Welcome to Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s official blog! From amazing animal stories to a "behind the scenes" look at daily zoo life, this is the place to get to know
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo on a more personal level.
Check back often to get In Between the Spots!

March 24, 2009


Conservation Awareness Quiz
From allaboutfrogs.org

How environmentally aware is your family? Take this quiz to find out.

1. If you recycle newspaper, used computer paper, and junk mail, add 10 pts.
2. If you picked up litter in the past week, add 5 pts. If you littered in any way. Subtract 20 pts.
3. If you planted one or more trees in the past year, add 10 pts.
4. If you drove your car (or had someone drive you) to destination fewer that two blocks away in the last week, subtract 20 pts.
5. If you have taken your children to a natural setting, such as the woods, a stream or a mountain trail in the last month, add 10 pts.
6. If you recycle aluminum cans and aluminum foil, add 10 pts.
7. If you burn or bag your leaves or grass clippings, subtract 10 pts. If you compost, mulch, or leave you leaves or grass alone to decompose, add 5 pts.
8. If you have a compost pile, add 10 pts.
9. If you have a family vegetable garden, add 5 pts.
10. If you have forgotten to turn off a light, television, or radio in an empty room today, subtract 10 pts.
11. If you have purchased a product packaged in a foam container in the past week (that includes food from some fast food restaurants), subtract 5 pts.
12. If you use both sides of a piece of paper before throwing it away, add 5 pts.
13. If you recycle glass and plastic, add 10 pts.
14. If you have volunteered your time for an environmental cause in the past year (such as paper drive, trash pick-up, etc.), add 10 pts.

How did your family score?

90 points or above: Indeed you are a friendly family of the Earth!
80 to 89 points: You are a concerned family and doing OK.
70 to 79 points: Your family needs to make a plan and try harder.
Below 69: Uh Oh! Your family is contributing to the problem.

We can all take simple steps every day to become more eco-friendly. Visit our website to learn how. As you take your first steps toward conservation, keep in mind that even small changes in the things you do everyday can make a big impact on the environment.

March 19, 2009

Amazing Elephants



Photo Credit: Joel Sartore

Cameras have revealed how elephants are able to get a drink of fresh water when faced with a stagnant waterhole.

A BBC team discovered that the tusked giants use their trunks to delicately siphon off clean water that has settled at the top of a dirty pool.

The Natural History Unit says this is the first time this behavior has been seen.

The footage forms part of Nature's Great Events: The Great Flood, which follows the annual flooding of Botswana's Okavango Delta.

March 18, 2009

Spring Break fun at Mountaineer Sky Ride

Get ready for Dinosaur Days at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo's Mountaineer Sky Ride!



Experience a whole new species of fun this Spring Break! See a swooping pteranadon fossil - on loan from the Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center! Meet a real paleontologist! Talk with Zoo docents and touch the Zoo’s amazing biofacts! Meet our outreach animals! Experience “dinosaur science” with Cool Science! Excavate “bones” and other artifacts in our giant “fossil dig site”!

These are just some of the activities scheduled at the Mountaineer Sky Ride Summit this Spring Break week. All the fun is included with your Sky Ride admissions ticket. For more information and a full schedule of events from Saturday March 21 through Sunday March 29, visit our website.



March 17, 2009

"Save Green" & "Go Green" at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo today!



Save some green while going green at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo this beautiful St. Patrick’s Day!

Support gorilla conservation efforts and recycle your cell phone at the Zoo to receive $2 off admission. Cell phones can be dropped off at the Zoo's admissions office. Each recycled phone goes to ECO-CELL, the premiere cell phone recycling program for environmentally minded fundraisers.

March 13, 2009

Guest Photos


“Julie, age 4, communicates with a new friend, Asha.”

To submit your photos, email them to blogkeeper@cmzoo.org.