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.”

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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.

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Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is moving forward with plans to demolish Monkey Pavilion, located centrally near the Zoo’s eateries and historic carousel, starting in November. Monkey Pavilion was built in 1942 and originally housed big cats, such as tigers, leopards and lions. Since then, the building has undergone renovations to support residents including lemurs, monkeys, sloths and more.

Since their inception, zoos have modernized in leaps and bounds. Fostering relationships between our guests and animals is our top priority, supported by our focuses on animal care, conservation and education. The animals’ homes play a vital role in our ability to achieve our goal of helping people fall in love with wildlife and wild places. We understand perception matters. We want to inspire our guests, and have seen that if an enclosure presents too many barriers, our ability to foster those connections is limited.

While the building provided good homes and enriching experiences for the animals that lived there, it falls short of providing an environment that helps our keepers build connections between guests and animals. We see opportunities for better use of the area. The possibilities seem endless, and we are considering every idea. We have not yet made decisions about the future of the space, but will announce them when the time is right.

The building, once considered architecturally beautiful and state-of-the-art, has become a symbol of zoos past, and its design does not reflect who we are today. We acknowledge that Monkey Pavilion is an iconic building at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. Many longtime guests, members and staff have childhood photos by the outdoor exhibits or with the nearby zebra and lioness statues, which will be relocated within the Zoo. Its now-dated design is a nod to the progress Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited modern zoos have made since its construction, and its demolition is further evidence of the importance we place on providing the best possible opportunities for our guests to fall in love with animals, without distracting barriers.

Embracing our past, and learning from it, strengthens our future potential. It highlights how far we’ve come through positive changes across the zoo profession, and it encourages us to keep striving for additional change that will make us even better in the future.

Of course, demolishing this building requires a lot of coordination, and our animals’ best interests are at the heart of our planning, along with ensuring our guests’ experiences aren’t negatively impacted by the building’s removal. Some current Monkey Pavilion residents will move to other spaces at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. For others, we have identified new homes at other AZA-accredited facilities. The building will continue to empty over the next month and a half, with the building closing October 28, 2020.

Demolition is slated to begin in November and is expected to take several months. We will keep you posted as we make progress on this historic update to our Zoo.

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 2020, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo was voted #4 Best Zoo in North America and CMZoo’s Rocky Mountain Wild was named #2 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 233 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.


Biko (BEE-koh), a 17-year-old male Nile hippopotamus who joined us at the end of June, is quickly winning over the hearts of humans and hippos alike. In just a couple of months, he has learned to navigate his new home, met CMZoo’s hippos sisters, Zambezi and Kasai, warmed up to his keepers, and started engaging with guests.

“He was initially pretty cautious around people, because Water’s Edge: Africa was designed to bring guests and animals as close as safely possible, and that was somewhat new for him,” said Al Carrier, keeper at Water’s Edge: Africa. “We’ve been taking our time and making sure he’s comfortable. We make sure he knows he can choose to walk away at any time and that he’s going to get rewards for interacting with people. He’s progressed really quickly, and he’s been coming up to guests in our demo areas and opening his mouth, which is always impressive. He loves to be sprayed in his mouth with a hose. That’s fun because we can get guests involved, too. We’re so proud of him. He’s doing great.”

Biko came to CMZoo on a breeding recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ (AZA) Nile Hippopotamus Species Survival Plan. His genetics are compatible with 27-year-old Zambezi and 20-year-old Kasai, who are sisters. The Water’s Edge animal care team has started introductions, and things are going really well for Biko and Zambezi so far. Right now, they only spend time together when they’re supervised.

“He’s very curious about the girls,” said Carrier. “He’s a perfect gentleman and takes his time walking up to them during introductions. We have seen on our overnight surveillance footage that when they’re separated, he prefers to sleep right up against the fence next to them, and it’s usually Zambezi on the other side.”

