African elephant Archives - Page 2 of 5

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and its guests and members are celebrating a huge milestone, having raised $4 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 recent years, CMZoo staff have traveled to Africa, Central America, Indonesia and the prairies of Wyoming and Colorado, to lend their expertise in support of our partner organizations around the world. Our guests’ support is far-reaching. It benefits the organizations we support, their teams, local communities and the animals they protect. It also enriches the lives of our teammates who return to the Zoo to share new experiences and reignited passions for protecting wildlife and wild places.

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, we can contribute more money to conservation. In the past few years, CMZoo has collected about half a million dollars per year through Q4C. In the Zoo’s 2021 fiscal year, guests contributed nearly three-quarters of a million dollars. The Zoo’s membership and EdVenture programs also contribute to conservation. CMZoo’s current beneficiary species include giraffe, Panama frogs, orangutans, black-footed ferrets, African elephants and rhinos, Wyoming toads and African vultures.

About Our Current Q4C Legacy Projects

Q4C beneficiary species truly run the gamut, from 18-foot-tall giraffe in Africa, to tiny toads in Wyoming.

Q4C helps support a multi-organizational giraffe conservation project in Uganda, called Operation Twiga. Operation Twiga began in 2016 to give giraffe a better chance of survival by establishing new populations of giraffe in safe habitats, in partnership with Giraffe Conservation Foundation, Uganda Wildlife Authority and others. Operation Twiga V (2020) was a continuation of Operation Twiga IV (2019), which CMZoo staff attended to assist with anesthesia and moving the giraffe. Both giraffe translocations contributed to populations in Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve, an historic habitat in Uganda where giraffe hadn’t existed for more than 20 years. 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. 18 ferret kits were born at CMZoo in the 2021 breeding season, and six juveniles were released into their natural habitat by CMZoo staff and wildlife partners in the fall. In Spring and Summer 2021, CMZoo staff released 228 yearling “headstart” toads, 58 metamorph toadlets, and 5,338 tadpoles to their native habitat in Wyoming. Summer 2022 breed-and-release efforts are well underway, and later this year, more of these vital species will join their relatives in the wild, thanks to CMZoo guests’ support.

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 frontline CMZoo staff support. In February 2019, three CMZoo staff members went to Panama to assist the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project by remodifying two feeder insect pods into frog pods. For this 10-day trip, the goal was to set up two shipping containers to house and breed approximately 450 additional frogs brought in from El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center, and later released. This involved disinfecting the shipping containers, painting, installing plumbing and water filtration, assembling racks, and drilling and prepping tanks.

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 continued to focus on international work through the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA). The team was instrumental in the creation of the WAZA Short Guide on Sustainable Palm Oil and the 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 a conservation partner called Tsavo Trust – an organization in Kenya that works to protect the last of the big tuskers, which are African elephants with tusks weighing more than 100 pounds. 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 pilot hours of frontline aerial surveillance that protects rhinos and elephants from poachers seeking their ivory.

The seventh Q4C legacy partner is VulPro – protectors of African vultures. The dedicated staff at VulPro, in South Africa, save vultures who have been injured as wild birds, and rehabilitates them to release. Those that are too injured to survive in the wild find a permanent home at VulPro.

For more information about these projects and Quarters for Conservation, visit cmzoo.org/conservation.

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.

At the end of February, Malaika, one of six aging female African elephants at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, was experiencing increasing mobility issues and severe changes in her appetite. After a few days of close monitoring and treatments to help her symptoms, she started to bounce back and has since continued to trend in the right direction. Although her team is happy to see her improve, they’re realistic, because Malaika – like all of the elephants at CMZoo – will have challenges for the rest of her life. Malaika has a lifelong issue with bowing and lack of strength in right rear leg, which is worsening as she ages.

“Some people are surprised to hear that our elephants deal with some kind of ailment, from time to time, but that’s why they’re here with us,” said Jason Bredahl, Encounter Africa animal care manager. “Our elephant center was designed specifically to care for aging female elephants and to help them with physical challenges as they age. Our keepers and veterinary staff are some of the most knowledgeable elephant experts in the profession. With our experience and the support of our colleagues, our Golden Girls are in great hands here. They’re living their best lives with us.”

