Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Author at CMZoo

CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN ZOO WELCOMES TWO ROCKY MOUNTAIN GOAT KIDS – Two bouncy, squeaky and fluffy kids joined the CMZoo family on Sun., May 19, when second-time Rocky Mountain goat mom, Lena, gave birth to her first set of twins.

New Rocky Mountain goat kids, twins born May 2024 with mother Lena — New twin Rocky Mountain goat kids, born May 19, 2024 to mother, Lena.

The double bundle of joy were on their hooves, taking their wobbly first steps within minutes. Both kids have nursed and continue to bond well with their attentive mom, who is moonlighting as a jungle gym.

“Less than 24 hours after its birth, Baby #2 climbed on top of Lena, who patiently laid still as the little one climbed from her back end all the way to her head, where it slid gently around the back of her neck with its front legs on either side of her head,” says Joanna Husby, animal care manager. “We’ve got an adventurous one on our hands! We’re seeing both babies hit all the milestones for healthy kids, and we’re excited for everyone to meet them.”

Baby #1, in the foreground of the photo above, is slightly smaller than Baby #2, and has a distinctively adorable floppy left ear. Baby #1 seems calmer than Baby #2, so far. Both are very vocal, making loud calls to mom, which are catching the attention of their 2-year-old sister, Blanca, and 14-year-old ‘grannie goat,’ Yazhi, from separate yards. 10-year-old dad, Albert, who is sharing space with Blanca, hasn’t seemed to notice, which is very on-brand for laid-back Albert.

Staff were eagerly awaiting the arrival of the kids, whose gestation lasted the full 180 days expected for a Rocky Mountain goat pregnancy. On Sunday, staff noticed Lena was in active labor around 11:15 a.m. Baby #1 was born at 12:09 p.m. and took its first steps 9 minutes later. At 12:34 p.m., while Baby #1 was nursing, Baby #2 was born. Baby #2 took its first steps at 1:02 p.m.

Because both kids are nursing and bonding well with Lena, staff have not intervened, so their weights and sexes have not been confirmed. Following Zoo tradition, they’ll get names after 30 days.

New twin Rocky Mountain goat kids, born May 19, 2024 to mother Lena. — New Rocky Mountain goat kids, one twin peering from under their mother's belly.

“Lena was a great mom to Blanca, her first baby, and she’s proving to know just what to do with these two,” Joanna says. “She did look a bit surprised to see the second baby arrive, which is understandable considering no one told her she was pregnant with twins!”

Twins aren’t uncommon for Rocky Mountain goats after a first pregnancy. Big sister, Blanca, seems very interested in the new sounds and smells in the barn. For the goats’ safety and comfort — and taking Blanca’s bold and energetic nature into account — their introduction to Big Sis may take a while. The twins are likely to meet calm-natured Albert next. But first, they’re exploring outside with Mom.

“The babies are following Lena well and she’s comfortable moving to a different spaces, so we welcomed them outside for the first time today,” Joanna says. “We have a side yard that has more suitable terrain for little hooves than our big yard with rocky cliffs, so they’ll find their footing there. My guess is that it won’t be long until they’re leaping and chasing all over the rocks. Having a twin means having a built-in play partner, and it’s going to be hard to do anything but watch them. Rocky Mountain goat babies are pure joy.”

The kids are the fifth and sixth babies born at CMZoo this season, along with two wallaby joeys in Australia Walkabout and two meerkat pups in Encounter Africa.

CMZoo will share updates on the kids on the Zoo’s social media channels and in the Zoo’s newsletter, The Waterhole.

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 2024, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo was voted #5 Best Zoo in North America and CMZoo’s Rocky Mountain Wild was named #2 Best Zoo Exhibit in North America by USA TODAY’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards. It is Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s goal to help guests fall in love with animals and nature, and take action to protect them. Since 2008, CMZoo’s Quarters for Conservation program has raised more than $5 million dedicated to frontline conservation efforts around the world. Of the 237 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.

FOUR-MILE WALK/RUN FUNDRAISER OFFERS ONCE-A-YEAR EXPERIENCE ON FOOT TO WILL ROGERS SHRINE OF THE SUN – Cheyenne Mountain Zoo hosts its 16th annual Run to the Shrine, featuring a North American river otter as this year’s event mascot, on Sat., May 18 and Sun., May 19, 2024.

