schedules focus more on enrichment and care at the Zoo.

You can visit our ‘golden gang’ in The Loft and My Big Backyard at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, where they’ll continue training, receiving care, and getting all the naps, snacks and scratches from keepers they want.

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Know who loves a snow day? Yazhi, Twinkie, Albert and Lena — our Rocky Mountain goats! Check in with CMZoo’s four fluffy friends and learn how to tell them apart, how they like to spend their days, and how their adaptations make them perfect for winters in the mountains!

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Over the next several months, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo plans to get thoughtful input from the community on the short- and long-term future of the Zoo. We plan to pose various questions and surveys to you, our valued guests and neighbors, to help us identify big ideas that could make your experience at the Zoo even more unique and special.

Our first question has to do with the future of the Monkey Pavilion space. The building will be demolished within the next few months, and after that, we plan to use it as a multipurpose space, featuring 1) some unique adventure/experience/play space, 2) covered outdoor seating, and 3) smaller, more intimate animal exhibits. We’re looking for short-term ideas that could be installed by this summer, and long-term ideas that would be installed in the next two to three years.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

We want to see photos of the most unique interactive experiences you and your family have seen. These can be any adventure or play activities, ideally for both adults and kids.

These experiences can fall in several categories:

  • non-structured play,
  • nature play,
  • “country life” play, etc.

We are looking to go way beyond swing sets and slides!

– Please submit your photos and a short description of the experience to [email protected]
– We may reply to your email if we want to find out more about the experience.
– Please send your photos ASAP! Our President & CEO, Bob Chastain, will personally review all submissions on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021.

Check in with our three Hoffmann’s two-toed sloths, Bean, Chalupa and Bosco, as they settle into their new homes at CMZoo. Bean, who was born at CMZoo in 2019, is gaining independence just as Bean would in the wild at this age. Bean recently moved into The Loft, where keepers created a ropes course for the young sloth to explore, right above guest areas.

Chalupa and Bosco, both longtime CMZoo residents, moved together into the atrium in Scutes Family Gallery. Check out their lush-and-sunny new location and hear how their keeper team is preparing them for encounters, once we can offer them again.

Because El Paso County, where CMZoo is located, is moving to “Safer at Home – Severe Risk” or “Level Red” COVID-19 restrictions, indoor buildings at CMZoo will be closed to the public starting Saturday, Nov. 28. We’ll keep the sloths company while guests can’t visit, and will continue bringing updates from indoor exhibits. We know guests will be missing them during this time, so we’ll work hard to keep you connected.

Although admissions to the Zoo might slow down in the winter, behind the scenes, our team is constantly working to provide enriching habitats that support our animals’ natural behaviors and needs.

Frank Haas, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo landscape architect and planner, often leads projects that enrich our animals’ lives, but which many Zoo goers may not recognize right away. These projects deserve a little limelight, though.

In mid-November, two of these lesser-known projects were completed: new trees for the Colobus monkeys and African lions.

Logistics included finding the right species of tree, getting permits for transporting trees, unweaving the mesh enclosures, removing the former trees, pouring concrete piers for the new trees, rerouting guest traffic around the 110-ton crane that lifted the trees into the exhibits, and more. All told, the project took several months to coordinate and four days to execute.

“It’s a lot of planning and work for what you see, but that’s what it takes to do it right and most efficiently the first time,” said Haas. “Our top priority is always safety. Sometimes that means having to detour guests. It also means communicating with animal keepers to prepare their animals for the changes. We’re committed to giving our animals the best homes we can.”

CMZoo’s five African lions, Abuto, Lomela, Elsa, Boma and Aslan, and four Colobus monkeys, Tisa, Rudi, Sudi and Dezi, are well prepared for potential interruptions to their daily lives, like this. The animals train to respond to a recall behavior, where the keepers ask them to come to their indoor spaces for a variety of reasons, like weather, routine veterinary care, training, or exhibit maintenance.

