2011-2012 Annual Report President’s Message What an incredible year it’s been at the Zoo. For the first time in our history, we welcomed more than 600,000 guests. As many of you who visited us this past year can attest, we were busy. More guests at the Zoo means more people are connecting with wildlife and making a difference for conservation. To provide the best experience for our guests, we have been working tirelessly to expand and enhance our programs, create spectacular new exhibits, and discover new ways to engage our guests and provide memorable experiences. Through the many positive comments we hear on grounds and the feedback received via social media, you have told us we are hitting the mark! We have a growing audience who loves the Zoo and values the work we do on behalf of animals and the environment. In fact, Trip Advisor rated Cheyenne Mountain Zoo as one of the top 10 zoos in the United States this year! As our audience continues to grow, so does the potential for our Zoo to impact the way people think about animals and the environment, as well as their own role in protecting the natural world. As I look forward to the coming year and the opening of the new Encounter Africa exhibit, I am focused on the role our Zoo will play in inspiring conservation action locally and globally. – Bob Chastain President & CEO Our Mission Our Vision A leader in conservation, captive breeding Every Kid. Every Time. Goosebumps! and animal care, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Every kid, of any age, will have an connects people with wildlife and wild places experience for a lifetime with every visit. through experiences that inspire action. Commitment to Conservation Cheyenne Mountain Zoo supports a broad range of conservation programs that impact environments both locally and globally. This year, the Zoo extended its support of the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project (PARC). The mission of the PARC is to secure assurance colonies of amphibian species likely to go extinct due to the spread of the deadly chytrid fungus and develop a cure that will one day allow these species to be reintroduced into the wild. This year, the PARC worked to secure an adequate founding population of the chevron-patterned Limosa harlequin frogs, Atelopus limosus. Populations of this species have declined dramatically throughout central Panama, but due in part to the efforts of Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s rescue expedition team, captive populations grew to 28 males, eight females and ten juveniles. The project also secured an adequate founding population of toad mountain harlequin frogs (Atelopus certus) in 2011. The reproduction of recovered amphibian species in Panama this year achieved new levels of success with the breeding and rearing of offspring from nine of 13 priority species. By securing founding populations of priority species, and successfully breeding and rearing offspring to establish assurance colonies, the PARC is working to keep Panama’s most vulnerable amphibian species from becoming extinct. September 26, 2011, marked the 30th anniversary of the rediscovery of the black-footed ferret. This animal was once believed to be extinct in the wild until a rancher and his dog came across a wild ferret in Meeteetse, Wyoming in 1981. In 1990, Cheyenne Mountain was one of the first zoos to join the recovery efforts for this species. A special off-exhibit facility was designed and built, and a dedicated zookeeper position was created for black-footed ferret breeding. Today, we are one of six facilities in the world breeding this endangered species. The Zoo produced 28 black-footed ferret kits, releasing 20 kits and one adult into the wild this year. Since becoming involved in the program, 413 black-footed ferret kits have been born at the Zoo, and a total of 151 kits and 52 adults have been released. Black-footed ferrets have been released in Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Montana. Photo by Joel Sartore Returning this endangered species to its natural place in the ecosystem helps complete the establishment of healthy American prairies. Explore and Learn By engaging our guests’ hearts and minds with memorable up-close animal experiences, the Zoo has an opportunity to impact the way people think about animals and the environment. The Loft Exploration Center, located in Rocky Mountain Wild, was designed to help us provide our guests with up-close animal experiences. This year, the staff in The Loft provided 212,486 guest interactions! These interactions included animal meet and greets, daily lessons featuring raven or barn owl training, snake feeding, diet preparation, and opportunities to hold one of our contact animals. For many Zoo members, The Loft is a weekly destination. Educators in our community value the Zoo for our unique live animal learning experiences, as more than 14,200 students from