Visit Winter WildLand

Our new seasonal celebration begins Friday December 5th, when everything at the Zoo is transformed into a nighttime spectacle of light and seasonal pleasures!

Make it a tradition for your whole family and ring in the season with thousands of lights, holiday characters, and the opportunity to make gifts and accompany Santa as he delivers presents to the animals. You can even see two special “reindeer in training”!

Santa and Sean Anglum, Public Relations & Events Manager, prepare for the big event.

Beginning Friday, 12/5, Winter WildLand takes place Thursday – Sunday evenings from 5:30 – 9:00 p.m. Click HERE for ticket prices and detailed information. It will be a "Wildly Festive Experience"!

Happy Thanksgiving

As the holidays arrive, we are reminded of all the things we are thankful for. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo would like to thank all of our guests, donors and friends who support our efforts here in Colorado Springs as well as our worldwide conservation efforts.

Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving!

And just a reminder, we are open today from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm with the last admission at 3:00 pm. Click HERE to read about this weekend’s family events at the Zoo.

Family Weekend

By Sean Anglum,
Public Relations & Special Events Manager


A Griffon Vulture, one of the many birds seen in The Wings of Africa show

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is offering you the perfect alternative to football games and the shopping frenzy for this Thanksgiving weekend. A great place to walk off that turkey dinner – the Zoo is a wonderful destination to take your visiting family and friends.

This Thanksgiving weekend the Zoo is featuring a full schedule of animal behavior shows at various animal exhibit locations. These natural behavior shows began this summer at the Zoo, and have proven to be a big hit with guests. Animal keepers train with the animals in their charge to accentuate natural animal behaviors that help the keepers with their care efforts.

Natural behavior shows that are currently featured (weather permitting) at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo include Wings of Africa, Treetop Acrobats, Primates In Motion, Orangutans Are COOL, The Raven Show and Conservation in Your Own Backyard. Times and descriptions of these shows are available on the Zoo’s website, www.cmzoo.org.

So whether it’s a stroll through the Zoo to walk off some holiday calories, taking the relatives to a fun and fascinating local attraction, or the chance to just get away from the chaos of super-shopping and 24/7 football, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo awaits you on Thanksgiving weekend.

Be ready to gobble it up!

The Grizzlies Weigh In

By Megan Sanders,
Animal Behavior Programs Manager



The weather is cooling off and CMZ’s resident Grizzly Bears are starting to show signs of the impending weather change. Over the past few months our keepers have been working very hard with “Emmett and Digger” teaching them to get on a scale so we can keep track of what their weight is doing. As growing bears it is important that they are gaining weight for the cold months ahead, and they are doing just that.

At “Digger’s” October weigh in he tipped the scales at a hefty 598 pounds (when arrived at CMZ he was just 429 pounds)! “Digger” is proving to be a fairly easy going bear getting on the scale without a second thought, as long as it is followed by a tasty snack.

“Emmett” on the other hand is a little more wary of the scale platform and on occasion decides he would rather just watch from afar. We never force him to do anything that he is uncomfortable with so on those “not so brave days” he just gets some treats for at least putting a foot on.

Many of our guests have asked us if our Grizzlies or other zoo animals will hibernate this winter. Hibernation is an instinct that many animals will continue to practice even in captivity if they live in cold enough climates.

Something that many people may not know about bears is that they are not a “true hibernator”. Instead they enter a state that is called Torpor, which basically means decreased physical and physiological activity. Unlike a “true hibernator”, during those winter months bears do still wake up to drink and forage. In captivity this just looks like a significant decrease in activity and food motivation. We have already started to notice our boys slowing down.

Over the summer, both bears were very food motivated and would train with the keepers as long as they would work with them. Over the past few weeks our once “snack happy” bears have even gone so far as to turn down food, and their tireless training sessions have been scaled back to accommodate their lower energy. So for now, some of their swimming sessions will most likely be replaced by a few extra naps. After all, they need to rest up so they can continue to delight us with their antics next spring!

The Vanishing Frog

WORLD PREMIERE THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20 AT 8PM (ET/PT)



Animal Planet focuses worldwide attention on the deadly fungus that is destroying frogs and other amphibian populations around the world through a new multimedia project called THE VANISHING FROG. The film sends Animal Planet’s Jeff Corwin on a worldwide mission that uncovers clues on the frog’s deadly plight while also unifying viewers with a common cause of environmental protection of wildlife resources.

From the rocky streams of coastal Australia to the jungles of South America—and even to the American West, the world’s frogs are mysteriously vanishing at alarming rates. Frogs and their relatives have thrived on earth for more than 360 million years, but now they are under serious threat. Experts believe that as many as one-third to one-half of the planet’s mass extinctions- since the dinosaurs.

Why are amphibians in such dire straits? And can we take action to save them? Jeff Corwin, who has experienced the most mammoth of mammals, reptiles and marine life worldwide, will take on these large questions about these small amphibians in the documentary.

“The Vanishing Frog” documentary will cablecast this Thursday night on The Animal Planet channel. The time to watch for our local region is 6:00 pm, with the program repeated at 9:00 pm.