Malaika is one of six “Golden Girls” in Encounter Africa, along with Missy, Kimba, Lucky, Jambo and LouLou. They’re all African elephants, but have unique personalities and some distinguishable physical features that help CMZoo visitors recognize and enjoy their individual personalities.

At 52, Missy is one of the oldest African elephants in human care in accredited zoos. She’s often in the yard with LouLou, 39, who is the easiest elephant to identify because she doesn’t have tusks. Kimba, 44, and Jambo, 39, are the largest of the group, weighing around 8,500 pounds each. Lucky, 43, is an enthusiastic mud wallower, and can be seen covering herself with mud in the yards. Malaika, 36, is one of the sassiest in the herd, who frequently carries logs, tires and puzzle feeders. She usually prefers to spend solo time in one of their many exhibit spaces at the Zoo, but hangs out with Kimba and Lucky for social time, too.

Just like humans, the health of each elephant is individual, sometimes regardless of age or environment. Malaika, the youngest of the herd, has experienced perhaps the most life-threatening issues and Missy, the eldest, has been in relatively good health for her age. The elephant care team works to help them comfortably enjoy their golden years, knowing that things can change quickly for them and that even our specialized care has its limits.

“There’s quite a range in their ages, and it’s not necessarily true that the older elephants need more specialized care than their younger friends do,” said Bredahl. “Over time, some have experienced weak limbs or digestive issues, some have arthritis, some have issues with their feet or tusks, and some have all of the above. We work to proactively lessen the impact of expected age-related issues and address anything else that pops up along the way.”

The dedicated Encounter Africa keepers, along with Bredahl, know these elephants like members of their own family. They work so closely with the ladies that they can usually ‘just tell’ if something is off, based on knowing each elephant’s individual behaviors and routines.

“We develop the skills to read their individual behaviors and know their patterns and tendencies,” said Bredahl. “We definitely have bonds with them and can usually tell what kind of a day they’re having based on their responses to training or enrichment activities. The equipment in our elephant center allows us to provide specialized care for them, but our relationships with the elephants guide those care plans, too.”

The Wilgruen Elephant Center, in Encounter Africa, at CMZoo is like a retirement community for elder elephants in the zoo world. This team and environment provide the very best in aging elephant care. Elements of the specialized elephant center include rubberized flooring, natural substrate throughout most of the barn, surveillance that allows the team to check on the ladies overnight, and spaces with activities designed to keep them moving.

The team consistently monitors each elephant’s daily behaviors, too. The elephant care team assesses and documents each elephant every day, so they can spot any trends that need to be addressed. Keepers track each elephant’s appetite, their mobility and interest in training, for example, along with individual indicators that reveal progress or declines in specific ailments, like a stiff knee or ongoing digestive issue. The team reviews each elephant’s data regularly, and makes adjustments to their environment, treatments or routines with hopes to maintain their quality of life.

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Join Jason, elephant animal care manager at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, and Malaika for an update.

In case you missed our previous communications, Malaika has a history of health challenges, and has had far more good days than bad ones in her life. Last Thursday, we told you she was dealing with worsening mobility issues and a fluctuating appetite, which started in early February. We were really concerned about her at the end of last week.

On Sunday, we shared that she seemed to be brightening, and she was eating more. Her appetite has increased significantly over the last few days, and she has eaten nearly her normal amount of food every night since Sunday, which is great.

Her team continues to monitor and address her ongoing mobility issues. We’re hopeful because she seems to be on the right track, but we do know from this experience how quickly things can change for her. We’re cautiously optimistic, and her care team is working hard to encourage her to keep eating, drinking and moving.

Thank you for your continued support and compassion as our team navigates this complex situation. For now, we’re breathing a little easier, and we’ll let you know if we see any significant change in her either way.

To learn more, visit cmzoo.org/malaika.

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It’s hard to pinpoint the exact moment a story begins, but the end of the story could be near for Malaika [muh-LIE-kuh], a 36-year-old female African elephant. We think this story started for us about 17 years ago when the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Board decided to build a facility especially for aging female elephants, but that doesn’t make anticipating a loss any easier.

As humans, we deal with death from a young age. Our first experience may be with a beloved pet. At some point we all lose someone close to us. All loss is painful, but we know that some goodbyes are going to hurt especially bad.

