Businessman Spencer Penrose was given a gift of a bear in 1916 which inspired him to collect animals. Animals were housed at Penrose's Broadmoor Hotel until a monkey bit a hotel guest.[7] Cheyenne Mountain Zoo was founded in 1926 to house the collection of exotic animals. In 1938, Spencer Penrose incorporated the Zoo as a non-profit public trust.[8] Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is a non-profit501(c)(3) organization[9] and does not receive local or regional public tax support.
On August 6, 2018, the zoo was hit by fast-moving and unexpected severe weather that brought with it baseball-sized hail. The staff was praised in national media and by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums for their use of the incident command system to swiftly move animals and visitors indoors.[10] But just as some humans were confused and did not know where to go, many animals stayed outside in confusion despite having on-exhibit dens as required by the AZA. Three zoo employees were hospitalized following efforts to save animals and guests from the unusually large hail. Several animals were hospitalized as well and five animals including two peafowl, a cape vulture, a Muscovy duck, and a young Meerkat pup died of their injuries.[11]
Giraffe herd history
Cheyenne Mountain is known for its large and prolific giraffe herd. Two hundred giraffes have been born at the zoo since 1954.[12] When Dobby the giraffe was born at the Denver Zoo in 2017 without the necessary antibodies for survival, Cheyenne Mountain sent banked giraffe plasma from their herd to Denver. The subsequent blood transfusion was successful and Dobby survived.[13]
Scutes Family Gallery was originally built in the early 1940s and formally known as the Bird and Reptile House. It contains over 40 species of reptiles including Burmese pythons, sloths, lizards, snakes, tortoises and turtles. The name refers to the scutes, or scales that are on most reptiles. Funding for the renovation came from the $13.5 million campaign for the Encounter Africa exhibit.[18]
The zoo breeds endangered animals such as the. black-footed ferrets, Wyoming toads, mountain tapirs and Mexican gray wolves. The zoo participates in over 30 Species Survival Plan programs.[27][28][29]
It financially supports multiple field conservation programs through Quarters for Conservation which allows guests to choose what programs the zoo supports. The zoo recently reached $2 million raised through the program since 2008.[30][31] It also participates in the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation project along with the Houston Zoo, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, and Zoo New England to release endangered amphibian species back to the wild.[32]
^Horton, Sara. "Scaly skin is beautiful". Colorado Springs Independent. Archived from the original on 2018-08-29. Retrieved 2018-08-28.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)