CMZoo’s aging Canada moose, Tahoma, is doing well at his impressive age. Rocky Mountain Wild Keeper, Basia Dann, walks us through some of 12-year-old Tahoma’s training and specialized care – and gives us the inside scoop on when to watch out for Tahoma’s annual antler shed.
In early December 2019, four staff members from Cheyenne Mountain Zoo will travel to the Andes Mountains of Ecuador for an important conservation expedition to help save critically endangered mountain tapirs.
Their prehensile noses with long snouts, odd-and-even-toed hooved feet and furry, bear-shaped bodies make this unique species look like something out of a children’s book. It’s not surprising that CMZoo’s mountain tapirs, 25-year-old female, Carlotta, and 16-year-old male, Cofan (pronounced co-FAWN), steal the hearts of just about everyone who meets them. Carlotta and Cofan are two of only seven mountain tapirs in the U.S.
This will be the third mountain tapir expedition CMZoo has supported in Ecuador, thanks to annual Member Vote Conservation Grants. Each year, CMZoo members vote to decide which staff-championed conservation efforts receive support from the $75,000 of membership revenue allocated annually for conservation. Earlier this year, members voted for the fourth year in a row to support mountain tapir conservation. Aside from the three expeditions in Ecuador, the grant funded tapir conservation in Columbia.
Found in Columbia, Ecuador and the far north of Peru, it’s estimated that only 2,500 mountain tapirs remain in the wild. CMZoo is one of two zoos in North America that this species calls home. This project has already yielded important information regarding the health, behaviors and territory of mountain tapir, about which relatively little is known. The team documents wild tapir measurements, reproductive trends, biometrics and geographic data. The studies are vital in proving which areas of wilderness need protection and are important in learning about how to best care for them, if this species is to survive.
Mountain tapir in Ecuador are threatened due to loss of habitat from natural gas exploration, expanding cities, agriculture, and potential traffic accidents, due to a growing human population. One goal of the ongoing conservation efforts is to equip policymakers with complete data they can use to encourage finding compromises that protect tapir without hindering the economic and infrastructure progress being made in the country.
CMZoo Animal Care Manager, Joanna Husby, will return to Ecuador for the third time and Lead Animal Keeper, Michelle Salido, will return to Ecuador for the second time contributing to this conservation project. CMZoo veterinary technician, Brenda Cordova, and CMZoo EdVenture keeper, Bryce Oberg, are both embarking on the Ecuador expedition for the first time.
CMZoo’s mountain tapir conservation partner at Andean Bear Foundation (ABF) and Smithsonian National Zoo reported that the high-tech GPS collars fixed to tapirs on previous field projects collected more geo-data in a week than the previously used radio collars collected in five years.
“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 on a previous trip, it took only 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.”
The team is dedicated, and with such physically demanding tasks ahead of them, it’s a good thing.
“It’s incredible to be able to see these animals in the wild, where they live natively in elevations between 6,000 and 12,000 feet,” said Salido. “Part of what makes it rewarding while we’re in the field is how difficult it is to find them.”
Carrying their research equipment on their backs, the team hikes with local guides and partners from the Smithsonian and ABF for hours through high-elevation mountain forest terrain. Once they locate an animal they can briefly capture (they are careful not to capture mothers with calves because there’s a risk the calf will be permanently separated from its mother), they have minutes to anesthetize the animal and gather as much information as they can.
“Unfortunately, these wild animals don’t know we’re here to help, so they can see us as a threat,” said Salido. “A threatened tapir instinctively retreats to water, which means we’re often trying to keep them out of the water before we can assess them.”
The average female tapir weighs about 400 pounds and males generally weigh about 30 pounds less than females.
“We have to attach ropes to the tapir to prevent it from wading into water as it’s waking up, and then detach them once we see it has fully recovered and won’t be in danger in the water,” said Salido. “We only have minutes to measure and document their size and other morphometrics, take blood and fecal samples, attach the GPS collar and administer the anesthesia reversal. Then, we’re monitoring to make sure the tapir is stable and ready to be released.”
The research is critical, given the limited number of animals left in the wild and the lack of available data about them. In addition to collecting data, this year, they’re expanding their efforts with an education component. The team will visit a local Ecuadorian school to talk with them about tapirs, hoping to inspire the next generation of local conservationists to take pride in this local, rare species and to take steps to protect them.
