I'm a big cat fan!

Trista Johnson

I look forward to seeing Trista’s smiling face when she comes in each week.  She has devoted her time to help in Monkey Pavilion and I know the keepers welcome her help!  Kudos and many thanks to Trista!  Both the staff and the animals at CMZ appreciate you!

- Megan Hudak – Volunteer Services Manager   

Favorite Zoo Animal
I'm a big cat fan, so I love the African lions, tiger, leopards, and mt. lions. In the Monkey Pavilion department that I volunteer in, I love them all (from the bears, lemurs, gibbons, guenons, howler monkeys, marmosets, sloths, etc.)

What’s your favorite part of Cheyenne Mountain Zoo?
I love the animal conservation programs that the zoo has and participates in. I also think the zoo does a great job in educating the public and involves the community in special events and workshops.  CMZ is also a wonderful place to see exotic and wild animals up close and personal.

How long have you been a volunteer?  
It will be a year next month (February)

What are some of the activities you have gotten to help with?
As a volunteer, I've been able to help prepare diets for the animals in Monkey Pavilion, Spectacle Bears, and Asiatic Bears. I get to help make enrichment items for the animals in Monkey Pavilion and watch them enjoy them. I also help the zookeepers clean exhibits as needed. I've been able to watch and observe the zookeepers do training sessions with the animals in Monkey Pavilion, with the African Lions, Spectacle Bears, and Asiatic Bears.

Do you have any funny/good stories about your volunteering experiences?
I enjoy watching the animals receive enrichment toys/food. I feel wonderful when I am able to help the zookeepers with the cleaning and preparing diets so they have more time to do their job (training, animal introductions etc.)

Thank You James Bugea & Marissa Young

James Bugea
Jim is a dedicated volunteer that helps our Pony Wranglers as well as our Australian exhibit.  He is a fan of our feather friends – the budgie birds – and does a great job of helping out the keepers with their care.  Thank YOU Jim for lending a hand and helping support the Zoo!

-  Megan Hudak – Volunteer Services Manager

What’s your favorite part of Cheyenne Mountain Zoo? 

My favorite animal at the zoo are the wolves. My favorite area is Australia (matte!)

How long have you been a volunteer?

I have been volunteering at the Zoo for just over a year. 

What are some of the activities that you’ve gotten to help with? 

One of my favorite activities I was involved in was when Thea and Nichole were weighing the wallabies. That was fun and exciting to see how Thea was catching the wallabies by the tails! She was good at it. Then at the Big Backyard, it was also weigh day for the turkeys. Jeanne tried to catch a turkey and the turkey flapped her big wings and it slapped Jeanne across her face with a loud slap. Jeanne didn't think that was so funny at the time! Nichole & I took the goats out for a walk one day and that was cool. So I have enjoyed being entertained for over a year at your Zoo. Thanks for the memories!

Marissa Young

It’s great to have Marissa on the Zoo’s volunteer team!  We know we can always count on Marissa to do her best in Aquatics.  She has such a positive attitude and I enjoy seeing Marissa every week.  Thank YOU Marissa for being an awesome volunteer! 

- Megan Hudak – Volunteer Services Manager

Favorite zoo animal:

I think it's really amazing that the zoo has a snow leopard. Considering it was only within the last decade that we were able to get them on film (Planet Earth series) because they are so elusive, it is pretty cool that we can see one in person! 

How long have you been a volunteer?

I've volunteered at the zoo for about a year now.

What are some of the activities that you’ve gotten to help with? 

Feeding the hippos is always fun. It's cool to see them smash a melon in their mouth so easily. Feeding the penguins is also a lot of fun. They are all such characters and it's always fun to see what is going on in "penguin world", it's usually such a soap opera with that bunch. I mostly help with the hippos, beavers, penguins, and sometimes the cranes each week.   

 Do you have any funny/good stories about your volunteering experiences? 

One time I was cleaning out the beaver exhibit and letting Ginger and Duncan roam around in the little back area. As usual, Duncan was content to sleep the entire time, but Ginger was up and checking things out. They had a bunch of tree branches to munch on that were ready to be cleared out, so I moved them out of their exhibit to make room for the new tree branches to be put in. This was not ok with Ginger, though. Every time I moved something out, she would go and bring it back into the exhibit. She got her way and had a huge mixture of old and new branches to munch on for the day!

