Cheyenne Mountain Zoo starting new program to help giraffes around the world

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is starting a new program to help giraffes all over the world!

The “International Center for the Care and Conservation of Giraffe” aims to help enrich the lives of giraffes around the globe living under human care. The program will offer workshops on giraffe training and medicine, will offer consulting services, and will have a response team ready to assist with emergencies. The zoo says this program is the first of its kind.

“We’ve been leading giraffe care workshops since 2015,” said Cheyenne Mountain Zoo senior animal behaviorist Amy Schilz. “Now that Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has made this investment in a fully dedicated staff and resources, we’re going to be able to reach so many more people and ultimately improve the lives of more giraffe.”

The zoo says the main goals of the program are improving the quality of veterinary care for giraffes in human care, advancing behavioral husbandry practices to improve giraffe welfare, and establish emergency response teams worldwide.

The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has seen more than 200 giraffe births and it has worked with countless giraffes over the years on everything from hoof care to eye exams. Keepers say they’re excited to take what they have learned here with giraffe care and apply it to giraffes everywhere!

“Giraffe are incredibly smart,” said Schilz. “Our whole herd voluntarily participates in their own hoof care. We ask them to come to the training panel where they raise their leg to rest their hoof on a block. Then we can trim, file or x-ray their hoof while we give them lots of rye crackers. It’s incredibly fulfilling as a trainer, and I’m excited to be able to share these methods with even more giraffe lovers through this new center.”

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