This is true for our Zoo family, too. We know we are going to grieve deeply when it’s a certain animal’s time to go. Malaika is one of those animals. Combine an entire organization in various stages of grief with the logistics required for the sheer size of the animal we’re focusing on now, and you have an extremely complex and delicate situation.

Malaika has a history of health challenges, and has had far more good days than bad ones in her life. But, recently, she showed us signs that it might soon be her time to leave us, including worsening mobility issues and a fluctuating appetite.

After not eating regularly for a couple of days, Malaika’s appetite returned on Wednesday morning, when she ate, among other things, 11 blueberry bagels. Keepers said she seemed a little brighter.

By Wednesday evening, we were back to being more worried than ever for her. A couple of hours later, there was another light, when she ate again. Thursday morning, she ate and drank a little bit more. The situation is changing by the hour, and we are prepared for the worst while we reflect on her life and her mortality.

“Malaika loves people, and Malaika is easy to love,” said Annie Dinwiddie, senior elephant keeper. “She has social opportunities with the other elephants, but she usually chooses to be close to us keepers. It’s like she has adopted us as her own herd, and she’s really tuned into us.”

Malaika is a sensory elephant. She notices immediately if Dinwiddie is wearing a new lotion or used a different soap. She’ll give Dinwiddie a certain look, then she’ll slowly breathe in the new smell while looking at her keeper as if she has many questions about it.

“Malaika will hold out for the best training rewards possible,” said Jake Jachim, elephant keeper. “She loves training, but sometimes she’ll do the behavior we’ve asked for, and she’ll sense that she has a choice in how she’s being rewarded. I have seen her smell a reward in her keeper’s hand and completely bypass it for what was in their other hand. Like, ‘thanks, but I’ll take this instead.’”

Malaika, who came to CMZoo in 2008, loves to knock down trees and pick up giant logs to throw them across the yard. She also loves making noise. If you’ve been lucky enough to hear an elephant trumpeting during a visit, there’s a good chance it was Malaika.

Even while she’s not feeling well, her keeper team knows they can count on resilient Malaika to participate so they can care for her. Dinwiddie remembers after what could have been a life-threatening fall that Malaika took in 2019, she kept fighting. After working for hours to stand back up with her team’s help, Malaika was exhausted, but still allowed her keepers to give her oral medications.

With the support of her team and specialized equipment, Malaika has fought her way through two potentially fatal falls – once in 2018 and again in 2019. During her previous episodes, we held on tight to hope, as we do now. We were realistic that Malaika might not make it through those challenges, but nearly three years after her most recent rescue, she’s still here helping people fall in love with elephants.

It may sound morbid to some, but preparing for death is part of taking care of animals. It is part of what it means to be their forever caregivers. The team has been preparing for the inevitable death of an aging elephant since we built the facility in 2013 – and well before that, when the CMZoo Board decided to go down this road of caring for aging elephants.

For now, Malaika’s future is uncertain, but her team is prepared to make the most compassionate decisions for her, empowered with the training and equipment we need to face whatever comes our way. We meet at 4:30 p.m. each afternoon to discuss what happens if there is a situation during the evening and who can get back and how fast. We consistently practice our emergency response protocols to lift an elephant that falls and can’t get up, or for a humane euthanasia decision.

While planning the design of the Wilgruen Elephant Center, the Zoo made a conscious decision to meet the demand for specialized staff and equipment to care for aging elephants, including a crane system in the barn. More than 20 cross-discipline Zoo staff members, including animal keepers, veterinary staff, and operations, maintenance and grounds personnel, team up for rescue lift efforts. Some specialize in rope work, others focus on operating the hoist, and others document the entire process so we can learn from it later. The Zoo also depends on Colorado Springs Fire Department’s Heavy Rescue Team for supplemental support. The Heavy Rescue Team receives on-site elephant rescue training in advance of an emergency, and they’re always on stand-by.

Our veterinary and animal care teams are working to keep Malaika as comfortable as possible. She is taking oral medications and receiving other treatments for discomfort. We also work closely with Colorado State University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital to consider all treatment options for Malaika.

There are countless other Zoo professionals vital to an event like this. For example, we recently hired a career and life coach at the Zoo who provides on-site coaching support as our teams move through grief. When you care for as many animals as we do, loss is part of life.

