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Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Welcomes Baby Girl Giraffe Calf

October 14, 2020 By Claire Garlick Leave a Comment

Bailey, an 8-year-old reticulated giraffe at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, welcomed her very first calf to the herd at 11:37 a.m. on September 28, 2020. Bailey and the female giraffe calf are doing well. Following Cheyenne Mountain Zoo tradition, the calf will be named after she is 30 days old.

“You couldn’t ask anything more of a first-time mom,” said Jason Bredahl, giraffe animal care manager at CMZoo. “Bailey is nonstop grooming her baby, paying attention and making sure the baby is in a good position to nurse. Mom is doing a great job.”

The little calf is doing well, too. She’s already winning the hearts of CMZoo staff and online fans.

“This is probably the smallest giraffe calf I’ve ever seen,” said Bredahl. “Bailey is small for a giraffe, too, so that’s not surprising. She’s super adorable. She’s strong and is nursing well, so we’re really excited to share her with everyone as soon as we can.”

At first, the calf had a hard time standing because she had positioned herself in a corner of the stall and she kept bumping into the walls before she could get her footing. After waiting to see if she could get up on her own, keepers and vet staff asked Bailey to move into another area so they could give the calf a hand. The team picked her up and moved her into the middle of the stall around 1:27 p.m. She took her first steps on her own after a quick medical assessment, then a nudge from mom, at 1:38 p.m. As long as keepers observe that baby and mom are doing well, they will continue to let Bailey take the lead on providing her care.

The weight and height of the calf are not known yet, although keepers and vet staff say she is one of the smallest giraffe calves they’ve ever seen. Newborn giraffe calves are typically five to six feet tall and weigh 150 to 200 pounds. Exact measurements haven’t been taken, but this calf appears to weigh about 100 pounds and is around five-and-a-half feet tall.

The calf is the seventeenth member of Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s reticulated giraffe herd. The calf is the first offspring for mom, Bailey, and the sixth to be sired by dad, Khalid (pronounced cull-EED). Bailey moved to Cheyenne Mountain Zoo on a breeding recommendation in Sept. 2016. CMZoo’s breeding program began in 1954 and has welcomed more than 200 calves since its inception.

Thousands of worldwide viewers witnessed the calf’s birth on Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s live camera feed, which will continue to stream live from the sand stall, where Bailey and the calf will continue to bond for the coming weeks. The live stream of the birth stall, and both outdoor giraffe yard camera feeds, are available at cmzoo.org/giraffecam. The Zoo will continue to provide updates on their social media channels.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is not only a leader in the training and health of giraffe in human care, but they are also making a huge difference in conservation of giraffe in the wild. Reticulated giraffe, the subspecies to which CMZoo’s herd belongs, are endangered. There are just over 11,000 mature reticulated giraffe individuals in the wild, and that population is decreasing. According to International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, the reticulated giraffe population has declined by 56% in the last thirty years.

In October and November 2019, CMZoo helped establish a new population of a critically endangered giraffe in Uganda. The Operation Twiga IV team successfully reintroduced 15 Nubian giraffe to Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve, where they haven’t existed in nearly 25 years. CMZoo VP of Mission and Programs, Dr. Liza Dadone, assisted with research and anesthesia, and provided care for the giraffe during the translocation. Our contribution to this effort is possible thanks to ongoing support from CMZoo members, guests and donors. Operation Twiga IV is led by Uganda Wildlife Authority with support from Giraffe Conservation Foundation, Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and other partners from around the world. See a video about the Zoo’s latest field conservation effort, Operation Twiga IV, here.

Through Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s Quarters for Conservation program, by which 75 cents of every Zoo admission is allocated to conservation, guests have helped CMZoo send more than $3 million to support important conservation efforts since 2008.

Article originally published at https://www.cmzoo.org/news/archive/cheyenne-mountain-zoo-welcomes-baby-girl-giraffe-calf/.

Royal Gorge 50 Mile Bike Ride Challenge

October 7, 2020 By Claire Garlick Leave a Comment

The jewel of the Royal Gorge Region’s trail system – the Royal Gorge Trails – is a stunning system of singletrack trail. Trails range from green to black and flowy to technical. While the Royal 50 / Gorgeous 25 Mountain Bike Races will not be held in-person this year, you can now challenge yourself to complete 50 or 25 miles on this incredible terrain.

With a significant amount of elevation gain, you’ll have the opportunity to climb through the hills surrounding the north rim of the famed Royal Gorge over the Arkansas River. Catch views (and your breath) along 20 available miles of unique singletrack. Create your own route, ride laps on your favorite trails, or check out royal50.com for suggested routes and more details about the challenges in general!

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For those of us looking for an easier day, head over to https://royalgorgebridge.com/. You may still be able to catch the leaves turning too!

Article info from http://www.royal50.com.

10 Things to do in Colorado Before Summer Officially Ends

September 9, 2020 By Claire Garlick Leave a Comment

It may be the dog days of summer, but there’s still time to knock these off the list…

Summer is brief, here in Colorado. In the mountains, the snow sticks around until June and usually makes a roaring comeback by October.

