Don’t Be E-Wasteful! Recycle Your Old Electronics.

Don’t be e-wasteful! Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and Blue Star Recyclers are hosting an Electronics Recycling Event at the Zoo on Saturday, Feb. 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

You’re in the habit of recycling glass, plastic, paper and cardboard. Why not take the next step and recycle your e-waste? Electronic waste can be classified as anything with a cord or that can be plugged in. Computers, keyboards, printers/fax machines, bread makers, audio/visual equipment, cameras, cell phones…when discarded, these items are considered e-waste. Maybe you just tossed them in the trash in the past, but now it’s more important than ever that you don’t! Here’s why: 

• After a new law goes into effect July 1, 2013, Colorado residents will no longer be able to place the following electronics in the trash for disposal: computers, monitors, DVD players, laptops, notebooks, tablets, printers/fax machines, VCRs, televisions, devices with a cathode ray tube and flat panel screens larger than 4 inches. 
• The nation now dumps between 300 million and 400 million electronic items per year, and less than 20% of that e-waste is recycled.
• E-waste represents 2% of America's trash in landfills, but it equals 70% of overall toxic waste. 
• Only 15% of the population recycles their computers, which means the other 85% ends up in landfills.
• E-waste is the largest source of lead in solid waste.
• E‐waste is still the fastest growing municipal waste stream in the US.
• Animal habitats are being drastically affected by the lack of e-waste recycling.
• Approximately 50 million cell phones alone are replaced worldwide each month, only 10% of those are recycled. The production of cell phones directly impacts gorillas. Columbite-tantalite (coltan) is a crucial metal needed for cell phone manufacturing, but the extraction of this metal is devastating to gorilla habitat.

Be part of the solution by taking these steps!

1. This Saturday, Feb. 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. bring your old unused electronics to our annual E-Waste Recycling event. Items will be collected in the parking lot at the Zoo. Most recyclables will be taken free of charge. More complicated and toxic products like televisions, computer monitors, printers, florescent light bulbs and alkaline batteries will be taken for a small fee. Fees range from $5 for printers/fax machines to $25 for televisions over 25”. For a full list of free items, fee items or for more information, visit http://cmzoo.org/docs/E-WasteRecyclingEvent2013.pdf.
   
   
2. The Zoo collects and recycles cell phones, batteries and ink cartridges every day of the year. Bring your recyclable items to a Zoo admission booth between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. daily.  The collected items are shipped to companies that recycle them, and in turn contribute funds to our animal conservation programs.
   
   
3. Share this information with your friends, co-workers and family. If we recycled just one million cell phones, it would reduce greenhouse gas emissions equal to taking 1,368 cars off the road for a year.

Sources – Wikipedia.org & dosomething.org

Up-close with Ouray and Montana!

Picture the last movie you saw that featured a bald eagle. It swoops effortlessly through the air, opens its mouth and you hear a majestic call. You’ve been fooled. The call you’ve heard a thousand times in movies is a red tailed hawk. An actual bald eagle call is loud and ear piercing, but it’s very different than what you think. Ouray, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s female bald eagle, will set you straight in the video below. 

Located in the Zoo’s Rocky Mountain Wild exhibit, our bald eagles’ habitat is just beyond the grizzly bear viewing area. The exhibit was designed so you can view multiple animals at once – eagles, grizzlies and trout.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has two bald eagles, Ouray and her mate, Montana. They were brought to our Zoo after severe wing injuries required partial wing amputations. The surgeries left them unable to fly, so they would never survive in the wild. Instead of room to soar, their exhibit is full of trees and perches they can jump between them. Their habitat also includes a water tub they like to bathe in and a large covered nest box to keep them warm on snowy days.

They aren’t the only bald eagles living in Colorado during the winter! Colorado is a popular wintering area for wild bald eagles. Eagles are only partially migratory. If they have access to open water, they will stay at one site year-round. If they do migrate, they will return to the same nest year after year with the same mate. In the spring, the female will lay one to three eggs, which will hatch after 35 days of incubation. The parenting duties are shared by both parents. Montana and Ouray have never had offspring, as their wing injuries make it very difficult to mate.

Rocky Mountain Wild animal keepers say Ouray and Montana are a great pair of bald eagles. They get fed once a day with a special bird-of-prey diet full of red meat, trout, chicken and the occasional rat. For enrichment, Ouray loves to catch her own trout out of her water tub. She also enjoys getting showers from the keepers. Montana loves to pull meat off large bones, which gives guests a glimpse at the strength of his beak.

Imperfect feathers of our bald eagles are often used for other animals’ enrichment. Our pallas cats enjoy some feathers in their meatballs.  They smell them, bat at them and even chew on them. When a pristine feather is shed, keepers contact the proper authorities to pass the feathers on to Native American Tribes, which are authorized to keep them. Personal ownership of bald eagle feathers is illegal. The Zoo is also authorized to keep feathers for educational purposes, but they are not removed from Zoo grounds.

Interested in learning even more about Ouray and Montana? Come see them in the grizzly viewing area! 

We're answering YOUR giraffe questions!

You asked us YOUR questions about giraffes on Facebook, and today our Cheyenne Mountain Zoo animal keepers have answers.

Cheyenne Shumock-Miller asked: How long do they stay this size?! Or close to it?

Giraffe calves can grow up to nine inches during the first month of life and continue to grow rapidly in the first year. After that, their growth slows to less than an inch per year. The giraffe is the tallest living land animal. Males can reach a height of 16-18 feet, while females are somewhat smaller, averaging 14-16 feet.