throughout our region visited the Zoo last year. An additional 8,750 youth and adults participated in our formal education programs, which include Classroom Safaris, WildNights, special tours, Zoo camps, preschool programs and teacher workshops. The Zoo also supports secondary education in our community by partnering with Pikes Peak Community College to offer a Zoo Keeping Technology program, one of only two academic partnerships in the United States with an accredited zoo. For members of our community unable to visit the Zoo, our Zoo on the Move (ZOOM) animal outreach program travels throughout the community to provide live animal learning experiences. ZOOM brings outreach animals and conservation messages to schools, adult care facilities, special events, and local community centers in our region to connect people with animals and accomplish our mission of inspiring conservation action. Sponsored by Central Bancorp, ZOOM connected with 41,140 guests outside the Zoo grounds this year! Quarters for Conservation This year marked the completion of our fourth year of Quarters for Conservation, or what we at the Zoo refer to as Q4C. Since introducing Q4C in spring 2008, we have raised more than $400,000 through guests voting one quarter at a time, funding conservation programs both regionally and globally. Thanks to the increase in attendance this year, we raised a record $130,500 for Q4C. Of this amount, 50 percent was designated to ongoing flagship conservation programs at the Zoo, such as the black-footed ferret, Wyoming toads and Mexican gray wolves. The remaining 50 percent went to the six Q4C programs guests have been voting on for the past 12 months.The break down of funding at the end of this fiscal year is as follows: • African Penguins: $15,955 • Amur Leopards/Tigers: $15,716 • Orangutans/Palm Oil: $10,018 • African Vultures: $9,358 • Panama Amphibians: $8,911 • Gibbons: $7,472 Animal Happenings In June 2011, the Zoo welcomed a new female African elephant, Jambo, to our collection. Jambo, pronounced Jom-bo, means “hello” in Swahili. Because elephants are highly social animals, adding a fourth elephant really strengthens our herd. Jambo, along with Kimba, Malaika and Lucky, are currently enjoying their new elephant barn – playing in the splash stall, dusting themselves off in their enormous sand stall, and taking a stroll on the new elephant trek. Jambo and the rest of the herd will be on exhibit when Encounter Africa opens to the public this fall. Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accredited zoos, including Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, play an important role in furthering elephant conservation worldwide. Our Zoo is part of AZA’s Species Survival Plan, serving as a holding facility so breeding at other AZA facilities can continue. We also support the International Elephant Foundation, which is responsible for elephant conservation projects worldwide. Most importantly, the elephants at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo serve as ambassadors, and without them, most people would never have a chance to see such a majestic animal in person. Jambo, Lucky, Kimba and Malaika help educate visitors, allow guests to make emotional connections, and change people’s behaviors to positively impact elephants and their wild habitats. This past year we received breeding recommendations from the AZA for several endangered species, including Amur tigers, snow leopards, Canada lynx, western lowland gorillas, Mexican gray wolves and South African penguins. Captive breeding at AZA facilities is essential to holding the line against extinction, as it maintains genetically and demographically viable populations of endangered species in captivity over time. We are hopeful that next spring we could welcome several new additions to our animal collection. Waste Not Want Not With more than 600,000 annual guests and 800 animals, the Zoo generates a lot of trash. The elephants alone can produce up to 1,200 pounds of dung each day. By composting the waste in our elephant building, African Rift Valley exhibit and hippo area, the Zoo was able to reduce our trash output from 102 yards of trash per week to only 4 cubic yards per week (a cubic yard of animal dung can weigh up to 400 pounds). The Zoo has also started composting efforts in the commissary and Grizzly Grill kitchen areas. Right now, we are composting an estimated 790 tons of material annually. This means the Zoo is diverting 15 tons of trash each week from local landfills. Encounter Africa In April 2012, the Zoo successfully reached its $13.5 million fundraising goal for Encounter Africa, the Zoo’s largest project to date. Encounter Africa will provide an incredible new home for our elephants and lions, as well as give us space to bring the critically endangered black rhino back to the Zoo and add a new meerkat mob. Fundraising for the new exhibit began in the fall of 2009.