Have you noticed the colorful boxes on top of Grizzly Grill? Those are our new bees’ homes! We welcomed three honeybee colonies earlier this month, and they’re hard at work building their hives. Soon, guests will be able to visit an observation colony in The Treehouse in My Big Backyard. Until then, get up-close to our buzzing busy bees in this video, and perhaps learn a few fun facts about our flying friends.
Their majestic shaggy manes. Their oversized ears. Their frequent cuddling. Their bold-but-gentle demeanors. It’s hard to pick a favorite thing about CMZoo’s senior Asiatic black bears, Honey and Beezler. Luckily, we don’t have to.
The two extremely fluffy black bears live just above the pathway between the mountain tapir exhibit and Grizzly Grill. They’re also on the path to the Zoo’s main office building, so a lot of CMZoo staff stop and say hello to the ladies daily. It may not be obvious to all who visit the bears, but they’re a rare sight to appreciate. Asiatic black bears are only visible in five zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).
“They’re a couple of my favorite animals at the whole Zoo,” said Erika Furnes, Rocky Mountain Wild animal keeper who has worked with them for four years. “There’s just something about them that makes us all fall in love with them, but it’s hard to say specifically what it is. It’s probably a combination of their adorable appearances, gentle natures and pure old-lady sass.”
Honey and Beezler, sisters, will turn 29 years old in January 2022. They’re the oldest documented Asiatic black bears in human care, and will reach the AZA’s median life expectancy for the species on their next birthday. There’s no denying that these two are slowing down, but they have mastered the art of gracefully embracing their golden years.
“The first thing most people notice is their intense stares,” said Furnes. “They often sit on the very edge of their rocky ledge and watch our guests. They watch us keepers, too, and they seem to recognize us. They know we’re usually here with some fun enrichment or training rewards.”
Recently, the keepers gave them cornstalks as enrichment. Although they were given multiple stalks to share, Honey and Beezler set their sights on the same prized piece. After tug-of-war and a little sibling bickering, the two cuddled up for a nap.
These bears are lifelong scholars. When keepers train with the bears from behind a protective barrier, Honey and Beezler are excited to participate. They’re currently working on husbandry behaviors that allow their care team to monitor for age-related issues, including blood draw training and paw and mouth presentations. Down the line, if they’re showing signs that they’re not feeling well, the blood draw training will be a learned behavior that allows our veterinary team to diagnose them without adding stress to the bears. They’re equally interested in training, and they’re well rewarded for their efforts.
They like veggies and fruit – even jackfruit, which is turned down by nearly every other animal at the Zoo. They like yogurt as a special treat, and grape jelly – specifically grape flavored jelly – is their favorite. They get an omnivore chow to provide the protein they need in their diet. Their keepers have offered them fish, but they turned up their noses at it. They preferred to smash the fish to pieces and rub the fish pieces all over their luxurious fur. Call it a unique perfume.
“They nap a lot, but in between sleeps, they’re pretty active for their age,” said Furnes. “We set their exhibit up with lots of activities that encourage them to stay active. They like to cool off and play with logs in their pool in the summer months, and that’s good exercise. Their habitat has multiple levels, so just by encouraging them to explore different areas, they’re getting chances to stretch and strengthen.”
They sometimes climb the trees in their exhibit to reach a tasty snack, dig in the various substrates available to them, or forage in leaf piles their keepers spread throughout their two-yard exhibit.
Sleep is equally as important as adventure, though. The ladies can often be found lying together in a sunny spot on their rocks, or cuddling in a comfy hay pile in their den. Honey also likes to lounge in their hammock. Honey is the more laid back bear, enjoying many afternoons in the hammock and preferring to have her enrichment delivered to her. Beezler seems to like the challenge of harder-to-reach enrichment, and is usually the first to explore a new activity.
Both bears have the distinctive Asiatic black bear marking that gives them the name Moon Bears: a white crescent moon shape in the long fur on their chests. The species is small for a bear. They each weigh around 300 pounds, which is petite compared to 700-pound CMZoo grizzly bears, Emmett and Digger. You can tell the sisters apart by looking for the details. Beezler has a bigger white spot under her chin and has brown claws. Honey’s claws are longer and lighter.
