Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

We headed to this zoo after we finished up with the Garden of the Gods (on our trip to Colorado Springs over labor day weekend). This zoo was pretty cool. It was on Cheyenne Mountain itself, and was spread up the hillside. There were about 3-4 levels to the zoo, and this made for really interesting exhibits and viewing lofts. Unfortunately, I wasn't really able to capture that in the photos I took, but trust me, you sould see it yourself. It makes Tucson's zoo look very hot, plain, and sparse. We spent about 2-3 hours at this zoo, but we pretty much booked it around the exhibits, since we got such a late start in the day, we didn't get food, or spend much time reading the informational signs.

We had previously taken Lincoln to the Tucson Zoo back in April on the free day. We figured he wouldn't care much about the animals, but it was good to get him out and expose him to different things. We were right. The only animal I think he even saw at the Tucson zoo was the peacock, and that was not even in a cage. I think at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo he noticed a lot more of the animals. I am sure he didn't really know what to think about them, because he still didn't seem overly interested, but the experience was a bit better anyway.

I accidentally uploaded these pictures in reverse order, so just imagine us seeing these things in the opposite order.

The ape house:

This orangutan was soo cute. He had a momma and baby to watch over, but he still had the time to entertain all of us humans. He was really playful and in the video you can see him "kissing" at the little kids that get close to him. He did it for a long time, and really made thosee kids' days. :)

Daddy showing Lincoln the Gorillas. Lincoln noticed, and seemed somewhat curious about them.

Mommy & baby gorilla. This baby was dangling all over the momma before I started filming. It looks like the momma finally had had enough of it. I also though it was interesting that it appears that pregnancy and breastfeeding seems to wreak havoc on gorillas breasts similarly to humans.

Komodo Dragon. I think these things are pretty neat. I am glad that it was behind glass though, because I have heard that they really have stinky breath. ;)

These (I forget what they are, something related to, but much smaller than Kangaroos) were in an exhibit where you can just walk right through. It has double gates on both sides to prevent excapees, but it was interesting to be able to get so close to them. However, they seemed completely uninterested in the people in their home.

The aviary. One of the few exhibits that really got a response from Lincoln. There were soooo many bright, loud, active, colorful birds in there, that he couldn't help but notice, watch, and be interested in them.

What Lincoln looked like almost the entire time we were in the aviary. All smiles!

Grizzly bear exhibit. This seemed brand new, and very nice. Plus, the two bears in there were in a playful mood, and were swimming and play fighting, just like puppies would. I have a video of them below, but they were much more active right before I started filming (figures!).

Look at the crowd that has gathered to watch. The glass was pretty filmy, so I think Lincoln had a hard time seeing what was going on. He got pretty bored with us standing there for so long watching the bears play.

We didn't spend long looking at the lions, but I just loved the way theirs eyes are glowing in these pictures. Makes you kinda imagine what it might be like to shine your flashlight around at night out in the African Savannah.

I have never seen so many giraffes in one place as I did here at this zoo. There must have been like 20 of them! I have heard that this zoo is world renowned for its giraffe exhibit and successful breeding program.

A nice family picture taken by a kind stranger. :)