Where else can you hand-feed a giraffe and then walk up the side of a mountain? (Nowhere!) The 4-mile round trip up-and-back course offers breathtaking views of Colorado Springs, Garden of the Gods, and parts of the Front Range as participants run by African lions, giraffe and African elephants through the Zoo, up to Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun and back into the Zoo. The evergreen-forested course, with a nearly 1,000-foot elevation gain, is good practice for competitive runners gearing up for summer races and a fun challenge for weekend warriors and families. Runners and walkers are welcome, and jogging strollers equipped with automatic hand brakes and tethers are allowed on the course.

Run to the Shrine is the only time of the year foot traffic is allowed on the picturesque route through and above the Zoo to the Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun, and back down. Saturday is sold out and there are only a few hundred spots left for Sunday’s event. Participant and spectator tickets are available. Spectators can explore the Zoo from 5 to 8 p.m. when the event ends, but do not get access to Shrine Road.

Registration includes Zoo admission for the evening, a commemorative performance running T-shirt featuring a North American river otter , and access to a post-event celebration at the Zoo’s Lodge at Moose Lake. All proceeds help feed and care for Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s animals. Since the Zoo doesn’t receive any tax support, community events like Run to the Shrine help keep the zoo “running.”

Fast Facts
Run to the Shrine at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
5 to 8 p.m.
Saturday, May 18 – SOLD OUT
Sunday, May 19

4-mile run/walk through the Zoo, up to Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun, and back to the Zoo
Post-race expo
Access to the Zoo from 5 to 8 p.m.
Advance registration is required and capacity is limited.
Register now at cmzoo.org/run

Run to the Shrine helps CMZoo – one of the only AZA-accredited, nonprofit zoos that doesn’t receive any tax support – fund Zoo operations, improvements, animal care and conservation. We’re wild about our Run to the Shrine 2024 partners, Children’s Hospital Colorado, Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, Your Colorado Springs Toyota Dealers and Colorado Springs SCHEELS.

About Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

BOB CHASTAIN SET TO RETIRE IN THE ZOO’S CENTENNIAL YEAR: 2026 – After nearly 30 years at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, and 20 years in the position of president & CEO, Bob Chastain has announced his plan to retire in 2026. Over the next two years, the CMZoo board of directors, who have been intimately involved in succession planning, will search for a new president & CEO while Chastain focuses on finalizing major Zoo renovations.

“Although I still have two years at our Zoo, I want to be transparent with our community that there are some changes coming,” said Chastain. “This organization has prioritized building bench strength in leadership and being stronger than just one person. With that in mind, we started working on succession planning pretty much immediately after I started. This next two years is the last phase of that longtime planning. Some people might have questions about my retirement, but I bet more will be curious about what’s next for the Zoo. In two years, the Zoo will be transformed in terms of animal welfare and the arrival experience for our guests.”

“Bob’s ambition and passion for conservation, community and animal care have been contagious during his tenure,” said Tia Ferguson, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo board chair. “While we’ll miss working with him closely, we know he will leave a lasting mark on the Zoo. Strong leaders and staff are in place, the Zoo is financially stable, we’re making incredible conservation progress, and major Zoo improvements are underway with the leadership of a dedicated board. We’re excited for what’s next.”

During his time at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Chastain has led the Zoo through exponential visitor growth, which led to growth in staff and growth in conservation funding available to the Zoo’s frontline conservation partners and projects all over the world. In 1995, when Chastain started at the Zoo, CMZoo welcomed 365,000 guests. Over the next 30 years, annual visitors grew to a height of 900,000. In response to the growing number of visitors, the Zoo limited capacity to preserve the experience. Today, the Zoo is the most visited paid attraction in the Pikes Peak region, averaging 800,000 annual visitors.

Colorado Springs’ ‘little mountain Zoo’ shed that reputation, and it grew to become a top-five ranked zoo in North America, over the years. New exhibit openings, including African Rift Valley in 2003 – with one of the first giraffe feeding experiences of its kind in the world – Rocky Mountain Wild in 2008, Encounter Africa in 2013, Australia Walkabout in 2015 and Water’s Edge: Africa in 2020, continually set higher guest expectations for a Zoo experience.

In 2021, CMZoo became only the fourth zoo in 50 years to earn a completely clean report of inspection from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ accreditation team. Over that four-day third-party inspection of animal care, staff well-being and culture, guest education and conservation efforts, not a single concern was reported.

