November 2024
Dear Friend,
There is something magical about working at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. It’s some combination of the beautiful mountainside, the incredible animals in our care, and the passionate people who make it all happen. Each year as I reflect over the past twelve months, I am so grateful to remember the little bits of magic that happened. One of those bits of magic is named Cora; she’s a one-year-old female red panda who arrived in July and immediately stole the hearts of our members, guests, and staff.
It’s been more than 20 years since a red panda has called CMZoo home and we almost forgot what we’d been missing. Cora, who was not visible to the public at her old zoo, came to us a bit timid. However, since she’s been in her new home, she has blossomed into a confident, adventurous animal who charms everyone who sees her. With red panda populations decreasing throughout their home range in the East Himalayas, we’re hopeful that all who see Cora will care about the future of her wild counterparts.
Speaking of caring about animals in the wild, 2024 was an incredible year for conservation at CMZoo. You may remember that we hit the $5,000,000 mark for our Quarters for Conservation program, meaning that our members and guests have helped us to do an incredible amount of direct conservation work around the world. Projects include helping save elephants and rhinos in Africa by funding anti-poaching ranger operations, helping to prevent orangutan habitat loss in Indonesia and Malaysia through anti-deforestation efforts, and even breeding Wyoming toads and black-footed ferrets right here at the Zoo to be released into their native habitats. In fact, this year was our most successful breeding season in the history of our ferret-breeding program, with 37 kits born!
This year has also brought some exciting new family members to CMZoo. Our Patagonian maras, Poa and Briza, have become stars in My Big Backyard, where guests are delighted to see these unique creatures who are related to capybaras. We’ve also added three very active raccoon brothers, Benton, Baldwin, and Baker, to our Rocky Mountain Wild exhibit, where they play, climb, and explore their exhibit next to the newly-expanded grizzly bear exhibit. In addition to CMZoo transplants, we’ve also welcomed baby meerkats, red river hog, Rocky Mountain goats, wallabies, skunks, and more.
When it comes to people, more than 72,000 have participated in our EdVenture programs, participating in everything from camps to Zoomobile programs, to Outdoor School and teen programs!
I could go on and on about the magic that Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has seen in the past year. But, as a CMZoo supporter, you already know why this place is magical to you. It may be seeing a child in your life feed a giraffe for the first time, creating memories with friends or family, or just enjoying nature and animals up-close. No matter what makes up your “CMZoo magic,” we’re so glad that you are part of our Cheyenne Mountain Zoo family. With your support, we’re able to continue making magic, year after year.
I hope you’ll consider continuing your support with a year-end gift to CMZoo. Every gift, of any size, makes a difference.
Warmly,
Tracey Gazibara
Executive Vice President
For more information
Please contact Kelley Parker, Director of Development at [email protected] or 719-424-7810.