Still, that’s plenty of time to check some things off your Colorado summer bucket list, things every resident or visitor to our great state should do before they kick the bucket. With that in mind, we’ve put together a list of things to add to, then check off, your list this summer.

Drink a microbrew at 14,000 feet

Colorado has more mountains above 14,000 than any other state in the Lower 48. Climbing one is a feat of endurance that will have you gasping for breath in the thin air while your legs scream at you about the constant uphill walking. But get to the top of one and you’ll be rewarded with a breathtaking view from the top of the world and feeling of accomplishment that goes great with a Colorado microbrew you carried all that way.

Mountain bike down a ski hill

Most people who come to a Colorado ski area do so in winter, but for a brief period after the snow has melted and the mud has dried, many resorts spin the lifts for mountain biking. Take your bike, or rent one if you don’t have a full-suspension downhill bike, and you’ll never look at the sport in the same way again. If you’ve spent your life pedaling up trails to get the downhill adrenaline rush, it will feel almost like cheating.

Soak in a natural hot springs

Yes, most of Colorado’s many hot springs resorts and spas are open year-round, but summer is the best time to visit one, when the mountain air is warm and you don’t have to rush inside after a soak to avoid freezing to death. They range in opulence from rustic, natural pools to posh resorts. The geothermally heated water comes from deep below the ground for our soaking pleasure, a side effect of the geologic forces that built the Rockies. Some great destinations include Indian Hot Springs, just 30 miles west of Denver; Mount Princeton, near Buena Vista; Glenwood Hot Springs; and Pagosa Hot Springs in southern Colorado.

Drive Trail Ridge Road

This road through Rocky Mountain National Park may have more amazing scenery per mile than any other in Colorado. The road, which connects the towns of Estes Park and Grand Lake, tops out at 12,209 feet and is blanketed in deep snow most of the year. But come between June and September and you’ll be awed at the mountain splendor of this gorgeous corner of Colorado. Be sure to give yourself lots of time because you’ll be stopping for plenty of pictures (and maybe traffic if it’s a summer weekend.)

See a show at Red Rocks

The most famous concert venue this side of Madison Square Garden belongs on every Coloradan’s bucket list. The concert venue is located between massive rocky outcroppings, with the lights of Denver twinkling in the distance. It’s a unique concert experience, for fans and the artists who spend their summers touring bland, cookie-cutter amphitheaters, so expect a good show.

Coronavirus makes this one difficult to check off, but be on the lookout for the rare in-person or virtual concerts. And if music isn’t your thing, you might want to try for a drive-in movie instead.

Ride the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad

Before the highways laced the mountains, the railroads were lifelines for Colorado’s isolated mining towns. None are more isolated than Silverton in southwest Colorado. Although the train normally starts in Durango, it’s starting at the Rockwood Station just 18 miles north of the city at the moment. Hop on and enjoy some of the most incredible scenery in the state while you sit back and relax. Stop for lunch in historic Silverton before the long journey home (or at least back to your car).

Climb the highest sand dune in North America

You’ll find a unique natural gem in southern Colorado’s San Luis Valley, where thousands of years of winds from the desert southwest have built an impressive collection of dunes up against the jagged wall of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve is unlike anywhere else in Colorado and a must-see for those who haven’t been. Come in early summer when Medano Creek is flowing and you can climb the dunes barefoot without burning your feet.

Day hike to a unique spot near the Front Range

Just because you live in Denver or Colorado Springs doesn’t mean you can’t experience the beauty of the mountains on an easy day hike. There are many destinations that you can visit and be home in time for an afternoon nap. Staunton State Park is amazing day trip, with jagged cliffs and waterfalls and a robust trail system. Another easy getaway is Saint Mary’s Glacier, a modest hike starting near Interstate 70 west of Denver.

Explore ancient cliff dwellings

More than 600 years before Colorado became a state there was a flourishing civilization in the Southwest that left behind one of the great archaeological wonders of North America: the cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde National Park. Built in locations that seem impossible to modern eyes, and without modern tools, the cliff dwellings stand as a testament to the Anasazi (Ancestral Puebloan) culture, which flourished and then disappeared for reasons nobody is quite sure of, all before Columbus “discovered” the Americas. Tour the dwellings and wonder if our cities will have similar staying power in 600 years.

Camp at (or at least hike to) a mountain lake

John Denver had it right – there’s nothing more serene than a clear blue mountain lake. Colorado’s mountains are full of wilderness gems, where the cold waters teem with fish and the mountains tower overhead. The best way to enjoy one is to carry an overnight pack and camp, to spend as much time as possible soaking in the view or catching trout, but a lake can also make a great day hike. See elsewhere in this guide for some destination ideas, or just take out a map, look for a lake and find the nearest trailhead.

Article originally published at https://theknow.denverpost.com/2020/08/28/things-to-do-colorado-summer/239110/.