As Honey and Beezler continue to age, their care team will monitor them closely for advancing arthritis, which they receive pain and anti-inflammatory medications to cope with for now. Next time you’re at CMZoo, take a walk up to visit these rare bears, and see if you can tell who’s who.
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has earned an incredibly rare clean report of inspection and its seventh consecutive five-year accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). In nearly 50 years of accreditations, CMZoo is only the fourth organization to earn a ‘clean’ report, which means there wasn’t a single major or minor concern reported.
Today, Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers joined Cheyenne Mountain Zoo President and CEO, Bob Chastain, to recognize the Zoo’s staff. Watch highlights from the recognition, here:
“The Greek philosopher, Aristotle, said, ‘We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit,’” said Dan Ashe, AZA president and CEO. “Congratulations to the entire team at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. AZA accreditation is the world’s most rigorous and comprehensive standard for a modern zoo or aquarium. Achieving a completely clean accreditation inspection is extremely rare and reflects a constant commitment and dedication to excellence.”
In the zoo and aquarium profession, the AZA accreditation is considered the gold standard. There are approximately 2,800 animal exhibitors licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), but only 242 are accredited by the AZA.
To maintain accreditation with the AZA, organizations must apply and be inspected every five years. CMZoo has been consistently accredited since 1983. The accreditation process includes a lengthy application and a multi-day on-site inspection by the Accreditation Commission, a team of accomplished zoo and aquarium professionals. The Accreditation Commission inspected 342 standards during their on-site review of the Zoo.
“This is one of those milestones that people outside of the Zoo profession may not realize is a huge deal,” said Bob Chastain, CMZoo president and CEO. “Our organization is led by a series of guiding sentiments, which we call our ‘We Believe’ statements. We believe our animals deserve the best home we can provide. We believe we can make the world a better place, and that the work we do and the way we treat people matters. We believe in holding ourselves to standards that put us above reproach. We believe people are the key to the future of wildlife and wild places. We believe every guest’s experience, from gate to gate, is crucial to our success. This accreditation wasn’t earned overnight. Six previous AZA accreditations and our dedicated staff have led us to this really amazing achievement.
“Another of our ‘We Believe’ statements is, ‘We value laughter as good medicine,’” said Chastain. “To put this clean accreditation into perspective, when I asked Dan Ashe, AZA president and CEO, for his comments about how rare this is, he joked, ‘A completely clean inspection report is so unusual, and so unlikely, it brings one word to mind — bribery!’ All kidding aside, this is rare, and we are so proud to achieve this high level of accreditation that has set a new standard of excellence for us.”
During accreditation inspections and through continuous monitoring between inspections, AZA’s rigorous, scientifically based and publicly-available standards examine the zoo or aquarium’s entire operation, including animal welfare, veterinary care, conservation, education, guest services, physical facilities, safety, staffing, finance, master and strategic planning, and governing body.
“Receiving a clean accreditation report is extremely rare, and it’s something Cheyenne Mountain Zoo staff, members and guests should take great pride in,” said Denny Lewis, AZA senior vice president of Accreditation Programs. “For nearly 25 years, I have been a part of the process to inspect about 250 zoos and aquariums in five-year rotations, and a clean report is very impressive – a rare gem. AZA first began accrediting zoos and aquariums in 1974. Since then, this is only the fourth completely clean inspection. It speaks to the high level of animal care and welfare, conservation programming, education and guest experiences that Cheyenne Mountain Zoo consistently provides.”
About Association of Zoos and Aquariums
Founded in 1924, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of zoos and aquariums in the areas of conservation, animal welfare, education, science, and recreation. AZA is the accrediting body for the top zoos and aquariums in the United States and 12 other countries. Look for the AZA accreditation logo whenever you visit a zoo or aquarium as your assurance that you are supporting a facility dedicated to providing excellent care for animals, a great experience for you, and a better future for all living things. The AZA is a leader in saving species and your link to helping animals all over the world. To learn more, visit www.aza.org.
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.
Do you know our two emus, Dora and Damian? These two ‘really big birds’ live in Australia Walkabout, near the wallaby yard. Join Australia Walkabout Keeper, Bruce, to learn about the unique personalities, backgrounds and features of these flightless feathered friends, then watch the two enjoy a summertime cooldown in a nice mud wallow.
