The Loneliest Animals – Sunday April 19, 7PM on PBS

The loneliest animals are the most endangered species on the planet. Protected by dedicated scientists, these animals represent the end of the line for their species. In many cases, intensive captive breeding programs have been launched with the aim of sustaining these animals and the hope of returning them to the wild.

Viewers will be taken into high-security, high-tech labs where scientists attempt to breed new generations and into the field to discover what forces have led to the demise of entire species.

Featured animals include Yangtze turtles under 24-hour surveillance; a baby Sumatran rhino; a special collection of lemurs; the Spix's macaw, a bird declared extinct in the wild in 2000; and "Lonesome George," a giant tortoise from the Galapagos, who is the last of his kind.

Local viewers can see The Loneliest Animals on Rocky Mountain PBS on Sunday, April 19 at 7PM.

Name the Baby Orangutan!

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s 21–year-old Sumatran orangutan, Sumagu, gave birth to a male orangutan baby on February 19. Now it's time to give this little guy a name and you can help!

Of the four preliminary names selected by Primate World staff at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, you can vote for the name you think best fits the baby orangutan. Zoo staff chose the Indonesian names based on the baby’s personality and characteristics. To see the name choices and to vote, visit our website.

Ten finalists will be selected by Cheyenne Mountain Zoo from all eligible entries and notified to attend the name selection celebration on Saturday, May 9 at 10:30 a.m. in the Zoo’s Primate World building. After the little orangutan’s new name is announced, one finalist name will be drawn to win the Grand Prize of a special behind-the-scenes Zoo experience for the winner and five close friends.

Deadline for voting in Monday, May 4 at 5 p.m.

Vote HERE!

Siamang Calls

Siamang calls are legendary. All gibbons can make amazingly loud sounds, and the siamang’s vocalizations include howls and bellows magnified by the inflatable throat sac. These boisterous calls can be heard up to two miles away through forest vegetation and are used primarily for claiming territory, which can be as large as 50 acres.

Males, females and older offspring all get involved in the displays. Bahana is 3 ½ years old and calls with her parents. Her first calls sounded like a hoarse, high-pitched crowing vocalization!

Siamangs perform impressive athletic displays while they are doing the territorial calls, including swinging, stomping, shaking branches, and leaping from tree to tree. Wayan (the male infant) clings tightly to his mom while she is displaying.

Siamang calls, sometimes lasting 30 minutes or more, can be heard daily in Primate World at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.

Check out our latest “Siamang Calls” video on our YouTube Channel:

Bowling for Rhinos this Saturday!!

This fun event has been re-scheduled for this Saturday, April 18th starting at 10am on the greens at the Lodge at Moose Lake near Rocky Mountain Wild.

Munch on some homemade goodies from our bake sale after you crash into 5 foot tall bowling pins in our giant inflatable human bowling alley! Then take the "Rhino Discovery Trail" where your family can learn how to act and live like a rhino.

Then at 1pm, it’s the Zoo animals’ turn to bowl! The elephants and hippos will have large barrels to knock over, either with giant boomer balls or themselves!! The tiger cubs will enjoy paper mache bowling pins and the moose will stomp a box painted to look like a pin. Other animals such as otters and meerkats will also have their chance to “bowl” for rhinos.



Then on the evening of Saturday April 18, join us for an exciting night of "human" bowling from 6pm to 8pm at Brunzwick Zone located at 999 N. Circle Drive, to help raise much needed funds for rhino conservation!

Organized by the American Association of Zookeepers (AAZK), Bowling for Rhinos is a national event held each year to raise awareness and money for rhino conservation.

Since the event’s beginning in 1990, Bowling for Rhinos has raised over $3 million nationally, with our local chapter raising $20,000 for the cause!

Not a bowler? The evening will include food, prizes, the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s Animal Ambassadors and other fun activities. So join us and support the amazing rhinoceros!

For registration information, vist our website.

* Bowling for Rhinos is an annual fundraising event held by local chapters of the American Association of Zookeepers across the country. 100% of the funds go to rhino conservation in Africa and Indonesia.

Help Wild Animals Stay Wild

As a kid, the thought of having a raccoon as a pet sounded fun. After all, they look so cute and cuddly. We see this scenario of families taking in wild animals as pets all too frequently in Colorado. Many people are unaware that you just cannot remove a wild animal from the woods and take it home.

Colorado takes a conservative stance on private ownership of wildlife. In general, it is illegal to own wildlife in Colorado. As a public resource, wildlife belongs to the state of Colorado, to all citizens.

Information from the Colorado Division of Wildlife explains state laws and regulations governing wildlife as pets—what’s legal and what's illegal to own, and why.

Enter Tigerlily, our fabulous and amazing skunk and very popular animal ambassador. Tigerlily came to the Zoo from a private owner. When her family realized that it was illegal to own a skunk in the state of Colorado, they called Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.

Having been socialized within a family unit, Tigerlily now very much enjoys her visits as an outreach animal through our Zoo on the Move Program, where everyone can learn about her natural behaviors. As an animal ambassador for her species, she helps teach people why wild animals should stay wild.

To learn more about Tigerlily, visit the Animal Highlights section of our website then see Tigerlily’s recent TV debut on Fox 21’s Morning News.