“We have worked relentlessly to bring our community closer to animals, so they can make important connections that inspire them to care about wildlife and wild places,” said Chastain. “We know it’s working, because people keep coming back – and every time they visit, they’re making a direct contribution to conservation through our Quarters for Conservation (Q4C) program.”

Since launching Q4C in 2008, CMZoo visitors and members have raised more than $5 million for CMZoo’s frontline conservation partners and projects around the world – just by visiting the Zoo and having part of their admission automatically contributed to Q4C’s benefitting conservation organizations.

“I’m incredibly proud of the conservation work we’ve already done and I’m looking forward to watching that grow,” Chastain said. “Because of my personal experiences seeing the positive impact our partners are making in places like Tsavo National Park in Kenya, where the last remaining big tusker African elephants live, I have more hope than ever for the natural world.”

During his tenure, Chastain has represented CMZoo in the modern zoo and conservation professions. He has served as Chair of the Safety Committee for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), on the AZA and World Association of Zoos and Aquariums boards and locally on the Colorado Springs Wildfire Mitigation Advisory Committee.

The Zoo plans to honor Chastain’s contributions to the Zoo and Colorado Springs when his retirement date is closer. More immediately than that, the community will start seeing progress on some of these legacy projects at the Zoo.

Last year, CMZoo started constructing a new road through the Zoo to replace the current road — which has been in place for 100 years – adjacent to African Rift Valley. The new road is taking shape now, and once the historic road is gone, the Zoo will expand its giraffe habitat into that space. In addition to creating space for new giraffe outdoor areas, it makes way for a 10,000-square foot building to house the Zoo’s iconic giraffe herd and The International Center for the Care and Conservation of Giraffe (The Giraffe Center), a new Zoo entryway, gift shop and café.

As part of The Giraffe Center opening, the Zoo will install six life-sized giraffe sculptures that guests can intermingle with. This enormous installation, known as ‘The 200 Project,’ acknowledges the more-than 200 giraffe calves born at the Zoo in support of the Giraffe Species Survival Plan. Chastain looks forward to seeing families making memories and taking photographs over the years with those sculptures, making the Zoo part of the thread of their family’s fabric.

“We recognize what vital contributions we make to conservation by creating and maintaining this special place where people come to make memories and feel inspired, but it’s so much more than the bricks in a building or the animals in our care,” said Chastain. “It’s the staff here. They make our guests’ experiences meaningful and memorable with every interaction. I will most fondly look back on creating a culture that is nothing short of magic, where we are capable of achieving the things we dream.”

Although guests can’t see it, the CMZoo staff culture is what Chastain highlights as the most important aspect of the Zoo. He has led CMZoo to build a strong staff and leadership, with training programs for emerging Zoo leaders, opportunities for staff to participate in field conservation and ways to advocate for their own conservation passion projects through the Member Conservation Vote. The strength of the staff supports the strength of the Zoo, which, as a nonprofit that doesn’t receive any tax support, is standing more financially stable than ever.

“Our financial and cultural stability is allowing us to take on a lot of improvement projects, like our current work to make upgrades to our grizzly bear habitat, which will allow us, someday soon, to care for orphaned grizzly bear cubs that need homes,” said Chastain.

In 2026, as Chastain closes his chapter of leadership at CMZoo, he will be joining in the Zoo’s 100th anniversary with a year’s worth of community celebrations, historical remembrances and exciting additions that he is confident will continue his legacy of bringing people closer than ever to our natural world.

About Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

The youngest ape in Primate World, 6-year-old Kera, puts the “I” in “independence,” according to Animal Keeper Izzy Dones, who works with Kera in Primate World. Kera is one of six orangutans in Primate World, and one of three Sumatran orangutans, along with her mom, Sumagu, and her dad, Baka-Keri.

“I think her independence comes from Sumagu,” Izzy says. “Sumagu really beats to the rhythm of her own drum. She will let you know if she wants to come over to train or if today is not the day. It’s like she has seen it all and knows exactly what she wants, and I love that.”

Orangutans learn through behavior modeling, and Kera is an astute observer.

“When Kera was really young, Sumagu participated in voluntary training with us and Kera watched closely and mirrored her mom’s behaviors,” Izzy says. “Kera learned a lot of her body presentations and stationing that way, which we teach so she can voluntarily participate in her own health care.”