Animals age in many different ways. Some get to their golden years sooner than you might think, while others take a surprisingly long time to achieve that status. The Loft and My Big Backyard, at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, are home to a few furry (and scaly!) friends that have recently entered the golden years of life.
Striped skunk brothers, Fred and George, recently turned seven years old! That might not sound like an old age, but skunks in the wild live three-to-five years, on average. In human care, a 10-year-old skunk would be very old. Fred and George are still as mischievous as ever, but we have noticed that they have started to slow down a bit and prefer to spend more time napping than running around.
Virginia opossum, Hutch, is three years old, but in opossum terms he has reached the geriatric stage. Opossums tend to live three-to-four years in human care, and two-to-three years in the wild. You might see Hutch frequently sleeping while on exhibit, and this is because opossums are nocturnal and are more active at night. For now, Hutch is still participating in lots of training, encounters, and going for walkabouts around the Zoo. Though we know he’s starting to age, and keepers are monitoring him accordingly, he is still showing his care team he’s enriched and comfortable.
American beaver, Ginger, just celebrated her twelfth birthday!! This means she is a little over a year older than the median life expectancy for beavers. Ginger is also nocturnal and spends most of her day napping, but she usually wakes up in the late afternoon for a swim, some snacks and the occasional walkabout. She has some arthritis, which gives her a little wobble in her walk, but we monitor her closely and give her regular medicine and treatments to help her deal with her aches and pains.
Blue-tongued skink, Daryl, is 22 years old. Many blue-tongued skinks live into their twenties in human care, so Daryl has officially entered his golden years. Skinks are easy to recognize with long, wide bodies, and short stubby legs. Due to this body type, they are not particularly fast animals, and Darryl is no exception to that. He often spends his days napping and waking up to grab a couple bites of food, before enjoying another nap. Daryl receives nutritional supplements in his diet, but hasn’t shown keepers he needs additional medications or treatments at this point.
All of these animals are part of CMZoo’s animal ambassador team, which means they go on ZOOMobile programs, do meet-and-greets, and participate in special hands-on encounters for many different education programs, at the Zoo and off-site.
As they get older, they may start to show signs that they are no longer interested in these programs. Their keepers track their behaviors and any physical signs of discomfort, and when that data reveals trends that need to be addressed, their roles may change. They also receive medications, like anti-inflammatory and pain medications, when needed, and treatments like laser therapy, which helps them have a good quality of life, despite aging joints and other age-related ailments. When their care team sees that they’re ready to retire from programming, their schedules focus more on enrichment and care at the Zoo.
You can visit our ‘golden gang’ in The Loft and My Big Backyard at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, where they’ll continue training, receiving care, and getting all the naps, snacks and scratches from keepers they want.
Know who loves a snow day? Yazhi, Twinkie, Albert and Lena — our Rocky Mountain goats! Check in with CMZoo’s four fluffy friends and learn how to tell them apart, how they like to spend their days, and how their adaptations make them perfect for winters in the mountains!
Over the next several months, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo plans to get thoughtful input from the community on the short- and long-term future of the Zoo. We plan to pose various questions and surveys to you, our valued guests and neighbors, to help us identify big ideas that could make your experience at the Zoo even more unique and special.
Our first question has to do with the future of the Monkey Pavilion space. The building will be demolished within the next few months, and after that, we plan to use it as a multipurpose space, featuring 1) some unique adventure/experience/play space, 2) covered outdoor seating, and 3) smaller, more intimate animal exhibits. We’re looking for short-term ideas that could be installed by this summer, and long-term ideas that would be installed in the next two to three years.
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
We want to see photos of the most unique interactive experiences you and your family have seen. These can be any adventure or play activities, ideally for both adults and kids.
These experiences can fall in several categories:
- non-structured play,
- nature play,
- “country life” play, etc.
We are looking to go way beyond swing sets and slides!
– Please submit your photos and a short description of the experience to [email protected]
– We may reply to your email if we want to find out more about the experience.
– Please send your photos ASAP! Our President & CEO, Bob Chastain, will personally review all submissions on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021.