We’re holding onto hope that Malaika will get through this, but we just don’t know what the next few days or weeks hold for her. If she does recover, it wouldn’t be the first time an aging animal has given us a scare and then lived happily for many more years. Still, we know it’s possible that it may soon be time to say goodbye to Malaika, if she takes another turn for the worse.

When the time comes, we have a beautiful final resting place in the mountains for her, thanks to a donor who has been planning with us for many years. For every foreseeable turn, there’s a plan in place for Malaika.

We’ll continue monitoring Malaika closely, during the day and overnight, and will keep you posted as we have any updates to share. Please join us in rooting for Malaika, and in celebrating the special ways this beautiful animal has touched your life and so many others.

Tsavo Trust is a field-based non-profit organization in Africa that uses aerial surveillance and on-the-ground field efforts to protect wildlife in Tsavo National Park, the largest national park in Kenya. Through the Quarters from Conservation program, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s members and guests have supported Tsavo Trust since May 2016.

The organization was founded to help protect the last of the ‘big tuskers,’ which are likely the last viable genetic pool of African elephants with tusks weighing more than 100 pounds each. The park is also home to a number of black rhino sanctuaries established by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and supported by the Zoological Society of London. The black rhino is critically endangered, due primarily to illegal poaching for their horns.

In partnership with the Kratt Family Foundation, CMZoo continues to support Tsavo Trust’s mission by funding ongoing infrastructure development and community outreach projects. Supporting staff salaries and on-site maintenance allows the team on the ground to more efficiently protect the animals at risk. Last year, CMZoo sent support for clean water wells for Tsavo Trust headquarters and a nearby community, which helps bridge relationships with locals who can help Tsavo Trust identify emerging issues that could impact wildlife in the area. This was funded by the Zoo’s daily elephant and rhino feedings, which are available during summer months when weather permits.

This year, CMZoo’s funding has helped support a full-time business administrator, a full-time conservation officer and low-flying reconnaissance pilot and a newly completed workshop, where the team can efficiently maintain its fleet of 12 ground vehicles. Keeping those all-terrain vehicles in working order means the team can effectively reach elephants and rhinos that need them.

“Imagine having your headquarters in the middle of Tsavo National Park,” said Dr. Liza Dadone, CMZoo vice president of mission and programs. “You’re protecting roughly 16,000 miles of land that is vital to the survival of the last of this incredible population of African elephants, but the lack of services can present obstacles that could mean life or death for an elephant. If a vehicle broke down in the past, it could have caused a significant delay in getting to the elephants in the field. Now, Tsavo Trust teams can maintain their vehicles on-site and get where they’re needed – with the elephants and rhinos in the wild.”

From January to June 2021, Tsavo Trust flew more than 28,000 miles above Tsavo National Park, monitoring elephants, rhinos and other wildlife from the skies. The Tsavo Trust airplanes give their team the best vantage point for identifying threats to the animals, which are relayed to Tsavo Trust protection and monitoring teams, on foot and in vehicles, who can take action on the ground.

“I hope our guests can feel the impact they’re making through our partnership with Tsavo Trust,” said Dr. Dadone. “By visiting the Zoo, you’re sending financial support directly to the team who keeps a watchful eye on these magnificent animals and anyone who might want to harm them.”

In that same period, Tsavo Trust has made 28 arrests, including poachers and ivory dealers, and recovered 417 snares and traps.

Every visit to the Zoo is conservation in action. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and its supporters, guests and members have raised more than $3.4 million since the Zoo’s Quarters for Conservation program launched in 2008.

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Join us for an extra-special trip to our mountainside elephant vacation yard! Lucky and Kimba are spending some away from guests to graze and relax in the two-acre meadow, which is specially tended for our aging African elephants. Make sure to listen for the songs and calls of the wild birds who live around the vacation yard as well!

The Wilgruen Elephant Center at CMZoo was designed to care for aging elephants, and is currently home to our herd of six geriatric African elephants, lovingly dubbed our, ‘Golden Girls.’ Just like humans, care for each elephant is specific to the individual, and keepers work to provide the best possible care for these aging beauties, relying on equipment and spaces designed to help them stretch and exercise their bodies and minds. Part of this special care includes space for the elephants to relax.

