News Archive

For giraffe, hoof health is vital to overall health. As the zoo profession evolves to further embrace animal husbandry training, and new veterinary technologies allow for better diagnostics, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is working to improve the future of giraffe care. “Horses have been domesticated for thousands of years, and the mantra has been ‘no hoof, . . .

In October and November 2019, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo joined Giraffe Conservation Foundation, Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching School and other worldwide partners to support Uganda Wildlife Authority in establishing a new population of critically endangered Nubian giraffe. CMZoo VP of Mission and Programs, Dr. Liza Dadone, traveled to Uganda to assist with the reintroduction of . . .

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 . . .

When Penny, a reticulated giraffe calf, was born at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo on June 4, 2018, Dr. Liza Dadone, head veterinarian and VP of mission and programs, couldn’t have known that the next few months of care for the sixteen-member giraffe herd would present such complicated cases. Since Penny’s passing late last summer, her legacy has continued both by helping people around the world fall in love with giraffe and by helping advance giraffe medicine in zoos.

July 6 at 1:20 p.m. MDT, we welcomed a baby girl to the herd! Hear from Jason, CMZoo giraffe animal care manager, about how the new calf's first few weeks of life have been, and learn about what's next for Msitu's not-so-little girl.

Mashama, 9-year-old reticulated giraffe, is known for his outgoing personality and energetic presence in the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo giraffe herd. Lately, though, Mashama has been dealing with some foot and leg issues. “We’ve discovered that Mashama has sprained ligaments and a fracture in his right foot,” said Dr. Liza Dadone, CMZoo head veterinarian and VP . . .

The Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) estimates a little more than 600 West African giraffe remain in the wild today. Although that number seems small, it is a sign of successful conservation efforts over the past 30 years. Only 49 wild West African giraffe existed in the mid-1990s, due to illegal hunting, climate change and habitat . . .