“We’re really excited about the education opportunities we have on this trip,” said Salido. “Tapirs need more local advocates, and part of the challenge is that there’s very little local pride in this awesome species. We hope that once people learn about tapir, they’ll appreciate and want to protect them the same way that we do.”
The team will spend nearly three weeks tracking tapir and raising awareness about them in their native country. CMZoo will post social media updates as the team has opportunities to relay progress from the field.
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This month, a very special delivery arrived at our mountain Zoo: a female Amur tiger named Savelii (sah-VEL-ee).
Eight-year-old Savelii joins CMZoo from Bramble Park Zoo, in Watertown, South Dakota. In September, the plan was for nine-year-old CMZoo male Amur tiger, Thimbu, to move to Bramble Park Zoo. Since then, plans have changed, and Thimbu has a recommended breeding match. He will instead move to Rosamond Gifford Zoo, in Syracuse, New York, in the next few weeks. Through the Species Survival Plan’s (SSP) management of Amur tigers in accredited Zoos, CMZoo four-year-old male Amur tiger, Chewy, was selected as a breeding match for Savelii and will remain at CMZoo for the foreseeable future.
Wildcats Conservation Alliance estimates there are only approximately 500 Amur tigers in the wild. They’re listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). If breeding is successful between Savelii and Chewy, they would both become first-time parents and add to the assurance population of tigers in human care.
Savelii is about halfway through her routine quarantine period in the tiger building, behind the scenes. This time allows Savelii to adjust to her new surroundings and for Chewy to recognize her scent and presence, while Savelii clears exams and medical tests.
Savelii’s keepers at CMZoo say they’re optimistic about her, and she’s showing signs that she’s adjusting well. But, as with any new addition to the CMZoo family, there are a lot of milestones for her to reach before starting the introduction process with Chewy, like clearing quarantine, building trust with her keepers, getting familiar with her new exhibit and shifting areas, and training.
Savelii is already training with all of the Asian Highlands animal keepers, who are getting to know her personality.
“She likes to rub her face against the mesh, like a housecat does. She’s super ‘chuffy’ when we engage with her, which is a good sign,” Kristen Cox, Asian Highlands animal keeper said. (A ‘chuff’ is a quick outward breath, which is like an outgoing tiger greeting.) “She’s interested in Chewy’s presence. When we’re training with her and she hears Chewy or Thimbu chuffing or playing with enrichment in the dens nearby, she perks her ears up and turns her attention from us to listen to them.”
Savelii participated in training at her former zoo, which provided a strong foundation on which keepers are excited to build.
“We’re working on asking her to eat from tongs, which allows us to provide food rewards during training and helps her build trust with us. Next, we’ll ask her for a stand-up behavior, which allows us to get a good look at her feet and body to make sure everything looks healthy,” said Courtney Rogers, Asian Highlands keeper. “She’s great at the sitting and lying down training behaviors. Next, we plan to work on her voluntary injection training, which lets us provide vaccinations and other necessary medications in a low-stress way. She seems to be a quick learner so far.”
Savelii is smaller than Chewy, weighing in around 230 pounds compared to Chewy’s 360 pounds, which is a normal size difference between female and male tigers. She has beautiful almond-shaped eyes and a round face. Another way guests can distinguish Savelii from Chewy, when they visit the Zoo and see her on exhibit soon, is her shorter hair around her face and darker lines on her forehead.
When Savelii will be on exhibit for guests to see has not yet been determined. Chewy and Savelii will take turns accessing the yards and spaces separately. Sharing the same space at separate times allows them to become familiar with each other’s scents.
“The breeding recommendation is important and an ultimate goal, but we’re not going to rush into introducing them,” said Rogers. “We’ll pay attention to how confident they are with each other’s smells and how confident Savelii is getting with us, and we’ll go from there.”
During animal introductions, keepers follow the animals’ leads and observe behaviors that indicate that they’re comfortable and receptive with each other, or not. They start very cautiously by observing behaviors during ‘howdies,’ which are introductions with a barrier between the cats. ‘Howdies’ allow animals the opportunity to see, smell and investigate each other without the risk of potentially aggressive physical interactions.