Check in with our three Hoffmann’s two-toed sloths, Bean, Chalupa and Bosco, as they settle into their new homes at CMZoo. Bean, who was born at CMZoo in 2019, is gaining independence just as Bean would in the wild at this age. Bean recently moved into The Loft, where keepers created a ropes course for the young sloth to explore, right above guest areas.
Chalupa and Bosco, both longtime CMZoo residents, moved together into the atrium in Scutes Family Gallery. Check out their lush-and-sunny new location and hear how their keeper team is preparing them for encounters, once we can offer them again.
Because El Paso County, where CMZoo is located, is moving to “Safer at Home – Severe Risk” or “Level Red” COVID-19 restrictions, indoor buildings at CMZoo will be closed to the public starting Saturday, Nov. 28. We’ll keep the sloths company while guests can’t visit, and will continue bringing updates from indoor exhibits. We know guests will be missing them during this time, so we’ll work hard to keep you connected.
Although admissions to the Zoo might slow down in the winter, behind the scenes, our team is constantly working to provide enriching habitats that support our animals’ natural behaviors and needs.
Frank Haas, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo landscape architect and planner, often leads projects that enrich our animals’ lives, but which many Zoo goers may not recognize right away. These projects deserve a little limelight, though.
In mid-November, two of these lesser-known projects were completed: new trees for the Colobus monkeys and African lions.
Logistics included finding the right species of tree, getting permits for transporting trees, unweaving the mesh enclosures, removing the former trees, pouring concrete piers for the new trees, rerouting guest traffic around the 110-ton crane that lifted the trees into the exhibits, and more. All told, the project took several months to coordinate and four days to execute.
“It’s a lot of planning and work for what you see, but that’s what it takes to do it right and most efficiently the first time,” said Haas. “Our top priority is always safety. Sometimes that means having to detour guests. It also means communicating with animal keepers to prepare their animals for the changes. We’re committed to giving our animals the best homes we can.”
CMZoo’s five African lions, Abuto, Lomela, Elsa, Boma and Aslan, and four Colobus monkeys, Tisa, Rudi, Sudi and Dezi, are well prepared for potential interruptions to their daily lives, like this. The animals train to respond to a recall behavior, where the keepers ask them to come to their indoor spaces for a variety of reasons, like weather, routine veterinary care, training, or exhibit maintenance.
“While the animals are inside, we spend lots of time with them to keep them calm and engaged,” said Michelle Salido, lead keeper in African Rift Valley. “We did lots of training and monitored them to be sure the activity outside wasn’t causing them stress.”
Rudi, Sudi, Dezi and Tisa seemed to be curious about the activity outside their windows while people worked in their outdoor space.
“They could see through their doors to the outside yard and they were really interested in what was going on,” said Brooke Powell, African Rift Valley keeper who works with the Colobus monkeys. “They kept looking at the workers and looking back at us, but they were calm. We were really proud of the way they handled it.”
In addition to the three new trees, crews installed new horizontal pieces that connect the trees. With incredibly strong back legs, Colobus monkeys do a lot of jumping, rather than swinging, like some primates. They can make huge leaps up to 50 feet. They like to jump quickly from tree to tree, so the horizontal pieces allow them to move even more freely than before.
“It’s a huge benefit to their welfare because they like to stay up high and move around quickly,” said Powell. “The new trees and horizontal connectors are amazing. They love it! When they first saw it and realized this new setup was safe for them to explore, all four of them went all over the trees. They’re going to have lots of fun with this new setup.”
The African lions, who have several indoor spaces and an off-exhibit outdoor space, also stayed out of their main yard while their trees were upgraded. The lion keepers say they seemed really excited to explore the new trees.
“It’s always impressive to see how observant they are,” said Jason Bredahl, animal care manager in African Rift Valley. “They spent lots of time smelling the new trees. Then, we all got a big kick out of watching them using the trees like giant cat scratching posts and to rub their faces on them. The African lion keepers will be able to use the new trees to provide even more enrichment and training opportunities that allow our lions to engage in their natural behaviors while they explore and investigate. It’s great to see projects like this come to life, and to see how much our animals enjoy the outcome.”