Animal introductions, especially with large and potentially territorial animals like hippos, require patience and a lot of observation. The team started the process as most animal introductions start at CMZoo: with a ‘howdy,’ which is an opportunity for the hippos to see, smell and hear each other through a protective fence. Howdies allow keepers and our animal behaviorists to observe the hippos’ responses to each other so they can gauge if and when the animals are ready to take the next step. They also give the hippos time to get used to each other before being in the same space.

Once keepers saw that Biko and the girls were interested and calm during howdies, they moved on to introductions, when the hippos share a space. If the hippos start showing behaviors that they’re uncomfortable, keepers can separate them for their safety.

“We chose Zambezi for Biko’s first introduction, because we saw calm and interested behaviors during howdies, and when Zambezi had the choice to sleep next to Biko or Kasai when they were separated overnight, she would consistently choose Biko, and he did the same,” said Carrier. “The first couple of intros were uneventful, which is good. We start most of their intros outside with one hippo in one yard and one in the other and then we open the gate between them. So we don’t surprise them, we always communicate that the gate is going to open and make sure they can see that the gate is opening and there’s another hippo on the other side. They would usually just look up at the gate and then go back to grazing on the grass. Eating is a great sign they’re relaxed and comfortable and calm.”

The team has been doing most introductions in the morning, for about an hour at a time. Carrier says that ideally you would want one hippo to show dominance and the other would be submissive in response.

“He’s just so great,” she said. “When Zambezi wants to boldly enter the yard, he’s respectful of that and backs down to let her know he sees her and respects her presence.”

Because the sisters were separated for some of their vacation away from CMZoo, while Water’s Edge: Africa was being built, the team is also working on reintroducing the sisters to each other.

“We’ve seen that Zambezi and Kasai still get a little territorial with each other, so we’re taking more time with those introductions,” said Carrier. “The exhibit has plenty of space for each hippo to have its own space. Biko and Zambezi don’t always interact during introductions, but are aware of each other. Sometimes, though, they’ll touch noses calmly, which is really cute. We’re super excited.”

Kasai and Biko don’t yet have the positive relationship that Biko and Zambezi share, and Kasai often shows she’d rather not share her space with Biko or Zambezi. For now, the team plans to continue focusing on fostering the relationship between Zambezi and Biko, and working up to helping Kasai feel comfortable sharing space if she shows them she’s interested.

“We’re not rushing anything and always follow the animals’ leads, so they know they’re in control and can be comfortable with these changes, which are a big adjustment for them” said Carrier. “We’re hopeful that once Biko and Zambezi can consistently spend time together that we can introduce Kasai to both of them at the same time, but that could change too. Kasai can be a big personality, so if Zambezi and Biko are good friends, they may be able to gain her respect as a team.”

Biko is also working on his relationships with his animal care team.

“We were lucky enough to get a really cool video of all of his trained behaviors from his previous keeper team, so we’ve been practicing those things so he’s not only fluent in them, but he’s also getting comfortable with us,” said Carrier. “He opens his mouth, backs up and rests his chin on the bars. He knows a ‘steady’ cue, too. When we put a hand on his nose, he will stand totally still, which allows us to give his body condition a good check. He’s an enthusiastic explorer, as most hippos are, so he’ll get scrapes and scratches here and there, and that lets us keep an eye on all of those little wounds. It’s great for a new animal to trust us like that.”

Biko’s team is learning what motivates him to train, so they can expand on his current skillset.

“He loves grain so much,” said Carrier. “The other day he had a mouth full of apples and I showed him his grain, and he spit all of those apples out to eat his grain instead. It was really funny. We normally use produce for training encouragement, but he prefers the grain. Zambezi likes hay and Kasai likes produce, so they’re all different.”

Biko gets about eight pounds of grain per day and half a bale (about 40 pounds) of hay. He also gets produce, including apples, oranges, carrots, melons, and – his favorites – cabbage and lettuce. Out in the yard, he grazes on as much fresh grass as he wants.

Biko is getting more comfortable in his brand-new space, with his new team of adoring keepers.