Clever Kera is a whiz at husbandry training. She does an open-mouth presentation so keepers can brush her teeth. A recent dental check revealed another sign the baby orangutan is growing up. She lost her first baby teeth!

“If she’s near the window, guests can open their mouths and show her their teeth, and she’ll usually show them hers,” Izzy says. “She just lost her first two teeth in February, so you might be able to see where she has lost her two middle bottom teeth and her new ones are growing in.”

Kera is also smart enough to know that her behaviors are valuable to her keepers – valuable enough to earn her yummy treats. One behavior, called “trading,” allows keepers to ask the great apes to bring them something from their dens, like small reusable PVC tubes that keepers stash food in. When those tubes are empty, keepers ask for them back.

“Some mornings, I’ll come in and she’s waiting at the fence with a pile of theses tubes she has collected and she’s ready to trade,” Izzy says. “She’s like, ‘Okay you can have these, but only for the right treat and only one at a time.’ She’ll even tear items, like blankets, into smaller pieces so she has more pieces to trade. Her dad does that, too, so we think she learned that little hack from watching him. The more pieces you have to trade, the more treats you get. It makes sense.”

Playful and curious, young Kera loves interacting with guests and keepers. One of her favorite activities is to play tug-of-war. She picks up a blanket and brings a corner of it to the fence so a keeper can pull it through the mesh, and Kera pulls with all of her little orangutan might.

“Kera plays with guests, too,” Izzy says. “She loves to climb up on a rope and swing towards the glass where guests are watching her. She gets really excited when guests start interacting with her. She’s also curious to see what people have in their bags. She’ll get up high and try to look into people’s purses, which always makes me laugh.”

As an ambassador for her species, Kera is a pro. She naturally seeks opportunities to interact and make connections with guests, which inspire them to take action to protect her wild counterparts.

Orangutans are critically endangered, in part because of deforestation to build palm oil plantations in their native habitats. Palm oil is an edible oil found in about half of the products consumers purchase. It is used in candy, soaps, cosmetics, pet food and cleaning products. Because of high demand, unsustainable palm oil production has resulted in deforestation across Southeast Asia, and other tropical areas around the world, which means critically endangered species like orangutans, tigers and elephants are losing their homes.

However, when produced sustainably, palm oil is the most productive edible oil available. Oil palms – the trees that palm oil comes from – produce four to ten times more oil than alternatives like soy, olive, canola and coconut. Switching to these alternatives would cause even more deforestation in tropical areas, which is why consumers must demand sustainable palm oil.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, under the direction of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), helped launch a free global mobile app, called PalmOil Scan, that gives everyone the power to advocate for orangutans’ dwindling wild habitats with their shopping choices, and to make large companies listen to their demands for sustainably produced palm oil.

The free smartphone app empowers consumers to make informed, environmentally-friendly shopping decisions, just by scanning the barcode on a product to see if that company has committed to sourcing sustainable palm oil. PalmOil Scan is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., New Zealand and Australia, with plans to expand to more countries around the world. Learn more at cmzoo.org/palmoil.

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Last month, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo members cast their votes to help the Zoo decide how to spend $75,000 of member conservation funds among six conservation projects vying for members’ support. The three projects with the most votes received the full funding they requested. The number of votes received for the remaining three projects helped CMZoo decide how to distribute the remaining funds.

Every membership and every visit to the Zoo is conservation in action. From 2015 to 2024, including this year’s contributions, the program has provided $750,000 of membership revenue to support field conservation worldwide.

“I hope our members recognize what an impact they make for wildlife and wild places through these staff-championed conservation efforts,” Ashley Cioppa, CMZoo membership manager, says. “Our members’ annual investment in their Zoo memberships directly supports animals here in Colorado and all around the world. Plus, they give our staff the opportunity to reach more niche organizations and efforts that support their personal passions. Thank you, members!”

Each year, a total of $100,000 of membership revenue is contributed to conservation in two ways:

$25,000 to the Quarters for Conservation program, which in total contributes a million dollars on average every 18 months to CMZoo’s legacy conservation partners.
$75,000 to projects voted for by CMZoo members through this annual vote.