Through our Quarters for Conservation program, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is proud to partner with the Tsavo Trust to protect elephants and rhinos in the largest national park in Kenya. Using both aerial surveys and ground patrols, Tsavo Trust helps prevent poaching in an effort to keep these iconic and endangered animals around for future generations. Learn more about Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s African elephant conservation efforts.

One of Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s most specialized animal areas is the home of our beloved African elephant herd. Jambo (38), Malaika (35), Lucky (41), LouLou (38), Kimba (42) and Missy (51) make up the herd, and each has her own obstacles to face.

Just like humans, the health of each elephant is individual, sometimes regardless of age or environment. Malaika, the youngest of the herd, has experienced perhaps the most life-threatening issues and Missy, the eldest, has been in relatively good health for her age. The elephant care team works to help them comfortably enjoy their golden years, knowing that things change quickly for them and that even our specialized care has its limits.

“There’s quite a range in their ages, and it’s not necessarily true that the older elephants need more specialized care than their younger friends do,” said Jason Bredahl, Encounter Africa animal care manager. “Some have weak limbs, or digestive issues, some have arthritis, some have issues with their feet or tusks, and some have all of the above. We work to proactively lessen the impact of expected age-related issues and try to treat anything else that pops up along the way.”

The Wilgruen Elephant Center has a special crane system that can lift a disabled elephant. Twice those systems have saved Malaika’s life when she stumbled, fell onto her side and couldn’t stand up on her own – an event that can be fatal for elephants. Once in January 2018 and again in April 2019, the team used the barn’s crane system to lift her back onto her feet.

Both of those falls happened without warning, so the team is realistic about it potentially happening again. Although CMZoo has been able to save Malaika twice, it is incredibly lucky that she’s been able to recover both times.

“It really is an honor to work with these girls, because we know we’re supporting them in their third and final act,” said Bredahl. “Their issues are ongoing and can worsen without much warning. For now, they have more good days than bad days. When those bad days inevitably come back around, we’re prepared to care for them and make decisions that are best for them.”

As their issues worsen with age, the team looks for ways to help the girls continue to live their best lives for as long as possible.

An important part of their care routine is rest, but not all elephants lie down to sleep. For Malaika, who doesn’t appear to trust her ability to lie down and get up successfully, the team provides things for her to rest against. In the past, she’s rested with logs, tractor tires or sand piles. Malaika gets her rest by leaning against things to sleep while standing. In the coming weeks, the team will try providing a mostly soil substrate pile for Malaika, to see if she’s more confident leaning against it than the sand piles she’s used previously.

Another important aspect of their ongoing care is encouraging the girls to exercise, explore and play. The elephants can explore their walking path, splash and relax in their pool or spend time in their vacation yard, among other spaces available to them.

“We work to provide environments that keep the herd moving, because just like all of us, a body in motion stays in motion,” said Bredahl. “We also provide enrichment that encourages them to stretch, bend and move throughout every day, and we typically ask the girls to shift every one to two hours into a new space, which keeps them walking and provides new mentally and physically stimulating activities, spaces and enrichment for them to explore.”

There is a space for the elephants that guests can’t see during a visit to the Zoo – a 2-acre field, known as the vacation yard, where the elephants can roam freely in the tall grass, pulling up vegetation, stripping bark from branches and knocking trees over as they please. During the warmer months, it’s not uncommon to find Bredahl sitting in the field on the other side of the fence, watching the ladies relax in a light summer rain.

In addition to the exercise and stimulation the girls get from shifting to new locations, all of the CMZoo elephants participate in daily ‘elephant yoga.’ The routines focus on overall flexibility and strengthening while addressing any problem areas the individuals may have. The elephants are also trained to take voluntary pills and/or injections, when necessary, that help reduce inflammation and pain from arthritis and other ailments.

“It’s a balance, caring for older animals, because we love them and want them to live forever,” said Bredahl. “We work hard to do all we can, proactively, to keep them able and comfortable, but we also know that there comes a point that you recognize that you have done all you can. That’s when we make the hardest, but the most compassionate decisions.”

Guests can get up close to these impressive animal ambassadors every day from March through October, as long as weather permits, at CMZoo’s elephant feeding experiences. From 11 to 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 to 3 p.m., guests can pay $10 to $15 per bundle of produce, and feed an elephant from about four feet away. The Zoo typically contributes $25,000 annually from these feeding experiences to its frontline elephant and rhino conservation partner, Tsavo Trust.