“He’s getting bolder every day,” said Carrier. “He’s naturally cautious and likes to investigate a space before settling down. The first thing he does is check the perimeter of any space he’s moving into. He likes to mark his territory. It’s a natural behavior of male hippos to spread their feces, which seems pretty gross, but it’s actually quite impressive the way he can reach every corner of a stall we’ve just cleaned top to bottom. He really likes the single stall with the deep pool, which was where he quarantined for a short time when he first joined us. We recently saw him playing with a ball in there, which we loved to see because it means he’s comfortable enough to let his guard down and have a little fun.”

Guests hoping to spot Biko should look for the more slender hippo with pinkish skin on his belly and front of his neck. Kasai is the largest hippo and has pink spots on her feet. Zambezi’s skin is darker and doesn’t have any pink spots.

“There’s something really special about Biko,” said Carrier. “His tusks hang out of his mouth, which is just adorable. He has really long legs for a hippo. He can reach plants and driftwood in the exhibit that we didn’t think he could reach. His head is huge and with those long legs, his body is pretty narrow, so he can reach those beautiful plants our horticulture team worked so hard on to make this exhibit so beautiful.”

Only 30 of the 233 organizations accredited by the AZA in North America house hippos. The last male hippo who lived at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo was Tony, who passed away in 1989. Although our female hippos first came to CMZoo decades ago, this is the first attempt to breed hippos at the Zoo in more than 30 years.

Guests can visit Biko, Zambezi and Kasai at Water’s Edge, which opened to the public in June and is now home to three hippos, 16 African penguins, two common warthogs, three ring-tailed lemurs, six Eastern crested guineafowl and roughly 30 guinea pigs.

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Join us for breakfast on the beach of Water’s Edge: Africa. Animal keeper, Al, is feeding our flock of 11 African penguins while she tells us about their personalities – and how you can identify each penguin.

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Meet some of the keepers, see some of the animals and learn about some of the cool features of our newest exhibit for hippos and penguins – Water’s Edge: Africa!

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Saturday, May 23, 2020 (COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.) – With Water’s Edge: Africa Construction Issues Resolved, Nile Hippos Return to CMZoo! The sounds of hippo ‘laughs’ are once again echoing from the side of Cheyenne Mountain. Zambezi (zam-BEE-zee) and Kasai (kuh-SIGH), CMZoo’s Nile hippo sisters, are back home at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo!

The two female hippos have been ‘vacationing’ at Dickerson Park Zoo, an Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited zoo in Springfield, Missouri, since October 2016, when construction began on Water’s Edge: Africa. Zambezi, 27, originally came to Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in 1993. Kasai, 20, originally came to CMZoo in 2001. Given their long-time residence and personable demeanors, the girls are well-loved by staff, the community and CMZoo fans all around the world.

“The question of the year has definitely been, ‘When are the hippos coming back?’ We’re just so happy the girls are finally home,” said Patty Wallace, senior lead keeper at Water’s Edge: Africa, the new home for hippos, penguins, warthogs, lemurs and more, at CMZoo. “There were a lot of happy human tears and a lot of wiggling hippo ears on Friday morning, as we watched them explore their new home. It’s so fulfilling to see them enjoying this beautiful space and settling back in. We missed them!”

The hippos’ 750-mile journey home wasn’t your average road trip. Preparing to transport the girls, who each weigh over 3,000 pounds, required months of preparation, skilled staff and transport professionals, and specialized machinery and equipment. Three CMZoo staff members drove to Dickerson Park Zoo to help the hippos transition and bring them home. The team consisted of Wallace; Jeremy Dillon, Water’s Edge: Africa Animal Care Manager; and Dr. Liza Dadone, a veterinarian and the Zoo’s Vice President of Mission and Programs.

“This isn’t their first road trip, but it’s been three and a half years since their last transport, so we don’t make any assumptions about how smoothly things will go,” said Dillon. “Transporting nearly four tons of hippopotamus is risky, no matter how many times you’ve done it. Since they arrived at Dickerson Park Zoo, back in 2016, they’ve been preparing for this trip home – and so have we.”