“We prepare as much as possible, but we know from experience that big cats can be unpredictable, so we stay flexible during introductions,” said Rebecca Zwicker, Asian Highlands animal care manager. “We look for signs of interest or aggression between the cats during ‘howdies,’ and respond based on their interactions. That could mean we steadily increase the amount of access they have to each other. It could also mean we give them more time, but limit their access, to get used to each other.”
Having experienced a heartbreaking loss during a previous big cat breeding session, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is fully aware of the dangerous scenarios it presents. CMZoo Amur tiger, Zoya, was killed by her mate in one such breeding session in 2016.
Since then, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has not participated in tiger breeding. Now, as wild populations decline and the SSP’s past three years of efforts to breed Amur tigers prove unsuccessful, CMZoo has accepted the SSP’s recommendation to try again.
Although big cat breeding has proven to be risky, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo animal care and veterinary staff take all precautions possible. Ultimately, CMZoo acknowledges that the work to continue the existence of these species is so necessary that we want to try.
“Savelii and Chewy have valuable genes that will help ensure the genetic diversity of Amur tiger assurance populations in zoos, so we’re looking at lots of options about the best ways to get her and Chewy’s genes in the population,” said Rogers.
Many ask if artificial insemination (AI) is a better option for riskier breeding scenarios, like these. It can be a last-resort option, but isn’t historically successful with tigers because of the females’ unique ovulation patterns.
Female tigers are induced ovulators, which means the act of mating causes the female to release an egg for fertilization. It can take several days of mating interactions to stimulate ovulation and guarantee fertilization of the egg. Because of this, AI success in tigers has historically been very low; only three out of 60 procedures in the last 20 years have resulted in a cub. Even with the odds stacked against AI, CMZoo has collected samples from Chewy in case this last resort needs to be explored.
“For now, we’re focused on setting Savelii up for success,” said Rogers. “We see her confidence building and look forward to sharing her with everyone as soon as she’s ready.”
As Savelii makes progress at CMZoo, we will keep guests posted on social media and through The Waterhole monthly newsletter.
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This week’s snow has been warmly welcomed by many CMZoo residents, including our three six-month-old mountain lion kittens. Visit our Instagram account and click on our Snow Day story to see our Rocky Mountain Wild animals soaking up the fun.Watch mountain lion video here.
“When will the new hippo and penguin exhibit open?” has been a common question we’ve received both in-person and online for the past several months. Our President & CEO, Bob Chastain, is here to give you a few updates on why we can’t pinpoint an exact opening date for you just yet, and what has to happen before we can.
‘Golden Girl’ Malaika, an African elephant who required emergency assistance after not being able to stand up on her own earlier this year, continues to receive specialized care for her broken tusks, thinning foot pad, deformed back leg and other age-related issues.
Elephant Animal Care Manager, Jason Bredahl, gets us up close and describes the specialized care Malaika receives in CMZoo’s state-of-the-art barn, designed to provide veterinary care for our aging giants.
If you’re looking for fun and educational activities for the kids the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Thanksgiving week, look no further than Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Fall Break Camps! Registration is open now.
On November 25, 26 and 27, 2019, kids from kindergarten to sixth grade can take part in one or all three days of available camps at the Zoo. Space is limited and pre-registration is required. Zoo member discount rates apply. Kindergarten half-day camps are from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. each day and first through sixth grade camps are from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.
The Zoo also offers early morning and late afternoon one-hour extended camps to fit your busy schedule the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Early Birds Camp is from 8 to 9 a.m. and Later Gators Camp is from 4 to 5 p.m.
Monday, Nov. 25, the camp theme is Hopping into Harvest. Join us as we all prepare for the cold months ahead. From growing long fur coats to stocking up on food, campers learn about how animals get ready to survive the winter.
Tuesday, Nov. 26, campers discuss the interesting varieties of family structures in the animal kingdom, with this day’s theme: FALLing for Family. Learn which animals are independent infants, which families stay together and what types of animal families lie somewhere in between.
Wednesday, Nov. 27, the theme is Happy ZOOgiving. Campers will help create special Thanksgiving enrichment items for the animals of Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. We’re thankful for our animals, and this is your child’s chance to help thank our animals by contributing to a unique Thanksgiving dinner.
Click here to find out more or to register.