This year’s Member Conservation Vote top-ranked projects to fully fund are:

1. Track and protect FLAMMULATED OWLS in Colorado – $4,150
Purchase ten tracking tags that provide researchers with crucial migration data for these tiny owls. Migratory birds are currently facing many threats such as pollution, pesticides, habitat loss and collisions with human-made structures. The installation of two Motus towers at CMZoo and Fountain Creek Nature Center last year allows researchers the ability to track hundreds of local bird species in efforts to protect them. As a continuation of this project, a local researcher will utilize these towers to track ten flammulated owls, a species that lives right here in Colorado Springs, to learn about their migration patterns and use that information to help protect the species.

2. Support agroforestry to protect OKAPI habitat – $24,600
Provide farmers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with sustainable agricultural resources. Okapi populations are facing a major threat of habit loss due to slash-and-burn agriculture and human settlement. In a continued partnership, the Okapi Conservation Project (OCP) will use these funds to provide farmers with tools, seeds, land plots and the education necessary to build and maintain sustainable agriculture and reforestation practices. In doing so, the local communities are empowered to produce their food sustainably and reduce their dependence on mining and poaching – leading to the long-term protection of okapi.

3. Help build a new island home for ORANGUTANS in Borneo – $17,642
Help provide the materials to construct a new, forested island home for non-releasable orangutans in Southeast Asia. Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS) Foundation is an established organization that rescues, rehabilitates and releases orangutans back into their natural habitat. Unfortunately, a small percent of orangutans come to BOS with injuries, illnesses or other conditions that prevent them from being released into the wild safely. BOS houses and cares for them for the rest of their lives. Member funds will help provide the construction materials for a new orangutan island that will create a spacious and enriching forever home for three non-releasable orangutans currently residing with BOS.

With the remaining funds, CMZoo has decided to partially fund:

Protect PANCAKE TORTOISES through community conservation in Kenya
Conduct community awareness training and research to protect critically endangered tortoises and their habitat. Wild turtle and tortoise species are in the midst of a worldwide extinction crisis. The African pancake tortoise faces severe threats, not only from grassland habitat destruction used for farming, but also an additional threat of poaching for the pet trade. In a continued partnership, the Turtle Survival Alliance will protect and develop research strategies for a newly found pancake tortoise population, as well as establish additional awareness for the local communities surrounding this tortoise population.

Expand AFRICAN PENGUIN chick rearing capacity
Provide construction materials and equipment to rear penguin chicks. African penguins, found mainly in South Africa and Namibia, are facing threats from overfishing and climate change, which often results in penguin parents abandoning their chicks. Due to an exponential increase in egg and chick abandonment, the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) is looking to expand their chick-rearing facility through our ongoing partnership. This expansion will double their capacity of penguin chicks and eggs that they can rescue, rehabilitate, and release each year.

Support kids’ education camps to help protect AFRICAN LIONS
Help protect large carnivores by empowering a new generation in Kenya. Human-wildlife conflicts can occur between farmers and predators, such as lions, that may threaten local livestock. The education programs that Ewaso Lions will implement through this ongoing partnership will help to shift the attitude towards predators and allow Kenyan communities to more easily and efficiently coexist with wild carnivores by reducing the frequency of potential human-wildlife conflicts.

For more information about how to become a CMZoo member, and the many benefits that memberships provide, visit cmzoo.org/membership.

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IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL COLORADO –Summer is around the corner, and many parents are planning activities to keep the kids active, healthy and inspired. Our partners at Children’s Hospital Colorado offer expert tips for making outdoor activity and exercise fun for the whole family.

How about a summer project that doesn’t require a road trip, but does provide endless memories, education, and screen-free time in the calming presence of nature? A backyard pollinator garden checks all the boxes, and the size of space available doesn’t matter. Plus, it feeds butterflies, hummingbirds, bees and other pollinators that are so vital to our ecosystems.

If establishing a garden sounds overwhelming, keep reading. The annual Plant Sale at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo can be your guide! This year’s sale is 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thurs., May 16 and Fri., May 17, plus 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sat., May 18 at the Zoo. With a selection of drought-resistant, native, pollinator-friendly and deer-resistant plants, gardeners can feel confident they’re choosing items that can do well in Colorado’s sometimes-tricky gardening zone.

“I can say from experience that gardening together builds some great core memories,” Zach Groskopf, horticulture technician at CMZoo, says. “I got into horticulture because I used to garden with my grandmother a lot. Now, I actually work the same garden that we planted together years ago. It’s nice; it brings back memories every time I’m in there.”