“While the animals are inside, we spend lots of time with them to keep them calm and engaged,” said Michelle Salido, lead keeper in African Rift Valley. “We did lots of training and monitored them to be sure the activity outside wasn’t causing them stress.”

Rudi, Sudi, Dezi and Tisa seemed to be curious about the activity outside their windows while people worked in their outdoor space.

“They could see through their doors to the outside yard and they were really interested in what was going on,” said Brooke Powell, African Rift Valley keeper who works with the Colobus monkeys. “They kept looking at the workers and looking back at us, but they were calm. We were really proud of the way they handled it.”

In addition to the three new trees, crews installed new horizontal pieces that connect the trees. With incredibly strong back legs, Colobus monkeys do a lot of jumping, rather than swinging, like some primates. They can make huge leaps up to 50 feet. They like to jump quickly from tree to tree, so the horizontal pieces allow them to move even more freely than before.

“It’s a huge benefit to their welfare because they like to stay up high and move around quickly,” said Powell. “The new trees and horizontal connectors are amazing. They love it! When they first saw it and realized this new setup was safe for them to explore, all four of them went all over the trees. They’re going to have lots of fun with this new setup.”

The African lions, who have several indoor spaces and an off-exhibit outdoor space, also stayed out of their main yard while their trees were upgraded. The lion keepers say they seemed really excited to explore the new trees.

“It’s always impressive to see how observant they are,” said Jason Bredahl, animal care manager in African Rift Valley. “They spent lots of time smelling the new trees. Then, we all got a big kick out of watching them using the trees like giant cat scratching posts and to rub their faces on them. The African lion keepers will be able to use the new trees to provide even more enrichment and training opportunities that allow our lions to engage in their natural behaviors while they explore and investigate. It’s great to see projects like this come to life, and to see how much our animals enjoy the outcome.”

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International African Penguin Awareness Day is October 10, and the African penguin keepers at Water’s Edge: Africa have a special social media celebration in the works. On our Facebook and YouTube channels, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo will share a video about our flock of 16 African penguins, who serve as animal ambassadors for their wild counterparts.

“Our flock does an incredible job helping our guests form lasting connections with them and their species,” said Mandy Hester, keeper in Water’s Edge. “The exhibit really sets them up by removing as many physical barriers as possible.”

The flock is getting even more confident sharing space with our guests. Penguin beach, at Water’s Edge, is designed so penguins can walk right up to guests. Hester says the best way for guests to get that experience is to be in the right place at the right time, and to remember that penguins investigate things with their beaks – since they don’t have hands to feel things with.

“We’re encouraging guests to let the penguins approach them instead of approaching the penguins, and to avoid kneeling down – as tempting as that is to get face-to-face,” said Hester. “The penguins like shiny things and anything they can feel with their beaks, so keepers on the beach will sometimes give toys to guests that they can offer to the penguins. It’s been really fun watching these little guys make our guests fall in love with them.”

When guests enter penguin beach while the penguins are outside, a keeper is present to help guests learn how to best interact with them. Making sure penguins have space and have the opportunity to approach guests, we’ve seen that they most often will.

“When they waddle down on the path together, they’re so funny and curious,” said Hester. “If there’s a moth or something flying around, they’ll get really interested in that and follow it around for a while and then they lose interest and move on to something else.”

Keepers provide all kinds of enrichment to keep them stimulated, like wind chimes that shimmer. One guest that bought a bubble maker in our gift shop was playing with it on the path and the penguins loved it, so keepers bought some bubbles for them. That’s another favorite form of enrichment for the flock.

The penguins also like to investigate what treasures guests might have. They like to dig around in the underneath cargo areas of strollers if guests are comfortable with that and there’s nothing dangerous for them.