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CMZoo year-round sponsor, Children’s Hospital Colorado, has created a guide to first-year doctor visits for human babies. Similarly, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s experience with our prolific giraffe breeding program, founded in 1954, gives us some great milestones for the first year of life for a giraffe calf. Let’s see how Viv, CMZoo’s giraffe calf born to Msitu in July 2019, compares to the average timelines.
The first day of a giraffe calf’s birth is full of important milestones. Within the first couple of hours after birth, the calf is expected to stand. It usually takes several very wobbly attempts before the calf is stable on those long legs. When calves are born, they drop about five feet from the birth canal to the floor. In human care, a birth stall usually has several inches of sand, hay or shavings on the ground to help cushion that fall. Once the calf has landed, it usually needs to ‘untangle’ its long legs and neck, and then can attempt to stand.
“Viv’s legs were wrapped up sort of like a pretzel when she landed, so it took her a few minutes to get them where they needed to be,” said Jason Bredahl, giraffe animal care manager. “Once she got those straightened out, she was the fastest calf we’ve ever seen take its first steps. She was up and walking within about 35 minutes of being born, and she really hasn’t slowed down since.”
Within the first three hours after birth, the calf is expected to nurse from its mother. It’s important for the calf to nurse within this window, because it ensures the newborn calf consumes the colostrum that contains important antibodies from its mother.
“Viv was on the slower side when it came to getting her first milk,” said Bredahl. “But, Msitu is a great mom, and she and Viv quickly bonded. Once they did, we saw her nursing a lot that first night and throughout the next few months.”
Normally, giraffe calves nurse for about four months without eating any solid foods, like leaves or grain. The average weaning period is anywhere from six months to a year. The baby usually starts investigating solid foods between two and three months of age.
Viv had other plans.
“We started noticing Viv nibbling on browse and being curious about crackers at about a month old,” said Bredahl. “She is still nursing, so she’s getting the nutrients she needs from mom, but at this point, her diet contains a lot of browse, alfalfa, grain and romaine lettuce from our guest feeding opportunities.”
Unless it’s medically necessary, CMZoo staff doesn’t intervene with animals’ births, and has found it’s beneficial to the mother/baby relationship to allow them uninterrupted time together to bond. Since Viv showed all the signs of being a strong calf, staff never took exact height or weight measurements.
On average, giraffe calves weigh between 100 and 200 pounds at birth, and measure about six feet tall.
“We guessed that she was about 200 pounds at birth and stood about six feet tall,” said Bredahl. “Since then, she’s growing and growing. As of the end of October, we estimate she’s about seven feet tall and over 300 pounds.”
The next big milestone for giraffe in care at CMZoo is to start training. Most giraffe calves born at CMZoo participate in behaviors, like shifting from one area to another, by following their mothers. This allows keepers to care for them by relying on training their mothers have received.
Not Viv.
“Viv has been a total firecracker from the very beginning, when she leap-frogged over her mom’s back as her mom was lying down only six hours after she was born,” said Bredahl. “She’s one of the most independent giraffe calves we’ve ever experienced, which is fantastic because she’s such a great ambassador for her species. She’s interested in guests, keepers and the rest of the herd. It also means she’s not necessarily interested in doing what her mom is doing. That makes shifting into the barn from the yard, or vice versa, or moving from one part of the barn to another an ‘adventure’ each day.”
Keepers rely on a calf’s interest in solid foods to train. The food is the positive reinforcement keepers need to encourage positive behaviors from an animal.
“In our experience, we usually start working with calves on trained behaviors at about four months,” said Bredahl. “Viv was a lot younger than that.”
Because Viv took interest in browse, alfalfa and other solid foods at such an early age, keepers started training with her at just a month old.
Keepers will continue working with Viv on her training, which is still largely focused on asking her to move from one location to another. Once she has mastered shifting behaviors, Viv will eventually graduate to more complicated training activities. Like her herd mates do now, she will later have the choice to participate in varieties of training that allow her to participate in her own health care.
“Our giraffe train to have their hooves trimmed and cared for, their blood drawn, their eyes examined, and of course they train to shift in and out of different areas of their yards and barn,” said Bredahl. “Khalid, our breeding bull, even trains to participate in giraffe ‘yoga,’ which helps him stretch and stay limber. Our giraffe training programs help us take great care of our herd. It also allows us to share what we learn and participate in research studies that benefit giraffe in human care and in the wild, around the world.”
