Happy Birthday, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo!

tanjabrittonwriter 28 Comments

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 5th 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 1st 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 100th 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.

28 thoughts on “Happy Birthday, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo!”

  1. The ancient Greeks had a penchant for both logic (they developed mathematics) and the imagination (they developed an elaborate mythology). The fact that they called an animal like Omo a hippopotamus, literally ‘river horse,’ mixes fact and fantasy. The animal does spend much time in the water, but to describe it as any kind of horse strains credulity. A river cow would be more like it.

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  2. Our Houston zoo has done a good bit in past years to accomodate the animals in the most appropriate settings possible, and to engage the public in the activities there in a way that’s both entertaining and educational. The babies always are a treat, of course. Like your hippo and gorilla babies, our giraffe and other babies are well publicized and named with input from the public.

    I grinned at Sully’s name. My first thought was of the pilot who safely landed the plane on the Hudson River. That event’s sometimes called the ‘miracle on the Hudson.’ Perhaps your Sully’s birth was considered something of a miracle. Do you know the source of the name?

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  8. It sounds like a properly run zoo that is committed to the well-being of its animals. The photos of young Sully are enchanting; my father was a great fan of gorillas, and would have been thrilled to see him riding his mum’s back.

    On an entirely different subject, I was amused by your reference to the “world-famous hotel, The Broadmoor”. I’ve never heard of it, nor I suspect have 99.9% of Brits. But just about every adult Brit has heard of “our” Broadmoor, which is a high-security psychiatric hospital that once housed some of the UK’s most notorious criminals! I wonder if the managers of “your” Broadmoor know about their famous namesake institution in the UK? 😊

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    • Looking into a gorilla’s eyes is profoundly moving, I can relate to your father’s love for them. A friend of mine will visit Uganda this summer in hopes of seeing gorillas in the wild and I’m sure it will be an unforgettable experience.

      Your juxtaposition between your Broadmoor and ours made me smile. I think the founders chose the name for its grandeur and European ring, as they were hoping to attract well-to-do travelers not only from the US but also from Europe. I don’t think they did a Google search before the hotel opening in 1918 to look for negative associations (even though your Broadmoor had already existed for more than half a century, as Wikipedia tells me).

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  9. This zoo reminds me of the one we have on the outskirts of our city. It too is moving more and more towards the wellbeing of animals and survival of endangered species. I’m so glad to see them focusing on these things. Let’s hope the older style zoos, mainly created for the prying eyes of humans get thrown into the dustbin of history.

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  10. Ich zweifle immer noch gern an Zoos, mag mich ungern daran erinnern, wie die Zoos zu meiner Kindheit aussahen. Aber seither hat sich doch viel verändert zugunsten der Tiere in den Zoos. Heute wird dort ebenfalls viel zum ERhalt seltener Arten unternommen und überwiegend sind die Tiere gut untergebracht. Aber es gibt immer noch viel zu tun, um Tiere zu schützen, in der Natur und in manchen Zoos. Deine Bilder und Infos habe ich gern gesehen und gelesen. Wir haben mal in Denver den Zoo besucht. Kamen aus dem Yellowstone und haben in den Augen mancher Tiere im Zoo eine gewisse Traurigkeit oder Müdigkeit gesehen, die ihre Artgenossen im Yellowstone nicht zeigten. Das ist der kleine Unterschied.
    Lieben Gruß
    Maren

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  11. Aww they are such precious animals. What a good photo of the hippo mother-son duo. I agree with you regarding zoos; they can be valuable in conservation and awareness of the animal species. As long as the animals are treated with respect and care and kept in good conditions, zoos can be a net positive for both wildlife and humankind. I have been fortunate enough to witness the hippos, African hippos and gorillas in their natural habitat. I noticed that the names of the gorilla parent Goma and the hippo parent Zambesi perhaps were after the countries they were adopted from? What a joy to have an amazing zoo in your backyard, Tanja.

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  12. Hi, Mrs. Tanja-

    I loved reading your anniversary post for your local zoo!! How awesome that this zoo is reaching the huge milestone of 100 years this month.
    Despite feeling bad for the animals kept in cages, I have always loved the zoo! My family and I try to visit the Houston Zoo about 2 times a year, yet we have not been in over a year now! In Houston, the zoo is not even an option in the summer due to the extreme heat! Haha! Hopefully, we will be able to return in the late Fall months.
    I especially enjoyed the animal spotlights that you gave! Happy Birthday to Omo and Sully! I am so glad to hear that they are healthy and doing well!
    Also, I loved the photos that you included! They were absolutely beautiful!

    Thank you for sharing this lovely post!

    Blessings,

    Gavin Broom

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