Our Animals Have a Job to Do

They have feathers, fur, scales or shells but they all have one thing in common – they have a job to do, just like the keepers that care for them. Our Zoo’s hands-on animals are called outreach animals, and most of them live in The Loft.

“We have two types of outreach animals,” Jennifer Diaz, Education Interpretive Animal Keeper said. “They are either ‘working’ or ‘handling.’ Only one of our animals, Tiger Lily, the skunk, is both.”

Diaz explains that working animals demonstrate natural behaviors or learned skills. Marty McFly, an American kestrel, flies from one part of The Loft onto a glove. Remmy, an opossum, shows off his climbing skills by lifting himself onto a stump. Handling animals allow hundreds of Zoo guests to get up close and feel their exteriors. Snakes, tortoises and some really cool insects are the most common handling animals.

“All of our outreach animals are personable,“ Diaz said. “They are also animals that want to ‘work.’ We don’t use animals for outreach if it is stressful for them or if they are scared of the experience.”

They are usually well behaved. Lily likes to open the fridge and take out her own snacks, but for the most part the animals in The Loft follow the rules.  

“We use positive reinforcement to train our animals,” Diaz said. “If they don’t feel like training, they simply don’t get a delicious bug or piece of fruit. Most animals really enjoy training time because it means they get food that tastes the best to them.”

Not only do our outreach animals give guests memorable close-up experiences, they are teaching children the responsibility of caring for an animal. Diaz lets selected children help tear lettuce for the lizards, give water to the tortoises, spray down the amphibians or watch a snake eat a mouse.

“Our outreach animals have a very important job to do,” Diaz said. “They help guests get over their fears of species with scales (mostly snakes), put smiles on their faces, leave lasting memories and, most importantly, they help people fall in love with nature and value caring for it.” 

Greenback Cutthroat Trout Quarters for Conservation Program

Since 2008, your Quarters for Conservation (Q4C) votes at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo have enabled the Zoo to donate more than half a million dollars for wildlife conservation programs around the world! Each year, one of the Q4C projects supports wildlife conservation efforts in or around Colorado Springs. This year’s local project, which started receiving votes from Zoo guests on May 1, is Rocky Mountain Field Institute’s (RMFI) efforts to protect native greenback cutthroat trout.

“We are so excited to be part of the Quarters for Conservation program,” Rebecca Jewett, Executive Director Rocky Mountain Field Institute, said. “Q4C is a great educational platform for our community to learn about our Colorado state fish and its plight.”

Rocky Mountain Field Institute started their greenback cutthroat campaign and on-site work on the  Bear Creek Watershed in 2009. The project started by placing V-shaped structures along the creek that collect sediment from the heavily used trails.

“The sediment catchers are doing their job,” Jewett said. “Now we need to do ours by taking the sediment they are catching and hauling it out of the park.”

Jewett explains that the sediment is collected in 40-pound sandbags that are carried on foot out of the park. The sandbags are then being used to protect houses in the Mountain Shadows neighborhood from potential flooding from the Waldo Canyon burn scar.

“I’ve been telling people, ‘Save a fish. Save a house’,” Jewett said. “We know carrying a 40-pound sandbag (or two) is back-breaking work, but it is vital to save the species.”

Officially, greenback cutthroat trout are listed as threatened on the IUCN Red list, butUS Fish and Wildlife Service is reevaluating the species to determine if their status should be changed to endangered.

“When greenback cutthroat trout were last counted, only 740 remained,” Jake Jachim, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Animal Keeper and staff champion of the project, said. “All 740 of them live in a four-mile section of Bear Creek.”

Jachim is not only the Zoo’s staff champion of the project, but an avid fisherman.

“The greenback cutthroat is an absolutely beautiful fish,” Jachim said. “They are green in the water with bright red gills, their sides are gold and their bellies are covered with trout spots.”

Jachim explains that he can describe many types of fish, and that as a fisherman, it’s important to know what you are catching and what the regulations are.

“If you are unsure of what you caught, let it go,” Jachim said. “Together we can protect the fish of Colorado.”

The Rocky Mountain Wild exhibit at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is home to a hybrid species of greenback cutthroat trout in the grizzly bear pond so guests can get up-close and become educated about the species. The pond also has rainbow trout, but Jachim says to look for the bright red gills to identify the greenbacks.

“I hope the Zoo’s guests fall in love with the fish, and want to support the project,” Jewett said. “We know that fish may not be as ‘sexy’ as leopards, tigers, wolves or orangutans, but it is a unique species, and it’s right here in our back yard.”

To learn more about Quarters for Conservation at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and how you can support native greenback cutthroat trout, visit: http://cmzoo.org/conservation/quarters.

To read more stories from The Waterhole, or to keep up with the latest news, events, and behind the scenes happenings at the Zoo, sign up to receive e-newsletters: http://www.cmzoo.org/aboutZoo/pressBox/waterhole.asp.