Making sure Zambezi and Kasai are comfortable and confident during their transport is vital to keeping them from getting too stressed or injuring themselves. The hippos are trained to be comfortable in their crates during a transport, which means they are awake for the entire transfer.

The steel-framed wooden crates were positioned as ‘hallways’ at Dickerson Park Zoo, so the hippos would pass through them daily when they went out into their yard. That meant they became familiar with the space and gained confidence being inside the crates. Through positive reinforcement, the girls became comfortable standing in the crate with only one end open, and eventually standing in their crates with both doors closed.

Thursday afternoon, the girls entered their separate crates, which were crane lifted out of their exhibit space and then lifted by forklift into a climate-controlled 72-foot semi-truck. After 12 hours of highway driving, with stops to check on the girls every two hours, the team arrived at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo around 5 a.m. Friday, May 22. From the Zoo’s public parking lot, the hippos were lifted one at a time, in their crates, by forklift and carried up to their new home.

“The transport really couldn’t have gone any better,” said Dillon. “Watching them come out of their crates, healthy and curious to explore their new home was awesome. I just wish we could share this experience with the public right away.”

Under current restrictions, the Zoo is temporarily closed to the public until further notice. But, when the Zoo is allowed to reopen, guests will be able to see the girls from one-of-a-kind perspectives, like the Water’s Edge: Africa giant rope bridge that hangs 8 feet above the outdoor hippo yard.

“I can’t wait for people to come and see Water’s Edge,” said Grace Vining, animal keeper. “It’s like an educational nature playground for animal lovers.”

Nature play was central to the design of Water’s Edge: Africa, so it features a nature trail with obstacles, like vertical logs to climb on and small boulders to hop, that leads to a huge rope bridge and ends at a platform overlooking the outdoor hippo pools and lemur island.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is known for providing interactive experiences with animals, and guests can expect that same level of engagement with animals at Water’s Edge: Africa. As many barriers between guests and animals have been removed as possible. A knife-edge hippo pool brings guests eye-to-eye with the hippos, as they bounce on a sand bar in their outdoor pool. Hippo lovers might even feel a splash or two, as the hippos make waves that flow over the exhibit’s many waterfalls. Guests are likely to leave the exhibit with wet feet, too, thanks to an ‘ocean surge’ from the outdoor penguin pool that splashes onto guest viewing areas. That surge isn’t the only thing guests will want to look down for – the outdoor penguin area is designed so penguins have the opportunity to walk right up to guests if they want to.

Eleven African penguins arrived at Water’s Edge: Africa at the end of April. Nine more will be joining the flock as soon as possible. In addition to African penguins and Nile hippos, ring-tailed lemurs and common warthogs will make homes at the brand-new exhibit, as well as a few other species.

Only 30 organizations accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums in North America house hippos. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List categorizes Nile hippopotamuses as a species vulnerable to extinction in the wild, estimating 125,000 to 150,000 remain in their native habitats. The primary threats are habitat loss and illegal and unregulated hunting. Hippos are hunted for ivory, which is found in hippopotamuses’ canine teeth, and for food.

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 2019, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo was voted #6 Best Zoo in North America and CMZoo’s Rocky Mountain Wild was named #5 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 233 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.

There’s a magical – but little known to some – place at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo where axolotls, tarantulas, millipedes and more live! Get to know the residents at The Treehouse in My Big Backyard.

We have BIG NEWS on #WorldPenguinDay! Our first five African penguins have arrived! Since our temporary closure, we’ve continued work on Water’s Edge: Africa, our new home for hippos, penguins, warthogs, lemurs and more. We’re happy to report the new exhibit’s first residents are settling in.

In this video, meet CMZoo African penguins Pomona, Safara, Alex, Rudo and Rufaro! You’ll also see a behind-the-scenes sneak peek at their medical checks, their first dip in the indoor pool and their first time taking in the beautiful views from the mountainside. You’re also getting the first public glimpse at the penguin pools in all their leakless glory!

The issues with the hippo pools haven’t been resolved yet, but we’re continuing work on them and will keep you posted on any hippo-sized news. We can’t wait to have you all back to meet the penguins in person!