“Things that babies like, penguins like,” said Hester. “A stroller or diaper bag is a treasure trove. The guests who have interacted with them on penguin beach have formed those meaningful relationships with our penguins that we work so hard to foster. We’ve also seen them standing in line to the limited-capacity indoor penguin building with guests, which is just adorable.”

As well as bonding with guests and their keepers, they’re bonding with each other.

“We have a couple of breeding recommendations in our flock,” said Hester. “One is a pair that most recently joined the flock, but have successfully had chicks before. Ichaboe [ick’-a-boh], a 15-year-old male is one of my favorites. He’s huge. He was the largest chick on record when he was born at his previous facility. When penguins first arrive at CMZoo, they have to earn the respect of the flock. The flock members would try to push him into the pool, but he is so big and solid, he’d just stand there and they couldn’t move him. His mate is Spheniscus [sphah-nesk-us], a 14-year-old female. They’re both really confident. They are already bonded, so we have high hopes for them bringing another chick to the world.”

African penguins are endangered, so zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums work to maintain the species’ viability through a Species Survival Plan, which matches penguins to breed based on genetics. That doesn’t always mean the individuals – whether they’re recommended to breed or not – are always interested in their selected mates.

“Captain is recommended with Percy, Pearl or Roxy, but he’s bonded with Darby,” said Hester. “Biggs and Roxy were bonded and lived together before moving here, but they are not recommended for breeding. While Roxy was back in Toledo, finishing her yearly molt, Biggs came to CMZoo and bonded with Percy, but they are not recommended either. When Roxy arrived, Biggs and she bonded again, but Biggs was already bonding with Percy, so we saw Biggs spending time in both Percy and Roxy’s nest boxes. Then Biggs picked Percy, and Roxy bonded with Rico. Rico used to be bonded with Napoleon, but they lost interest in each other and now Napoleon likes Pearl, but Pearl doesn’t seem to feel the same way. Rufaro, who came with his parents, Safara and Alex, and his brother, Rudo, has bonded with Pamona, who came by herself. We track all of this, but don’t expect everyone to keep up. It’s like a reality TV show.”

There are no scheduled times that the penguins explore the areas they can share with guests, so it’s a special experience that occurs several times a day. Next time you’re at CMZoo, swing by and say hello to our penguin flock at Water’s Edge: Africa.

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Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is moving forward with plans to demolish Monkey Pavilion, located centrally near the Zoo’s eateries and historic carousel, starting in November. Monkey Pavilion was built in 1942 and originally housed big cats, such as tigers, leopards and lions. Since then, the building has undergone renovations to support residents including lemurs, monkeys, sloths and more.

Since their inception, zoos have modernized in leaps and bounds. Fostering relationships between our guests and animals is our top priority, supported by our focuses on animal care, conservation and education. The animals’ homes play a vital role in our ability to achieve our goal of helping people fall in love with wildlife and wild places. We understand perception matters. We want to inspire our guests, and have seen that if an enclosure presents too many barriers, our ability to foster those connections is limited.

While the building provided good homes and enriching experiences for the animals that lived there, it falls short of providing an environment that helps our keepers build connections between guests and animals. We see opportunities for better use of the area. The possibilities seem endless, and we are considering every idea. We have not yet made decisions about the future of the space, but will announce them when the time is right.

The building, once considered architecturally beautiful and state-of-the-art, has become a symbol of zoos past, and its design does not reflect who we are today. We acknowledge that Monkey Pavilion is an iconic building at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. Many longtime guests, members and staff have childhood photos by the outdoor exhibits or with the nearby zebra and lioness statues, which will be relocated within the Zoo. Its now-dated design is a nod to the progress Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited modern zoos have made since its construction, and its demolition is further evidence of the importance we place on providing the best possible opportunities for our guests to fall in love with animals, without distracting barriers.

Embracing our past, and learning from it, strengthens our future potential. It highlights how far we’ve come through positive changes across the zoo profession, and it encourages us to keep striving for additional change that will make us even better in the future.