Zach and the rest of the horticulture team at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo will be available at the Plant Sale to help shoppers pick the best plants for their gardens, guiding folks through variations in sunlight, soil, water and attention needed for the plants to thrive. Here are three plants available at the 2024 Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Plant Sale that Zach recommends adding to any Colorado garden.

Tradescantia. This is a perennial flowering plant that produces pollinator-attracting flowers all season long, from spring to the first frost in fall. It grows wild in Colorado, so it should thrive in any backyard. There will be two color varieties at the Plant Sale: a lime-green foliage with a deeper purple flower and a slivery blue leaf with a lighter, more violet flower.

“I find tradescantia naturally all over my yard, and I love it,” says Zach. “The only downside is the deer love it, too. As long as you plant it near deer-repelling flowers, or you don’t get deer in your yard, it’ll be fine. Tradescantia is super resilient. It tolerates heat and cold and doesn’t need a ton of water once it’s established.”

Zach also recommends the silver butterfly bush, a type of buddleia making its first-ever appearance at the Plant Sale. This perennial grows drooping clusters of tiny pastel purple flowers, and this specific type of buddleia can grow up to four to six feet tall. It’s deer-resistant, drought-resistant, pollinator-friendly and can grow in full sun or partial shade.

No Colorado garden is complete without the Colorado State Flower – the Rocky Mountain Columbine. Three color varieties of columbine will be available at the Plant Sale: Denver Gold, with vibrant gold petals; an all-white variety; and the classic Rocky Mountain variety, featuring purple and white flowers.

“The columbine is my personal favorite flower because they’re beautiful and they’re resilient,” Zach says. “I keep bees and these flowers make the most delicious honey, too. The columbines at the Plant Sale are special because we grew all of them from columbine seeds collected from all around the Zoo.”

In addition to Zach’s top three plants, shoppers can pick up a unique variety of interesting pollinator-friendly plants, veggies, herbs and more. One special addition this year is a non-fruiting strawberry plant with interesting variegated leaves, known for its super-spreading ability to cover blank spots in the garden.

The Russian sage is another Colorado favorite, although it is not a native plant. The flowering shrubs grow up to five feet tall and five feet wide, and they need very little water or attention. They’re perennials, so each year they return stronger and taller, producing aromatic sage leaves and small purple flowers that bees and butterflies can’t get enough of.

Zach also recommends the moonshine yarrow as a more simple ‘first-timer’ plant. The leaves are incredibly soft, so it offers an additional tactile element for kids exploring in the garden.

Herbs, like basil, and a ton of tomato plants are available for purchase for those who would rather try a patio veggie garden or kitchen-window herb shelf.

There are no reservations or tickets required to attend the Plant Sale, which will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thurs., May 16 and Fri., May 17 and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sat., May 18 – when the Zoo closes early for Run to the Shrine. Plants will be available on a first-come first-served basis, so don’t be late!

This year, the Zoo’s fundraising Plant Sale will be near the front entry of the Zoo. Keep an eye out for signs directing you to the sale as you walk towards our admission windows. Zoo admission is not required to attend the Plant Sale, and Zoo guests can stop in to shop on their way out.

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

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Are they rabbits? Deer? Jackalopes?

None of the above! Patagonian maras are rodents native to South America. They are part of the cavy family and are related to capybaras and guinea pigs. Four-month-old mara siblings, Poa (male) and Briza (female), recently moved into their new home in My Big Backyard. The friendly duo is quickly stealing hearts with their energetic leaps, adorable dirt baths and whiskered snoots. Visit Poa and Briza during your next visit to My Big Backyard!

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World Tree Kangaroo Day is Tues., May 21, and we have an exciting day of activities planned in Australia Walkabout to help raise awareness for tree kangaroo conservation.

Only about 2,500 Matschie’s tree kangaroos remain in the wild in their only known habitat: The Huon Peninsula of northeastern Papua New Guinea. Threatened by logging and mining exploration, the marsupial arboreal species is considered endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

At CMZoo, we support the Matschie’s Tree Kangaroo Species Survival Plan (SSP) by providing a home and care for tree kangaroos that don’t have current breeding recommendations, like Som. While Som receives quality care, she’s also contributing to the conservation of her species by inspiring and educating guests.

Check out some of the fun activities we have planned for World Tree Kangaroo Day!