Just the other day, I got to watch the hippos play in the snow. I didn't think that hippos would like the snow, but they loved it! Their favorite thing was to eat the snow. They were very funny, walking around and scooping up piles of snow just like snow plows!

Thank goodness for strong fences!

January is National Thank You Month! We wanted to take this time to thank some of our amazing volunteers. Over the week we will be highlighting four volunteers who help out here at the zoo on a weekly basis.

Anne Willie –

Anne is one of our fantastic volunteers in the Horticulture Department!  Anne is a great asset to the Zoo team and has helped with a variety of tasks.  I know I can always find Anne out and about on Zoo grounds!  Thank YOU Anne for all your hard work and dedication to the Zoo! 

- Megan Hudak, Volunteer Services Manager 

What’s your favorite part of Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (CMZ)? 

I love the interaction with the guests. The kids are so much fun and so excited when they see the animals. Working with the crew from Hort is so great, they are a great group of people

How long have you been a volunteer?

Since the end of March, 2011 

What are some of the activities that you’ve gotten to help with? 

Since I am assigned to Horticulture I have pulled what seems like a "mountain" of weeds but it's just job security because they keep on coming!! I helped with the Electric Safari lights including helping with Santa one evening, carved many pumpkins for Halloween, planting trees and flowers, working at the Plant Sale in the spring

Do you have any funny/good stories about your volunteering experiences? 

We do get a lot of fun questions and suggestions from the guests - Why not just spray the weeds rather than pulling them or what kind of weed is that?

I was pulling weeds by the Mountain Lion when a guest asked if the cats made me nervous - My response was "no not really" until I looked up and the cat was right above me - thank goodness for strong fences.

  

Meet Jen from our Zoo Crew!

 

Name: Jen Colangelo

Age: 14 years old

Hometown: Boston, MA

Favorite Zoo Animal: The giraffes are my favorite because their tongues are so long and they are very sweet and interesting animals.

How many years have you been on the Zoo Crew? This is my first year in the Zoo Crew.

What’s your favorite part of Cheyenne Mountain Zoo? My favorite part is learning about all the different animals.

Why did you become a member of the Zoo Crew? I wanted to learn about animals and see what a career with animals would be like.

What’s your favorite task? Working in the Loft because you get to be around animals and teach people about them.

Why should other kids your age become part of the Zoo Crew? You learn a lot of things that will be helpful later in life and customer service skills. It is also one of the most fun things I’ve ever done.

Do you have any Funny/Good Stories? I was in Primate World and the baby orangutan was swinging back and forth. All of a sudden he jumped down, ran over to the glass and smashed his face against it. It was the cutest picture ever!

Are you or someone you know interested in applying for the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Crew? Please visit http://www.cmzoo.org/exploreLearn/kidsTeens/zooCrew.asp for more information.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo!

Get Involved in the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Adult Volunteer Program!

If you love animals and want to be a part of connecting animals and people, join our team today. You'll be able to choose among the Zoo's animal, horticulture, membership, special events and education departments, depending on your interests and skills!

Want to learn more about CMZoo’s adult volunteer program? Attend our Information Meeting on Saturday, March 19th from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm.

Prerequisite Volunteer Information Meeting:
Date: Saturday - March 19, 2011
Time: 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm

For more information and requirements of the program, CLICK HERE.

Not 18 years old yet?

We do have two different teen volunteer programs for the summer!

Zoo Crew - Ages 11-17


Jr. Zookeepers - Ages 15-17

Both programs are a great way for teens to get involved with the Zoo!

The Zoo needs YOU!

As part of Teddy Bear Days this year, the Zoo would like to present a “Grizzly Campsite Encounter” demonstration. To do this educational demonstration, we need a tent and plastic cooler. If you have an old tent or plastic cooler you’d like to donate to the Zoo, please contact the Zoo Blog Keeper at blogkeeper@cmzoo.org.

Building Community

Lowes recently chose Cheyenne Mountain Zoo as a recipient of their Hero Program! Over the course of four days, staff members from Lowes donated their time to help demo and rebuild a roof in the side yard of the Pallas Cat exhibit. As part of being selected, Cheyenne Mt Zoo also received a generous donation for materials to help complete the project!

A BIG thank you to Mark McCracken and all of the Lowes volunteers for making this project possible!


Zoo staff works side by side the dedicated Lowes volunteers.