Of course, demolishing this building requires a lot of coordination, and our animals’ best interests are at the heart of our planning, along with ensuring our guests’ experiences aren’t negatively impacted by the building’s removal. Some current Monkey Pavilion residents will move to other spaces at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. For others, we have identified new homes at other AZA-accredited facilities. The building will continue to empty over the next month and a half, with the building closing October 28, 2020.

Demolition is slated to begin in November and is expected to take several months. We will keep you posted as we make progress on this historic update to our 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 2020, 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. Of the 233 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.


Biko (BEE-koh), a 17-year-old male Nile hippopotamus who joined us at the end of June, is quickly winning over the hearts of humans and hippos alike. In just a couple of months, he has learned to navigate his new home, met CMZoo’s hippos sisters, Zambezi and Kasai, warmed up to his keepers, and started engaging with guests.

“He was initially pretty cautious around people, because Water’s Edge: Africa was designed to bring guests and animals as close as safely possible, and that was somewhat new for him,” said Al Carrier, keeper at Water’s Edge: Africa. “We’ve been taking our time and making sure he’s comfortable. We make sure he knows he can choose to walk away at any time and that he’s going to get rewards for interacting with people. He’s progressed really quickly, and he’s been coming up to guests in our demo areas and opening his mouth, which is always impressive. He loves to be sprayed in his mouth with a hose. That’s fun because we can get guests involved, too. We’re so proud of him. He’s doing great.”

Biko came to CMZoo on a breeding recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ (AZA) Nile Hippopotamus Species Survival Plan. His genetics are compatible with 27-year-old Zambezi and 20-year-old Kasai, who are sisters. The Water’s Edge animal care team has started introductions, and things are going really well for Biko and Zambezi so far. Right now, they only spend time together when they’re supervised.

“He’s very curious about the girls,” said Carrier. “He’s a perfect gentleman and takes his time walking up to them during introductions. We have seen on our overnight surveillance footage that when they’re separated, he prefers to sleep right up against the fence next to them, and it’s usually Zambezi on the other side.”

Animal introductions, especially with large and potentially territorial animals like hippos, require patience and a lot of observation. The team started the process as most animal introductions start at CMZoo: with a ‘howdy,’ which is an opportunity for the hippos to see, smell and hear each other through a protective fence. Howdies allow keepers and our animal behaviorists to observe the hippos’ responses to each other so they can gauge if and when the animals are ready to take the next step. They also give the hippos time to get used to each other before being in the same space.

Once keepers saw that Biko and the girls were interested and calm during howdies, they moved on to introductions, when the hippos share a space. If the hippos start showing behaviors that they’re uncomfortable, keepers can separate them for their safety.

“We chose Zambezi for Biko’s first introduction, because we saw calm and interested behaviors during howdies, and when Zambezi had the choice to sleep next to Biko or Kasai when they were separated overnight, she would consistently choose Biko, and he did the same,” said Carrier. “The first couple of intros were uneventful, which is good. We start most of their intros outside with one hippo in one yard and one in the other and then we open the gate between them. So we don’t surprise them, we always communicate that the gate is going to open and make sure they can see that the gate is opening and there’s another hippo on the other side. They would usually just look up at the gate and then go back to grazing on the grass. Eating is a great sign they’re relaxed and comfortable and calm.”

The team has been doing most introductions in the morning, for about an hour at a time. Carrier says that ideally you would want one hippo to show dominance and the other would be submissive in response.

“He’s just so great,” she said. “When Zambezi wants to boldly enter the yard, he’s respectful of that and backs down to let her know he sees her and respects her presence.”

Because the sisters were separated for some of their vacation away from CMZoo, while Water’s Edge: Africa was being built, the team is also working on reintroducing the sisters to each other.

