Ever seen Jupiter?

Friday August 14 from 8-10 pm is your chance! It time for the third event in our Stargazing Series. Join the Colorado Springs Astronomical Society in viewing Jupiter, Jupiter’s moons as well as star clusters and more through their phenomenal telescopes!







Interested in prisms and how the colors of the rainbow appear? Cool Science will be in the Yurt demonstrating the reflection of light and other hands-on science concepts!

Also get closer to our fruit bats and listen to our Bat Detector!

We’ll see you in the stars!

Run to the Shrine Rewind

Thank you to runners, walkers, joggers, volunteers and sponsors alike for making Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s Run to the Shrine such a success this year!

With over 150 participants and 5 relay teams, the event was something to be remembered! A big thank you goes out to our volunteers as well as our in-kind and corporate sponsors!

Congratulations to all of our run winners and participants including:

Daryn Parker: Top Male Finisher 18-39 age group
Ron Bollenberghe: Top Male Finisher 40+ age group
Kristen Adelman: Top Female Finisher 18-39 age group
Maatje Benassi: Top Female Finisher 40+ age group

Enjoy this slideshow of the event festivities:

Guest Photo

A guest's favorite photo from a recent visit:



Thank you for submitting photos! Submit your favorite Zoo photo to blogkeeper@cmzoo.org.

Erica’s Second Update from Kenya!

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Loft educator Erica Garroutte is currently in Kimana, Kenya to work at the School for Field Studies station to study wildlife of the Rift Valley and involve local communities in local conservation projects.

Here is her latest update all the way from Kenya:

For the next month I will be working on research to determine the differences in species diversity within parks compared to the dispersal zones to determine how the animals are moving in the drought. Also I will be doing interviews to see how people are currently viewing the parks and how often they go into the parks as visitors or to herd cattle.

I have realized already that the conservation issues are so complicated that it is necessary to look at all factors affecting the situation, and even then there is no clear solution. For example, the law in the national park areas are that people cannot bring in livestock, however, in the drought some of the only water is located in the parks. Since there is a drought, maasai are taking their cattle across the country to find water, so how do you tell them that they must turn back? They would probably loose many on the way back, and once they get back there is no water there either. Without proper nutrition disease spreads quickly, so they know the importance of getting their cattle to the water. It is very complicated.

Also, an interesting aspect is that there are many tea and coffee farms that harvest coffee exported to the states. Also there are many places that harvest exotic plants that are also sent to the US. Interestingly, these farms receive much of the water available because it is such an important income to the people.

The issues are messy, and it really makes you rethink conservation of wildlife. Conservation of the ecosystem and the animals is essential not only for the environment but to the native people, but for conservation to be effective it must be holistic. Public health, human welfare, economics, politics, and the environment are all connected and effective conservation works to provide a solution that benefits all aspects.

Check back for more from Erica next week!

Conservation Work in Mongolia

Our Animal Behavior Programs Manger, Megan, is currently in Mongolia providing snow leopard conservation and field work studies.

Here’s an update all the way from Mongolia:


Sain Beinoo! Hello from Mongolia!

Our group has just returned to UlaanBaatar from the city of Khovd. In Khovd we held a meeting for the herding communities involved in the Snow Leopard Enterprises program. I am learning that the Mongolian people are conservationists by nature, they have so much respect for their environment and I was truly impressed by how enthusiastic they were to do even more to help Snow Leopards and other wildlife that share the areas they live. It was a very enlightening and exciting experience for everyone involved. The community leaders were so grateful to be able to come together to share their ideas on their traditional crafts, conservation and the future of the program. To be a part of something that was obviously so important to them was a very moving experience!! We will be heading to the South Gobi tomorrow to visit the research camp. ‘Till next time…