(Try to) keep up with Viv and the 16-member CMZoo giraffe herd every day of the week in African Rift Valley at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. No matter the weather, giraffe feeding opportunities are available to guests daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., either on the outdoor boardwalk or inside the giraffe barn.
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Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s Western lowland gorilla troop of five has been working to acclimate to a cohesive living situation since Goma, a 28-year-old silverback, joined CMZoo in May 2016. After years of introductions that have taken longer than keepers anticipated, the tentative success of this summer’s introductions was critical in deciding whether to continue making efforts or to reassess if Goma could ever permanently join the troop.
“We had heard of successful introductions taking longer, but we had also accepted that there is a point at which, if Goma hadn’t adjusted to living with females, we would have to make a decision about whether we’d continue trying,” said Joanna Husby, Primate World animal care manager. “Just in the last three months, we have seen such amazing progress. It’s really rewarding to see them getting more comfortable with each other, which was our goal for this summer.”
The troop’s bonding progress was even more evident when they had to face the unexpected absence of Roxie – one of the two females Goma is most comfortable with in the group, along with Asha. The 43-year-old female became lethargic and refused to eat or drink in early October 2019.
“If Roxie feels under the weather, she’ll skip a meal, just like any of us might. But we know Roxie, and we realized her behavior this time was different,” said Husby. “After a couple of days, we knew we needed to take more aggressive steps to care for her.”
CMZoo veterinary team and keepers immobilized Roxie the morning of October 6. At the CMZoo vet clinic, Roxie’s examination included whole body x-rays and ultrasounds. She was given IV fluids and supportive medications that helped address any infection that may have been present. The examinations revealed multiple medical conditions, the most concerning of which was a suspected infection of Roxie’s reproductive tract. Throughout her life, Roxie has dealt with kidney issues and ulcer-like cysts that have caused gastrointestinal and reproductive system complications. The exam also revealed age-related changes such as arthritis.
While she was under anesthesia, Roxie suffered a cardiac arrest and was brought back to life with CPR and emergency drugs. Vet staff kept Roxie at the clinic, where they could respond immediately if necessary, for a few hours. When Roxie was stable, she returned to a private room near the troop to recover.
“Roxie has amazed us all,” said Husby. “She really scared us for a second, but she has recovered incredibly well. Within hours of returning to her den, she ate some grapes and drank some juice, which was a big relief.”
Keepers and vet staff checked on Roxie hourly overnight for the first night. The day following the procedure, Roxie was interested in training with her keepers, but she again refused food and drinks. Over the next few days, thanks to keepers’ creative solutions to hydrate Roxie by offering her different juices and foods that interested her, Roxie was able to rejoin the troop and is doing well.
Gorillas are incredibly intelligent and bonded individuals. Although Roxie’s absence could have been detrimental to the progress of the introductions, they have reunited well and continue to make progress.
“The fact that they were separated for about two weeks, during the scare and her recovery, and then had an uneventful reunion speaks to the resilience of their relationship. The female troop members are showing Goma respect by responding calmly to his presence and by following his lead upon moving to different areas of the exhibit,” said Husby. “Goma is still displaying signs of dominance, which is what we want to see. The ladies need to respect him. He’s also showing signs that he’s more comfortable, like lying down near the females and even taking naps. He’s learning that through his calmer demeanor and approach, he’s earning their trust as a leader.”
Summertime in Colorado is the optimal time to work on delicate gorilla introductions, because warmer weather means the gorillas have access to both indoor and outdoor spaces. They have more space to be together, if they want to be, while still having options to be away from each other.
For now, the troop is spending multiple hours per day together. As the weather cools down, and the gorillas don’t have as much access to their outdoor yards, keepers will work to continue providing a balance of time together and time apart for the troop.
“We’re so proud of the ladies and Goma for how much progress they’ve made this summer, even with the potential setback,” said Husby. “We’re looking for ways to continue that progress without regular use of the outdoor yards. Although the procedure with Roxie was very scary, it showed us that they’ve reached a level of comfort and confidence with each other that we hope will continue through the winter months.”
Keepers and vet staff continue to monitor Roxie’s health. We will provide updates as they are available.
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We had a baby boom in 2019! From meerkat pups to mountain lion kittens to a giraffe calf and more, the seven species of babies are growing up fast. (Make sure you watch until the end to meet our latest addition: five meerkat pups!)