10 a.m. to 2 p.m. – join us for family activities in Scutes Family Gallery:
– Coloring pages
– Paper masks
– Button making
– Simulated pouch peek activity (find an imitation tree kangaroo joey in a pouch replica)
– “Walk like a tree kangaroo” activity
11 a.m. – keeper talk at the Matschie’s tree kangaroo exhibit in Australia Walkabout.
1 p.m. – puppet show in Safari Cabin (near the entrance to the Sky Ride).

This event and all activities are included in the price of your daytime admission to CMZoo.
Please note: advance tickets to the Zoo are required for members and the general public, and some days may sell out. Get tickets at cmzoo.org.

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UPDATE August 13, 2024 – Our grizzly bears are back in Rocky Mountain Wild, and you can visit them right away! Save the date for a weekend-long community event to celebrate the boys’ return on Sat., Aug. 31 through Mon., Sept. 2. (See details at Emmett & Digger’s Housewarming Party. Advance admission tickets are required.)

Guests will get new views of Emmett and Digger, while the bears enjoy environmental enhancements, like an expanded lower yard. The bears also have new neighbors: Benton, Baker and Baldwin — three charismatic raccoon brothers from an AZA-accredited zoo in Louisiana.

The former grizzly bear boardwalk has been removed, making way for a new pathway to visit grizzlies in their new demonstration area and their familiar pond and yard at the top of the habitat. Guests can also get a thrill by riding two huge slides fixed to the iconic fire tower in Rocky Mountain Wild.

Instead of taking the stairs and boardwalk to the bears, guests follow a beautiful out-and-back meandering sidewalk connecting from the main pathway through Asian Highlands and Rocky Mountain Wild. Guests can enjoy getting close to native trees, flowers and shrubs along the pathway.

A new training and demonstration panel in the bears’ expanded lower yard gives guests new views of Emmett and Digger. The new demo location is closer to the Zoo’s main pathways than the former demo space. Guests might notice a familiar shade structure in the space – a nod to the boardwalk that previously connected visitors to bears.

In addition to expanding their lower yard, the bears’ improved habitat features a bear-safe overnight outdoor den area to allow the boys to sleep under the stars, which they have consistently chosen to do when given the option to go outside or stay indoors overnight. This space gives the bears the choice to snuggle in their new fire-resistant shelters, which will also give staff improved access to safely provide medical care for the bears, if needed.

The overnight space, dens and two yards are designed to comfortably house two groups of bears separately, with the goal to eventually provide a home for orphaned bear cubs who need long-term care. The viewing area at the top of the habitat is still open to guests, and could be used for unscheduled demonstrations or viewing different sets of bears.

Up above the pond and stream that were added in the lower yard last year, guests might also notice a new ‘mud pit’. Their team built the bears a new dirt/sand pit on the foundation of an unused animal enclosure. With fall around the corner, the bears will have new spaces to create day beds, search for buried treasures, or just dig – a favorite activity for a grizzly.

With so many activities and places to explore in their habitat, Emmett and Digger will be finding new favorite hangouts. Guests should embrace their inner explorer, and look out for bears throughout their exhibit.

UPDATE APRIL 24, 2024: Guests Can See Grizzlies in Temporary Staycation Home at CMZoo
Our grizzly bears, Emmett and Digger, are getting updates to their habitat and viewing areas. Emmett and Digger wanted to skip the rest of construction near their habitat, so they have temporarily moved to the Asiatic bear area near the play hill, above the tapir yard. Guests can visit them right away.

How Do You Move Two Grizzly Bears?
With candy and a big crate.

Relying on trusting relationships with the grizzlies and the added appeal of candy, keepers asked the bears to walk into a big crate. After 4 days of training and lots of Kit Kats and Reese’s peanut butter cups as rewards, the bears were comfortable with their crates, and they were ready to move. Each bear loaded into a crate voluntarily, separately and one at a time. Then, we carried one 700-pound boy at a time on a forklift, wide awake! Emmett moved first, then Digger arrived.

Their temporary home, next door to beloved aging Asiatic black bear, Beezler, is a good short-term location on one condition: ‘Golden Girl’ Beezler still gets her favorite sunny nap spot.

We look forward to welcoming guests and bears back to the grizzly exhibit when it reopens soon. In the meantime, stop by to see Emmett and Digger on the left side of the Asiatic bear habitat, and Beezler on the right.