Our Lynx Kittens are Starting to Explore

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo welcomed three lynx kittens on May 8, 2013. Now they are six weeks old, their eyes are open (a beautiful bright blue!), and they are starting to explore their indoor den and off-exhibit outdoor space. Lucky for our guests, their off-exhibit outdoor habitat can be viewed from the grizzly bear tower bridge. To catch a glimpse of the kittens, stop where the grizzly bridge starts to bend and look down on your left-hand side (towards the city). There you will see the lynx building and the outside space where mother, Migina (mah-jee’-nah), is raising her three wee ones.

Magina is an excellent mother. She keeps a very close watch on her kittens and anyone who approaches her den. Recently, animal keepers were able to take a brief video of the kittens playing in their off-exhibit space. At six weeks old, they are still very small and aren't large enough to enjoy the freedom provided in the large lynx exhibit. However, you can see the kittens’ father, Kajika (kah-jee’-kah) there. When the kittens are ready for the larger habitat, we will make an announcement. For now, keep reading our blog for updates about them.

"Like mother, like daughter" or "like father, like son"? Our porcupette is a….

“It’s a boy,” Kristen Cox, Rocky Mountain Wild Animal Keeper said. “To be honest, it’s still very hard to tell because he is still very young, but we are 85% sure that it’s a boy.”

Nale (nah’-lay) and Elan, our porcupines in Rocky Mountain Wild, became first-time parents on May 8, 2013. Their porcupette, or baby porcupine, was born weighing a little over a pound, and veterinary staff said to be patient about finding out the gender.  At one month old, their prickly addition has doubled in weight, and everyone is becoming more confident in calling the baby a boy.

Animal keepers add that he is taking after his dad.

“Elan loves to eat, and so does our new addition,” Kristen said. “He will continue to nurse from Nale for four months, but he is also eating solid foods. He eats carrots, leaves, twigs and yams. Out of everything he’s been offered, his favorite food is kale.”

Just like his dad and mom, the porcupette is becoming an expert climber.

“At the beginning of the week, we found him high up in a tree resting in Elan’s usual (and favorite) spot,” Kristen said. “Every day he gets more and more adventurous.”

Nale is an attentive but laid-back mom. She lets her baby explore where he wants to. She checks on him often and nurses him when he’s hungry, but he’s independent and curious – similar to how porcupines are in the wild.

“Porcupines are born with their quills,” Kristen said.  “They have a built-in defense system, so their mom doesn't have to worry about them too much.”

Animal keepers have started to hint at a name for our porcupette – once a decision is made, we will announce it! To meet our family of porcupines, visit Rocky Mountain Wild. If you don’t see the littlest one right away, make sure you look up, down and all around for our precocious porcupine.  

Jumbe’s Journey to his Outdoor Exhibit

The first time the doors to the elephant barn opened, the elephants practically ran outside. But when animal keepers opened the doors for our black rhino, Jumbe, they waited, and waited… and waited for him to appear. Finally, the tip of his rhino horn peeked out the door but quickly disappeared. Then a horn, a nose, his head – finally Jumbe was outside. Just as keepers started to get excited about seeing him exploring the new space, he ran swiftly inside and stayed there. 

It seems Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has a shy rhino.

For the last two months, animal keepers have been using positive reinforcement and target training to encourage Jumbe to go outside. His target is a stick with a yellow ball on the end, and every time he touches his nose to the end, he gets his favorite foods.

“We use apples, carrots, bananas and a little bit of bread to reward him,” Jason Bredahl, Animal Care Manager said. “He is food motivated and enjoys working with the keepers, but it doesn’t always outweigh the safety he feels indoors.”

The doors from Jumbe’s indoor space to his outdoor habitat are left open most of the day, so he has the option of being where he is content.

“We leave most of his food outside,” Bredahl explains. “He seems okay going outside to eat in the morning and to sniff around a bit, but he doesn’t feel comfortable staying outside, and that is the issue we are trying to overcome with him.”

Bredahl reports that Jumbe is making progress every day. Once he is at ease staying outside in the habitat next to the barn, they will start to train him to travel up the pathway (or “trek,” as it’s called at the Zoo) into his newly built outdoor rhino exhibit.

“Our guests keep inquiring why such a wonderful rhino yard doesn’t have a rhino wallowing in it,” Bredahl said. “We want Jumbe to enjoy being outside, so we are letting him acclimate at his own pace.”

Keepers have designed a sign that will mark how far Jumbe has journeyed into the outdoor yard every day. Follow his progress from the barn, to the side yard, into the trek… and eventually into the black rhino exhibit! We will keep our guests updated with photos and the number of feet he’s traveled on Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s Facebook page and Twitter feed. Be sure to “Like” us at facebook.com/CMZoo, or “Follow” us at twitter.com/CheyenneMtnZoo to track his progress.

To read more stories from The Waterhole, or to keep up with the latest news, events, and behind the scenes happenings at the Zoo, sign up to receive e-newsletters: http://www.cmzoo.org/aboutZoo/pressBox/waterhole.asp