Missing Orangutan Mothers

Mother’s Day is the perfect day to pay tribute to M.O.M.– Missing Orangutan Mothers.

Orangutan mothers and babies have an incredibly close relationship. Their mothers teach them everything about survival in the forest before they set out on their own including how to find fruit and build nests.

Because of the growing demand for palm oil, more and more orangutan mothers are being killed every year in Indonesia. Their rainforest homes are literally being wiped out to make way for palm oil plantations… leaving hundreds of helpless orphans.

Some of the lucky ones end up at Nyaru Menteng– which is operated by the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation. The Center is now home to nearly 650 orangutans– the vast majority of them young orphans in need of love and care.

Visit Primate World this weekend with your Mom to learn more about M.O.M. and to see our very own Sumagu cuddle her new baby orangutan!

Lions, Tigers and Ferrets! Tuesday, May 12th, 7 pm

Della Garelle, DVM, Director of Conservation & Animal Health at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo will present a program on the Zoo’s role in the conservation of an endangered Colorado native, the Blackfooted Ferret. The program will be held at the community room of the Gay and Lesbian Center, 315 E. Costilla Street on 5/12 at 7 pm.

Come find out about the exciting progress being made to bring this species back from the brink of extinction with a founding population of just seven individuals.

Learn how you can get involved in ensuring their future on America’s short grass prairie. Dr.Garelle has served as the Coordinator for the BFF’s international Species Survival Plan since 1996. The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has bred and released BFFs back to the wild since 1990.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Gives Back

Students collected more than two "giraffe-fulls" of plastic bags to be recycled – over 30,000 to be exact!

The Winter Wildland community initiative program allowed Cheyenne Mountain Zoo the opportunity to give back to the community last week. For every 5,000 guests that attended our Winter WildLand event, the Zoo sponsored a visit for 50 families from Community Partnership for Child Development. With over 20,000 visits to Winter WildLand we were able to offer a night at the Zoo to 300 families – a total of 700 people in all.

We serve kids every day at the Zoo but Tuesday night was special because we got to invite not only the kids, but their families too. Zoo President, Bob Chastain said, “We got to live our statement that says, We believe in the value of families spending time together.”

One of the most treasured moments of the evening was the kids’ participation in lion enrichment - helping our Lion Keeper fill boxes with elephant dung which the lions enthusiastically tore open! Another special moment: seeing the amazement on Zoo staff faces as over 30,000 plastic bags were collected and delivered by students for recycling!

Thank you to the families and staff who made the evening so memorable!

Butterfly enthusiasts!

Mark your calendars for May 9, 16 or 30 and spend a day making a difference in your own backyard! Check out what is happening in conjunction with the Quarters for Conservation butterfly project.

In partnership with Wild Connections, the project goal is to restore Pawnee skipper and Preble's jumping mouse habitat. You can be a part of it! Visit Wild Connections for more details or to register.

New Quarters for Conservation Projects Unveiled Today!

Through the Quarters for Conservation Program, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo allocates a portion of the fees you pay for Zoo admission, memberships and classes to wildlife conservation. That means every time you come to the Zoo, you help to expand conservation efforts in our region and around the globe.


New projects to be supported by the Zoo’s Quarters for Conservation initiative were unveiled this morning and include:

Amphibians in Panama
Bats in Colorado and throughout North America
Native Skippers in Colorado
Andean Bears in Ecuador
Orangutans in their forest habitat
Wild African Vultures



Visit our website to learn more about these selected projects.


Thank you to our first voters!