“We’ve seen that Zambezi and Kasai still get a little territorial with each other, so we’re taking more time with those introductions,” said Carrier. “The exhibit has plenty of space for each hippo to have its own space. Biko and Zambezi don’t always interact during introductions, but are aware of each other. Sometimes, though, they’ll touch noses calmly, which is really cute. We’re super excited.”

Kasai and Biko don’t yet have the positive relationship that Biko and Zambezi share, and Kasai often shows she’d rather not share her space with Biko or Zambezi. For now, the team plans to continue focusing on fostering the relationship between Zambezi and Biko, and working up to helping Kasai feel comfortable sharing space if she shows them she’s interested.

“We’re not rushing anything and always follow the animals’ leads, so they know they’re in control and can be comfortable with these changes, which are a big adjustment for them” said Carrier. “We’re hopeful that once Biko and Zambezi can consistently spend time together that we can introduce Kasai to both of them at the same time, but that could change too. Kasai can be a big personality, so if Zambezi and Biko are good friends, they may be able to gain her respect as a team.”

Biko is also working on his relationships with his animal care team.

“We were lucky enough to get a really cool video of all of his trained behaviors from his previous keeper team, so we’ve been practicing those things so he’s not only fluent in them, but he’s also getting comfortable with us,” said Carrier. “He opens his mouth, backs up and rests his chin on the bars. He knows a ‘steady’ cue, too. When we put a hand on his nose, he will stand totally still, which allows us to give his body condition a good check. He’s an enthusiastic explorer, as most hippos are, so he’ll get scrapes and scratches here and there, and that lets us keep an eye on all of those little wounds. It’s great for a new animal to trust us like that.”

Biko’s team is learning what motivates him to train, so they can expand on his current skillset.

“He loves grain so much,” said Carrier. “The other day he had a mouth full of apples and I showed him his grain, and he spit all of those apples out to eat his grain instead. It was really funny. We normally use produce for training encouragement, but he prefers the grain. Zambezi likes hay and Kasai likes produce, so they’re all different.”

Biko gets about eight pounds of grain per day and half a bale (about 40 pounds) of hay. He also gets produce, including apples, oranges, carrots, melons, and – his favorites – cabbage and lettuce. Out in the yard, he grazes on as much fresh grass as he wants.

Biko is getting more comfortable in his brand-new space, with his new team of adoring keepers.

“He’s getting bolder every day,” said Carrier. “He’s naturally cautious and likes to investigate a space before settling down. The first thing he does is check the perimeter of any space he’s moving into. He likes to mark his territory. It’s a natural behavior of male hippos to spread their feces, which seems pretty gross, but it’s actually quite impressive the way he can reach every corner of a stall we’ve just cleaned top to bottom. He really likes the single stall with the deep pool, which was where he quarantined for a short time when he first joined us. We recently saw him playing with a ball in there, which we loved to see because it means he’s comfortable enough to let his guard down and have a little fun.”

Guests hoping to spot Biko should look for the more slender hippo with pinkish skin on his belly and front of his neck. Kasai is the largest hippo and has pink spots on her feet. Zambezi’s skin is darker and doesn’t have any pink spots.

“There’s something really special about Biko,” said Carrier. “His tusks hang out of his mouth, which is just adorable. He has really long legs for a hippo. He can reach plants and driftwood in the exhibit that we didn’t think he could reach. His head is huge and with those long legs, his body is pretty narrow, so he can reach those beautiful plants our horticulture team worked so hard on to make this exhibit so beautiful.”

Only 30 of the 233 organizations accredited by the AZA in North America house hippos. The last male hippo who lived at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo was Tony, who passed away in 1989. Although our female hippos first came to CMZoo decades ago, this is the first attempt to breed hippos at the Zoo in more than 30 years.

Guests can visit Biko, Zambezi and Kasai at Water’s Edge, which opened to the public in June and is now home to three hippos, 16 African penguins, two common warthogs, three ring-tailed lemurs, six Eastern crested guineafowl and roughly 30 guinea pigs.

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