At 9 years old, our golden dairy girls – Cotija, Asiago, Queso, Mozzarella, Colby, Muenster, Ricotta and Brie – are enjoying their golden years to the fullest! These goats spend their days sunbathing, training, climbing, playing, going on walkabouts and meeting guests. Visitors can feed the goats for $1 per feeding, depending on weather, or interact with them through goat encounters, where they can pet and brush the goats.
If you’ve tasted goat cheese, it was probably made from milk from a goat like one of ours! Nubian and Nubian-Saanen goats are among the most common dairy goat breeds found on farms worldwide. Our goats originally came from a local cheese farm, inspiring their cheesy names.
Stop by and share some moments with these gouda girls!
Have you ever wondered how CMZoo’s magical moose became part of the family? Four-year-old Alaska moose, Atka, came to the Zoo in 2020 after his mother was unfortunately involved in a fatal human-wildlife conflict. At six days old, Alaska Zoo began caring for him, then he came to CMZoo at eight weeks old. Having been bottle fed by his care teams, Atka was unfortunately not a candidate for wild re-entry.
Since then, Atka has captured the hearts of millions as an inspiring story of determination. He has also blazed a trail for moose care, as one of the only moose in Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited human care in the U.S.
Emmett and Digger, two 20-year-old grizzly bears, have called Cheyenne Mountain Zoo home since 2007. Sometimes people wonder how they got here. Although they’re the same age, they’re not related, but they share similar backstories, and have been together since 2006.
In the wild, they were labeled as nuisance bears after several negative interactions with humans prior to being removed from the wild. Often, nuisance bears aren’t as lucky as these two, and once they receive several ‘strikes,’ they are often killed or relocated. Emmett and Digger were given a second chance, and a safe and enriching life, at CMZoo.
Now, Emmett and Digger spend their days exploring, training, playing and showing guests just how incredible grizzlies are – far from the temptations that got them into trouble in the wild. While grizzly bears don’t live in Colorado, black bears roam many urban and wild spaces here. With impressive senses of smell and problem-solving abilities, they need our help to stay wild. Do your part by securing trash, bringing in bird feeders at night and storing food in bear-safe locations, both at home and out in nature. It’s up to us to help bears resist the temptation of an easy meal in an unsafe situation.
A group of ferrets is called a business! Our business is made up of Alfred, Tsunami, Cyclone, Avalanche and Blizzard! These playful, social animals thrive in small groups. A mix of ages helps the group maintain strong bonds as it evolves. Alfred, at 6, and Tsunami, almost 5, are the oldest, while Cyclone, Blizzard, and Avalanche are 3-year-old females. Though there’s no real hierarchy, Cyclone and Avalanche often lead playtime. Unlike their solitary black-footed ferret cousins, domestic ferrets have been bred for social traits, making them more interactive with humans and each other. Stop by The Loft at CMZoo to see them playing, snuggling and training together!
Get to know the newest little star in Scutes Family Gallery! Born on December 18, Aysan’s baby sloth is already capturing hearts. This sweet baby has been spending quality time bonding with mom in Scutes Family Gallery, where guests can now catch a glimpse of the cuddly duo as they share precious moments together.
Construction in admissions plaza, African Rift Valley and the historic road through the Zoo are well underway. Join Cheyenne Mountain Zoo President & CEO, Bob Chastain, for a first look at our ambitious vision for the future.
Constructing a state-of-the-art giraffe habitat and care center with beautiful and functional guest spaces – including a gift shop, café and admissions plaza – on the side of a mountain is no easy feat. Join us for behind-the-scenes looks as the construction team makes progress, shares innovations and overcomes obstacles in a video series called, Bob’s Blueprints: Building a World-Class Zoo.
The Zoo will continue to share major construction updates in The Waterhole newsletter and on social channels. Bob’s Blueprints video series focuses on even more specific construction tactics and challenges, as well as up-close looks at animal improvements and guest experience features. If you want to ‘get in the weeds’ of construction with us, sign up to receive exclusive details not shared in our newsletter or on social media via email at cmzoo.org/BobsBlueprints.
Pack your patience next time you visit the Zoo and lean in to embrace the adventure of this historic chapter for the Zoo. We’re committed to giving guests access to all animals they would see on a normal visit during construction. Guests will still be able to visit African lions, feed giraffe and see some of the smaller animals in African Rift Valley. As construction shifts locations, routes to animals will change. Look out for directions on signs, and please ask for help when you visit.
CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN ZOO WELCOMES SLOTH BABY – Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is thrilled to announce the arrival of a New Year’s baby: a Hoffmann’s two-toed sloth. Some call sloth babies ‘pups,’ ‘infants,’ or even ‘slow-bies.’ Everyone can agree to calling this wee one ‘adorable.’ With its dark brown eyes and a perfect pinkish-brown furless face, its cuteness is out of this world.
The baby, born on Dec. 18, seems strong, and has been learning to traverse Mom’s tummy. While its mom, Aysan, hangs upside down, her baby sprawls right-side-up on her belly, with its four long limbs wrapped around her torso.
“I love the way it lifts its head out of her chest fur and slowly looks around, just kind of taking it all in,” Amber Callen-Ward, lead keeper in Scutes Family Gallery, says. “Aysan has been a great first-time mom, grooming the baby by licking its face, which is so sweet. She and the baby have been bonding well. The baby is nursing, clinging to her and taking little bites of solid foods we offer.”