International African Penguin Awareness Day is October 10, and the African penguin keepers at Water’s Edge: Africa have a special social media celebration in the works. On our Facebook and YouTube channels, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo will share a video about our flock of 16 African penguins, who serve as animal ambassadors for their wild counterparts.
“Our flock does an incredible job helping our guests form lasting connections with them and their species,” said Mandy Hester, keeper in Water’s Edge. “The exhibit really sets them up by removing as many physical barriers as possible.”
The flock is getting even more confident sharing space with our guests. Penguin beach, at Water’s Edge, is designed so penguins can walk right up to guests. Hester says the best way for guests to get that experience is to be in the right place at the right time, and to remember that penguins investigate things with their beaks – since they don’t have hands to feel things with.
“We’re encouraging guests to let the penguins approach them instead of approaching the penguins, and to avoid kneeling down – as tempting as that is to get face-to-face,” said Hester. “The penguins like shiny things and anything they can feel with their beaks, so keepers on the beach will sometimes give toys to guests that they can offer to the penguins. It’s been really fun watching these little guys make our guests fall in love with them.”
When guests enter penguin beach while the penguins are outside, a keeper is present to help guests learn how to best interact with them. Making sure penguins have space and have the opportunity to approach guests, we’ve seen that they most often will.
“When they waddle down on the path together, they’re so funny and curious,” said Hester. “If there’s a moth or something flying around, they’ll get really interested in that and follow it around for a while and then they lose interest and move on to something else.”
Keepers provide all kinds of enrichment to keep them stimulated, like wind chimes that shimmer. One guest that bought a bubble maker in our gift shop was playing with it on the path and the penguins loved it, so keepers bought some bubbles for them. That’s another favorite form of enrichment for the flock.
The penguins also like to investigate what treasures guests might have. They like to dig around in the underneath cargo areas of strollers if guests are comfortable with that and there’s nothing dangerous for them.
“Things that babies like, penguins like,” said Hester. “A stroller or diaper bag is a treasure trove. The guests who have interacted with them on penguin beach have formed those meaningful relationships with our penguins that we work so hard to foster. We’ve also seen them standing in line to the limited-capacity indoor penguin building with guests, which is just adorable.”
As well as bonding with guests and their keepers, they’re bonding with each other.
“We have a couple of breeding recommendations in our flock,” said Hester. “One is a pair that most recently joined the flock, but have successfully had chicks before. Ichaboe [ick’-a-boh], a 15-year-old male is one of my favorites. He’s huge. He was the largest chick on record when he was born at his previous facility. When penguins first arrive at CMZoo, they have to earn the respect of the flock. The flock members would try to push him into the pool, but he is so big and solid, he’d just stand there and they couldn’t move him. His mate is Spheniscus [sphah-nesk-us], a 14-year-old female. They’re both really confident. They are already bonded, so we have high hopes for them bringing another chick to the world.”
African penguins are endangered, so zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums work to maintain the species’ viability through a Species Survival Plan, which matches penguins to breed based on genetics. That doesn’t always mean the individuals – whether they’re recommended to breed or not – are always interested in their selected mates.
“Captain is recommended with Percy, Pearl or Roxy, but he’s bonded with Darby,” said Hester. “Biggs and Roxy were bonded and lived together before moving here, but they are not recommended for breeding. While Roxy was back in Toledo, finishing her yearly molt, Biggs came to CMZoo and bonded with Percy, but they are not recommended either. When Roxy arrived, Biggs and she bonded again, but Biggs was already bonding with Percy, so we saw Biggs spending time in both Percy and Roxy’s nest boxes. Then Biggs picked Percy, and Roxy bonded with Rico. Rico used to be bonded with Napoleon, but they lost interest in each other and now Napoleon likes Pearl, but Pearl doesn’t seem to feel the same way. Rufaro, who came with his parents, Safara and Alex, and his brother, Rudo, has bonded with Pamona, who came by herself. We track all of this, but don’t expect everyone to keep up. It’s like a reality TV show.”
There are no scheduled times that the penguins explore the areas they can share with guests, so it’s a special experience that occurs several times a day. Next time you’re at CMZoo, swing by and say hello to our penguin flock at Water’s Edge: Africa.