We can hardly believe Omo will turn one year old on July 20! It’s been a year of adorable ear wiggles, plops and boops with this boy, and it’s been our joy to share him with you. Hear our Water’s Edge: Africa keepers’ favorite ‘Omo-ments’ over the past year.

To celebrate Omo’s first birthday, our partners at Children’s Hospital Colorado, are throwing him a party, and you’re invited. Join us in Water’s Edge on Wed., July 20 from 10 a.m. to noon to make Omo a birthday card, learn about hippos at a special keeper talk at 11 a.m. and then watch Omo and his mom, Zambezi, enjoy a special birthday cake at 11:30 a.m. Advance daytime admission e-tickets are required to attend.

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The adorably fluffy Rocky Mountain Goat kid born on May 4 has a name! Meet Blanca, named after Blanca Peak – one of Colorado’s tallest mountains. Blanca is growing in leaps and bounds! The young female goat is incredibly independent and energetic. Wait until you see her version of zoomies! She now weighs nearly 30 pounds, has met the full five-member herd of Rocky Mountain goats at CMZoo, and is even learning to take food from keepers.

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Our 10-month-old Nile hippo calf continues to grow and explore alongside his mom, Zambezi. Join Water’s Edge: Africa lead keeper, Philip, for an update on Omo and another milestone we expect Omo to reach soon: the 500-pound mark! We’ll be hosting a fun guessing game for a Zoo prize on our Facebook and Instagram accounts, so keep an eye out for that. In the meantime, enjoy this yard and poolside check-in with our hippo mom-and-son duo.

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There’s a very fluffy, adorably squeaky new kid on the rocks at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. Around 3:15 p.m. on Wed., May 4, first-time Rocky Mountain goat mom, Lena, delivered a baby who was on her feet and working out her wobbly legs within minutes.

“Rocky Mountain goat kids are famous for being capable right out of the gate,” said Michelle Salido, lead keeper at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. “They’re native to some pretty demanding habitats, so they have to be hearty to thrive in those elements and that’s what we’re seeing with this little one. She’s getting the hang of her lanky legs, and we’ve already seen her climbing up rocks and on her mom.”

After a short intervention from animal care staff, the baby and mom are bonding well, and guests can see them – as long as they choose to stay visible – in the Rocky Mountain goat habitat.

The animal care team stayed with Lena and her baby through the evening on Wednesday, because they hadn’t seen nursing. The first feeding is really important for a newborn animal, because brand-new mother’s milk contains colostrum, which has important nutrients and antibodies. After about three hours of the kid attempting to nurse unsuccessfully, the team stepped in and hand-fed its first meal.

While feeding the baby a colostrum substitute, the team confirmed that it’s a girl and that she weighs about 8 pounds. After feeding the little one, the team reunited her with her mom and the two have been bonding well since. The baby has been seen nursing consistently since last night, so the team hopes mom and daughter will continue to take it from here.

“It took Lena a little while to get the hang of nursing, which isn’t unusual for a first-time mom, but since then, we’ve seen her really embrace motherhood,” said Salido. “She’s being protective, and she’s letting her daughter snuggle up to her and climb on her. She was really focused on making sure the baby was clean – especially her ears. She was licking the kid’s ears and the baby was making little goat whinnying sounds and wobbling around during the grooming session. They’re so cute.”

Following Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s tradition of not naming baby animals until they’re at least a month old, there are no immediate plans to name the youngster. Fans can follow Lena’s baby as it grows up on the Zoo’s social media channels.

Join our 1-year-old giraffe calf, BB, and her keeper team for two behind-the-scenes training sessions. Our youngest giraffe is working on voluntary husbandry behaviors that allow her team to take the best possible care of her. Watch as BB follows cues and gets positive reinforcement for participating in injection training and voluntary hoof care. Way to go, BB!

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Our little hippo calf, Omo, is 9 months old, and he’s outgrown the baby-proofing in his indoor training area! He’s nursing less and eating more solid foods, which are helping him grow up big and strong. He recently weighed in at 435 pounds. That may seem huge to us, but Omo is still just a baby. He lives full-time with his mom, Zambezi, and has been learning to communicate with his aunt, Kasai, and dad, Biko, who live separately in the same habitat, by making little ‘chuffing’ noises. Keepers have seen Omo’s personality continue to get bigger, along with the rest of him. They say he doesn’t just enter a room; he explodes into it. Check in with Omo, his mom, Zambezi, and Water’s Edge: Africa lead keeper, Philip, in this video update.

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Get up close for a big lettuce crunch with Omo, CMZoo’s 8-month-old Nile hippo calf. Water’s Edge: Africa lead keeper, Philip, gives us an update on Omo’s latest milestones, including his first steps toward training and more explorations throughout his home.

It has been six months of Omo goodness, so we’re taking a little trip down memory lane AND showing you some new up-close Omo footage. Spoiler alert: incoming Omo window boops.

From watching Zambezi embrace motherhood for the first time with such a gentle nature to seeing Omo wild out in the pools, and every nap, plop and ear wiggle in between, it’s been a joy sharing these two with you all. Happy six-month birthday, Omo!

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CMZoo’s four hippos have access to multiple indoor and outdoor climate-controlled pools, grassy yards, a waterfall and indoor land areas, which they take turns sharing. Omo and Zambezi chose to spend time in their privacy pool the other day, and the adorable duo had quite the pool party!

Surveillance camera footage caught 5-month-old Omo jumping, splashing, playing with floating enrichment and climbing on Zambezi. 29-year-old Zambezi, Omo’s mom, gets in on the fun, too, encouraging him to ‘chase’ her in the water and having her own fun with the floaties.

Learn more about Omo here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUd9bK-IbrIMxpwuRlrLaZfU4fFwB9cPG

December was a big month for CMZoo’s smallest hippo. He just broke the 300-pound mark! Five-month-old Omo is consistently eating solid foods now, but he’ll continue nursing for several months to come. He’s also getting more confident, showing he’s comfortable around new enrichment items, like big boxes and boomer balls.

Omo is also meeting his neighbors. Watch as he says hello to common warthogs, Alexander and Penelope, through a fence, and gets nose-to-nose with his aunt, Kasai.

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