The two-week-old sloth is already trying pieces of plantain, romaine lettuce, zucchini and cucumber, but gets its main source of nutrients from nursing.
9-year-old Aysan’s care team knew she was pregnant. Thanks to their trusting relationship with Aysan, and Aysan’s voluntary participation in her own health care, they had been monitoring the baby’s development via ultrasounds and x-rays for the past few months.
Aysan moved to CMZoo on a breeding recommendation by the Hoffmann’s Two-Toed Sloth Species Survival Plan, with Bosco, the Zoo’s long-time male sloth, in June 2023. Sloth gestation typically lasts 11 to 12 months, so some things can happen quickly for sloths!
Bosco, a 32-year-old male Hoffmann’s two-toed sloth, became a second-time dad with this baby’s arrival. His first daughter, 5-year-old Bean, lives in The Loft at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. Bean and Bosco are visible to guests who might need to process this baby excitement with a sloth visit right away.
While mom and baby bond for the first month or so, they’ll be behind the scenes in Scutes Family Gallery. Once they are visible to guests, CMZoo will share that news. The baby’s sex has not been identified, and there are no plans for a name yet. Stay tuned to Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s social media channels for sloth pup-dates!
Quarters for Conservation Legacy Project: Palm Oil Conservation
The Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) recognized Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s collaborative palm oil conservation work at the RSPO annual conference in Bangkok last month. PalmOil Scan, a global mobile app that empowers consumers to choose companies that commit to using sustainable palm oil, won the RSPO Innovation Award.
The award acknowledges the work of World Association of Zoos and Aquariums and its members, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Chester Zoo, Auckland Zoo and Zoos South Australia, in developing the PalmOil Scan app.
PalmOil Scan is available in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. Learn more at cmzoo.org/palmoil and download the free mobile app before your next shopping trip in the Apple Store or Google Play.
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, 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 palm trees 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.
CMZoo has been a leader in sustainable palm oil advocacy for nearly 15 years. The Zoo launched a similar mobile app for consumers in the U.S. and Canada in 2014. More than 160,000 verified users have educated themselves by using CMZoo’s app. Its design, database and user experience served as the foundation for the design of PalmOil Scan, which has the potential to reach millions more people around the world.
Through Quarters for Conservation (Q4C), 75¢ from every admission and $25,000 from membership revenue, totaling more than $5 million since 2008, funds legacy programs – symbolized by the Q4C kiosks, where guests can place tokens representing their 75-cent contributions, in CMZoo’s admissions plaza. One long-time legacy conservation effort is palm oil education and advocacy for orangutan habitat preservation.
Winter at the Zoo is a magical experience! Bundle up and enjoy the mountain views with a cup of steaming hot cocoa in hand. Many animals are extra active on snowy days, while others have cozy indoor habitats. Almost all of the animals are visible to guests, even on the coldest days!
When you’re ready to warm up, head indoors for giraffe and budgie feedings, a visit with our hippos, great apes, sloths, skunks and more, or grab a snack in one of the eateries around the Zoo. Don’t miss the daily animal demonstrations schedule. Keeper talks and demonstrations are great ways to see animals up-close and learn a thing or two about them from our knowledgeable staff.
Visiting in the winter means you can experience the entire Zoo with fewer crowds and save some money while you’re at it! Take advantage of Value Days at the Zoo, happening now through February, and save $5 on daytime admission. Tickets are available at cmzoo.org.
During the cooler months, African penguins mostly focus on nesting and eating. As daylight hours decrease, they naturally pair up and settle in for snuggle season. While penguins don’t technically mate for life, they are monogamous and typically stay with the same partner during breeding season.
The sixteen ‘flockstars’ at CMZoo have been together since Water’s Edge: Africa opened in 2020 (and some were together before that). Most seem to have settled into their pairings or friendships. Bonded pairs can be identified by the color and placement of their bands. Females wear a band on the left flipper, and males wear them on the right. If you see two penguins with the same color bands, they’re bonded, which means they nest together. Twelve of the CMZoo African penguins are bonded, while the remaining four regularly hang out together but are not actively nesting with another penguin.
African penguins were recently relisted from ‘endangered’ to ‘critically endangered’ by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. The number of wild breeding pairs has fallen below 10,000, and African penguins could be extinct in the wild by 2035. But, there is hope.
Every visit to CMZoo is conservation in action. Through membership dues and admissions, CMZoo guests and members have sent $159,675 to SANCCOB (Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds), in support of African penguin conservation, since 2010.
Wild African penguin populations face many threats that continue to cause them to struggle in the wild, including:
— commercial overfishing – reducing the availability of prey species like sardines and anchovies
— habitat degradation – oil spills and plastic waste affects many marine species, including African penguins
— disease outbreaks – such as bird flu can compromise an already vulnerable species
In 2020, CMZoo joined AZA SAFE African Penguin. SAFE (Saving Animals From Extinction) is a collaborative conservation effort supported by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and their accredited members. Under this commitment, the Zoo sends $3,000 annually to SANCCOB in support of their Robben Island Ranger project. This ranger closely monitors the Robben Island penguin colony in South Africa, helping researchers keep track of the penguin population. The ranger also plays an important role in the direct care of penguins, and other seabirds, by identifying and transporting birds in need of medical attention to the SANCCOB rescue and rehab facility for treatment and eventual re-release.
Be sure to stop by Water’s Edge: Africa and see the flock during your next trip to CMZoo!