Why Did They Need to Move?
CMZoo improvements continue with grizzly bear habitat updates

The former grizzly bear boardwalk is being replaced with pathways that provide additional grizzly viewing experiences for guests in Rocky Mountain Wild. The elevator tower is being repurposed as a future play feature, with giant tube slides attached to its sides. Guests will still be able to take the stairs up and can either slide back down or enjoy the view and walk down the stairs.

Ongoing improvements to the bears’ habitat – including the recently completed waterfall in their north yard – will make it better suited to provide homes for potential orphaned cubs in need of human care.

After a couple of months of construction in Rocky Mountain Wild, construction got louder and closer to the bears. Emmett and Digger showed signs they’d rather skip the final phases of that work. So, their teams trained them to voluntarily enter and crate, and moved them to a more suitable location for the rest of the grizzly bear construction project. Emmett and Digger continue to receive daily care, enrichment, training and interactions with keepers and staff in their temporary home, and they appear to be enjoying the change of scenery and quiet, away from construction.

Watch for updates here and on our social media channels

DECEMBER 2023: Guests and members will soon get new views of Emmett and Digger, CMZoo’s nearly 19-year-old grizzly bears. When the project is complete, visitors will get different perspectives of the bears from ground level and from an additional guest viewing area. Ongoing improvements to the bears’ habitat – including the recently completed waterfall in their north yard – will also make it better suited to provide homes for potential orphaned cubs in need of human care.

Starting in January, the grizzly bear area in Rocky Mountain Wild will be closed while the Zoo manages these projects. The estimated reopening date is early summer 2024, and teams will be pushing themselves to meet (or beat!) that deadline. Because the vast majority of the work will occur outside of the grizzlies’ habitat, Emmett and Digger will have access to their indoor and outdoor spaces as usual. They will, of course, continue to receive daily care, enrichment, training and interactions with keepers and staff.

“One of the most noticeable changes for our guests will be the removal of the grizzly bear boardwalk,” said Dave Ruhl, CMZoo executive vice president. “We’re decommissioning the elevator and building new pathways that we believe will provide better access for our guests visiting the grizzlies. We have something really fun in mind for the future of the elevator tower.”

The elevator tower will stay in place as a future play feature, with giant tube slides attached to its sides. Guests will be able to take the stairs up, as they can now, but instead of walking to the boardwalk, they can either slide back down or enjoy the view and walk down the stairs.

The current grizzly viewing area, by the grizzlies’ pool, will stay in place. Guests will access it via a paved sidewalk and ramp similar to the sloped sidewalk from African Rift Valley to the main road. A second guest viewing area will be built at the base of the grizzlies’ north yard. The future path to grizzly viewing will start near the end of the Asian Highlands tiger bridge.

Additionally, the grizzlies will get new outdoor overnight spaces, so they can choose to sleep inside or outside. New gates and spaces in separate yards also give the Zoo the opportunity to provide homes for wild orphaned bear cubs in the future. With new access points, keepers could care for Emmett and Digger in one set of spaces and cubs in another.

“We believe these changes are going to improve both guest experiences and animal experiences,” said Ruhl. “There are no current plans to welcome cubs to the Zoo, but unfortunately, wildlife officials need to find homes for orphaned cubs nearly every year. If we can give them a second chance at life by providing a safe home for them, we will.”

CMZoo will provide updates on the grizzlies and the new-and-improved guest areas as progress continues.

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Amur leopard brothers, Basha and Mango, are quickly growing in size and skill. The 9-month-old brothers are about the same size as their parents, Anya and Anadyr, and eagerly participate in fun enrichment and important training sessions.

While there aren’t any current plans for Basha and Mango to leave CMZoo, their care team is working alongside other zoos and partners to develop a program designed to successfully prepare big cats for transportation to a new accredited facility, if and when the need arises. Basha and Mango are helping spearhead that program, which Asian Highlands keepers will share with other zoos for the welfare of all big cats on the move. Basha and Mango currently still spend most of their time with their mother, Anya. As part of this program, they are also starting to explore spaces without her and participating in voluntarily crate training.

Amur leopards are widely known as the rarest big cats on the planet. Only around 100 individuals remain in the wilds of Eastern Russia and China. CMZoo’s four Amur leopards represent four percent of the wild population. Helping Basha and Mango master the skills needed to successfully adapt to a new home in the future will hopefully give them the opportunity to breed and have families of their own, increasing the number of Amur leopards in the world.

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