Tsavo Trust is a field-based non-profit organization that uses aerial surveillance and on-the-ground field efforts to protect elephants, rhinos and other wildlife in Tsavo National Park, the largest national park in Kenya. The organization was founded to help protect the last of the big tuskers, which are likely the last viable genetic pool of African elephants with tusks weighing more than 100 pounds each. The park is also home to a number of black rhino sanctuaries established by the Kenya Wildlife Service and supported by the Zoological Society of London.

Just by visiting the Zoo, guests can consider themselves conservation warriors. Through the Quarters for Conservation program, 75¢ of every admission goes to conservation partners, including Tsavo Trust. Small change makes a big difference. Since 2008, those quarters have added up to more than $3 million for conservation, now averaging half a million dollars per year in conservation contributions.

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Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s conservation partners are still hard at work on the front lines, despite the pandemic that has slowed much of the world. The Zoo and our supporters continue to send funding to important efforts around the world, including Operation Twiga, a giraffe conservation project in Uganda, and Tsavo Trust, an elephant and rhino conservation organization in Kenya.

Operation Twiga began in 2016 to establish new populations of giraffe in safe habitats by translocating healthy, breeding giraffe from existing populations to form new herds in safer habitats.

“It takes a village to save giraffe,” said Stephanie Fennessy, Giraffe Conservation Foundation director. “Operation Twiga V is another conservation success realized by the Uganda Wildlife Authority in partnership with the Giraffe Conservation Foundation and financially supported by CMZoo, the Kratt family and many other donors.”

Thanks to CMZoo’s Quarters for Conservation program, whereby 75¢ from every admission to the Zoo is contributed to conservation, our guests are once again making an impact for wildlife and wild places. Although COVID-19 prevented CMZoo staff from attending the Operation Twiga V translocation, as they have in previous years, teams on the ground in Uganda continued this important work, with Operation Twiga V – the sixth giraffe conservation translocation.

Operation Twiga V (2020) was a continuation of Operation Twiga IV (2019). Both translocations contributed to populations in Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve, an historic habitat in Uganda where giraffe hadn’t existed for more than 20 years.

“We’re so grateful for our guests’ continued support of the Zoo, which allows us to continue supporting these important conservation efforts,” said Dr. Liza Dadone, vice president of mission and programs at CMZoo. “Last year, CMZoo assisted on-site with Operation Twiga IV, in Uganda, but because of COVID-19, we couldn’t attend this time. That’s another reason why it’s so valuable to continue partnering with front line organizations. They can keep the work going, and we can keep supporting them while we can’t be there with them.”

For more information about Operation Twiga V, please read this article from Giraffe Conservation Foundation.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s Quarters for Conservation program also allowed us to send more support to Tsavo Trust – a field-based non-profit organization in Africa that uses aerial surveillance and on-the-ground field efforts to protect wildlife in Tsavo National Park, the largest national park in Kenya.

The organization was founded to help protect the last of the “big tuskers,” which are likely the last viable genetic pool of African elephants with tusks weighing more than 100 pounds each. The park is also home to a number of black rhino sanctuaries established by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KSW) and supported by the Zoological Society of London. The black rhino is critically endangered, due primarily to illegal poaching for their horns.

In partnership with the Kratt Family Foundation, CMZoo and its guests funded two clean water stations, known as boreholes, in communities near Tsavo National Park. The effort is a project under Tsavo Trust’s Community Conservancy Program. The program aims to improve local wildlife relations with local community members, by creating secure buffers bordering protected areas of Tsavo National Park. Tsave Trust also reaches out to nearby communities who have, “faced serious hardships, such as lack of water, food insecurity, and constant human-wildlife conflicts, resulting in a negative perception towards wildlife,” according to Tsavo Trust’s most recent conservation update to CMZoo.

The availability of clean drinking water improves the quality of life for members of these important nearby communities, and helps foster goodwill between Tsavo Trust and their neighbors, who can help save wildlife. Tsavo Trust representatives say the community members have been made aware that “the water has come from the elephants.”

Since 2008, CMZoo’s Quarters for Conservation program has helped guests send more than $3 million to conservation efforts around the world, and right here in Colorado. Every visit to CMZoo is conservation is action.

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