The zoo was founded in 1926 by philanthropist Spencer Penrose to house his growing collection of exotic animals. It has about 150 species, 30 of which are endangered, and a total of 750 animals. As the name indicates, it is on the slope of Cheyenne Mountain. There is a tram and a sky lift to help visitors access different levels of the zoo.
This zoo has the largest herd of reticulated giraffes in the U.S. and for $2 you can purchase romaine lettuce to hand-feed them. Their giraffe breeding program has been so successful that they have had 199 births since 1954. There is a webcam (go to their website) if you want to catch a real-time view of these amazing animals. We saw a young one jog a couple of laps around the exhibit area - very cool!
A hungry giraffe ... gimme more lettuce.
Following are photos of select animals (my favorites) ... a very small % of those found at the zoo.
Okapi.
View from Mountaineer Sky Ride.
We had the good fortune of meeting the head vet at this zoo who is the niece of a friend from PA that we caught up last Friday (while she was visiting Colorado Springs). What impressive work is going on here!
Admission is $17.25/adults and $15.25/seniors May 1 through Labor Day and $3 less off-season. The zoo is a non-profit organization that gets all of its funding through admission fees, merchandise, patrons, etc.
Website: www.cmzoo.org
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