Colorado Vacation Directory asked: Do you have a name yet?

It is Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s tradition to name newborns after they are 30 days old. Once he’s been named, we will make an announcement!  

Candice Huffman-Tidd asked: Do you actually breed the animals? Or does this happen on its own?

Our two bull giraffes, Khalid and Mawimbi, spend their days in their own outside yards or indoor stalls – separated from each other and from the rest of the herd. This replicates how they would live in the wild, as older male giraffes often live on their own. Based on breeding recommendations, we select one female at a time from our herd to spend time with one of our males. After the two giraffes are placed together, keepers watch for any signs of pregnancy.

Chelsea Leger Dayberry asked: How often do they have babies?

Giraffes can breed throughout the year. They have a gestation period of 14 to 15 months. Female giraffes can give birth up to eight times in a lifetime.

Helen Thomson-Olson asked: Is it true the older a giraffe becomes, their spots get darker?

When they are born, giraffe spots are lighter in color, but they will darken in the first year.  After that, their coloring remains basically the same for the rest of their lives. Giraffes are known for their spotted coats, but did you know that it is actually the pattern of their skin? Every giraffe has a unique pattern of spots. Our reticulated giraffes have large brown spots separated by cream-colored lines. Males are darker than females.

Rhiannon Gelner-Norton asked: Why do they lick the poles in their exhibit, both inside and outside?

Giraffes are "browsers," which are animals that primarily eat leaves of trees and shrubs. In the wild, they could spend up to 75% of the day browsing and eating. At our Zoo, they do not have to work as hard to find food, but have the instincts to browse for that length of time, so they “browse” on the poles out of instinctual habit.  

Rubyann Alfonso asked: How much do they weigh when they're born?

Our newest giraffe calf weighed 104 pounds and was 5’ 4” tall at birth. Calves can weigh up to 200 pounds when they are born, and stand as tall as 6 feet.

Nyah Stier asked: Why do giraffes have brown spots, and why do they have a long neck?

Reticulated giraffes are the most distinctively patterned of the eight subspecies of giraffe. Their elaborate pattern is good camouflage in dense, dry vegetation. Their necks also help them survive in the dense and dry vegetation– making it possible for them to eat food that is unavailable to most other ground-dwelling mammals.

Catherine Tran asked: How soon after birth do giraffe babies get up?

Within 30 to 60 minutes of being born, the calf is up and ready to go! It will continue to walk awkwardly for the next few days as it gets used to maneuvering its new, and very long, legs. Mother giraffes give birth while standing up – making a giraffe calf’s first experience in the world a five-foot fall to the ground! This introduction may seem harsh, but it is very important. The fall severs the umbilical cord, while stimulating the calf to take its first breath of air. Mother will then lick her calf until it is ready to try standing. 

Enriching Animals' Lives at the Zoo

The first time I saw our 300-pound Amur tiger, Grom, jump straight into the air to catch a deer hide that was ziplining down his exhibit at warp speed, I was captivated. He leaped so high and moved so swiftly, it was unforgettable. Grom’s demonstration and his special “treat” were part of his daily enrichment.

Amur tiger, Grom, with a deer hide

At Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, we give our animals enrichment every day! It’s fun for guests to watch, but Animal Care Manager Dina Bredahl explains that enrichment is a vital part of our animals’ care.   

Enrichment is anything that stimulates the mind and body of an animal. Animals have to work hard to survive in the wild – many graze, browse, hunt or forage for food for many hours a day.  We use enrichment to ensure that our animals’ physical, psychological and social needs are met. This ensures their days are challenging and interesting, and it keeps them “on their toes,” much like they would in the wild.

African lion, Angie, with a hide and meat covered bone

How do we accomplish that? The answer is the fun part of enrichment! The sky is the limit, and our zookeepers’ knowledge about the animals they work with is key. There are several types of animal enrichment, which include food, sensory, novel objects, environmental and training – just to name a few.

For food enrichment, we often use special feeders that require tool use or manipulation in order to access it. This is more challenging, time consuming and rewarding for our animals, rather than simply putting the treat in a food bowl.  If we freeze pineapples and cantaloupes for the bears, it keeps them busy as they gnaw and dig at the treats.  All of the primates like bobbing for apples or other fruits. The otters get fresh oysters or clams to trigger their feeding instincts. 

Canadian moose, Tahoma, sparring with a tree hung in his exhibit

There are other ways to provide enrichment that do not involve food. An overfed animal is not a healthy animal! Scent enrichment is a great way to temporarily change an animal’s environment…the better the animal’s sense of smell, the more effective this is. Lemurs do a lot of scent marking in the wild, so they react to perfume sprayed on their trees. The wolves show a lot of interest in buck urine. And the lions love to roll in elephant poo – just like they would do in the wild.

We also “recycle” a lot of animal materials for other another animal’s enrichment. The primates enjoy playing with colorful bird feathers and the feline species will hunt down patches of goat hair or snake sheds hidden in their exhibit.

Chickens plucking at mini corncobs stuffed in a KONG toy

We monitor the behavior of our animals and continually change the enrichment they receive to best create an environment that is healthy, stimulating, safe and keeps them active.

Want to know what is enriching the animals at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo? Visit the Zoo and watch a keeper talk and animal demo. Get the full schedule here: http://cmzoo.org/guestInformation/planVisit/animalHappenings.asp