2026 invites us to brush up on our rudimentary Latin (my apologies if yours happen to be fluent). While we might need to remind ourselves of the meaning of the words sesqui-centennial (1 ½ times 100), e.g. 150 years of Colorado statehood, or semi-quin-centennial (1/2 of 5 x 100), e.g. 250 years since the Declaration of Independence, the commonly used word century typically helps us remember that a Centennial (or Centenary) commemorates 100 years of existence. (The former seems to be more commonplace in the US, the latter in the UK.)

As it happens, 2026 is also the year when our local Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is commemorating its Centennial. Situated on the eastern flank of Cheyenne Mountain, one of the Front Range peaks that dominates the skyline just west of the city, its entrance is located at 6,714 feet above sea level. It comes as no surprise that the views afforded from such lofty heights are far-reaching. Apart from providing vistas of the mountains to the west and the Great Plains to the east, the zoo has also made it its mission to take a global view at wildlife. To that effect, 75 cents of every admission are donated toward conservation, and since the program’s inception in 2008, has raised more than $6 million for field conservation.

I have little doubt that many of us share ambivalent feelings with respect to zoos. Animals are confined to cages or enclosures and live in environments mildly to vastly different from their natural habitats. We likely have visited facilities where animals appear lethargic or even neglected, but this kind of cruelty should become more and more a thing of the past. One hopes.

Modern zoos attempt to approximate the animals’ habitats and care deeply for their charges with species-appropriate food, medical care, and regular activities intended to prevent boredom. Such is the case at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, which has been consistently ranked among the top-ten zoos in the United States in the last decades. Its 146 acres shelter more than 750 different animals representing 200 species (compared to the country’s best-known San Diego Zoo’s 12,000 animals across 650 species).

A selection of our zoo’s residents:

Meerkat

Amur tiger “Chewy”

Ring-tailed Lemur

Mexican Wolf

Mountain Tapir

Hoffman’s Two-toed Sloth

As we know, some species exist only in captivity because (wo)mankind and our destructive ways have usurped and destroyed their world. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which is responsible for the publication of the Red List of Threatened Species, more than 48,600 species worldwide are threatened with extinction (in a 2021 post about the zoo, this number was 37,600!). This grievous figure represents 28% of all assessed species. Zoos and their breeding programs play an important role in the survival of at least some of these creatures.

Our local zoo has its origins in the exotic animal collection of Julie and Spencer Penrose, founders of world-famous hotel, The Broadmoor, located a short distance below the zoo. When their growing menagerie, some of which was kept on the hotel grounds, caused increasing consternation among the guests, the couple founded the precursor to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in 1926, before donating it to the city of Colorado Springs in 1938. As a non-profit organization that receives no tax support, most of its income is generated by revenues, membership dues, donations, corporate sponsors, and grants.

After allowing a previous membership to lapse, my husband and I renewed ours in 2020, and we have been members ever since. If you have visited my blog for a while, you might remember the series of posts I originally published about our zoo in 2021, and several follow-ups since then (see Cheyenne Mountain Zoo on the content bar above).

A selection of the zoo’s animal statuary:

African Elephant

Nile Hippopotamus

Reticulated Giraffe

African Penguin

Rocky Mountain Goat

North American River Otter

I would be remiss not to provide an update on our local hippo “baby,” Omo. Born to mother Zambesi and father Biko on July 20, 2021, a few of you might remember seeing images of him in infancy, and in early childhood. As a five-year-old, Omo has nearly caught up in size with his mother (who weighs about 3,200 pounds), and to call him robust is an understatement. His estimated weight at birth was between 40 and 80 pounds (he was born underwater and was not weighed for several weeks). Adult male hippos can reach between 3,000 and 7,000 pounds, so stay tuned for future updates!

Omo at 5 days!

Omo at 15 months

Almost 5-year-old Omo in the back, mother Zambesi in the front

Did you happen to notice the date? Yes—today is a special day for him:

Happy 5^th birthday, Omo!

Birthday Boy Omo

July is full of anniversaries, and tomorrow, the zoo will host a special birthday party for Sully, a Western lowland gorilla. Born on July 21, 2025, to mother Asha and father Goma, Sully was the first gorilla born at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in 13 years and he has enchanted his parents, aunt, and countless zoo visitors ever since. He still spends most of his time riding piggyback (make that gorillaback) on Asha’s back, though he increasingly ventures short distances away from her, while she keeps a watchful eye. Talking about eyes—how about that gorilla gaze?!

Happy 1^st birthday (tomorrow), Sully!

Sully, a few days shy of his first birthday, with his mother Asha

Sully, a few days shy of his first birthday, with his mother Asha

Sully, a few days shy of his first birthday, with his mother Asha

And Happy 100^th Birthday, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo!

May you continue to provide a safe and caring home to many special creatures who are ambassadors for their kind and remind us how wonderful a world we have been born into, and how precarious a place it has become for all of us.