Water’s Edge Keeper Chat
We want to tell you about our Zoo Adventure at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, Colorado. We also want to provide fans of the Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield Missouri with an update on the Hippo sisters who vacationed with them.
When we first entered the Water’s Edge, Africa exhibit, we looked at each other and noted the ear to ear grin we were both wearing! We have seen some world class exhibits on our Zoo Adventures before, and this one hits all the marks: habitats that provide an excellent experience for both visitors and Animals, interactive educational materials, and strong cultural immersion to take the visitor on an adventure to the Animals’ homeland!
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, or CMZoo as they like to call themselves, created a beautiful experience for their visitors and Animal residents, and we could not be more happy to tell you about our first time getting to see it!
As we continued to explore the Water’s Edge exhibit and recover from our initial giddiness, we met up with Jeremy and Rachel. Jeremy is the Animal Care Manager responsible for Water’s Edge, and Rachel is the Public Relations and Social Media Manager for CMZ. They asked if we wanted to have an extra special experience: to meet and feed one of the Hippos. Naturally, we said, “Of course!”
We made our way to a fence next to the Hippo pool. On the other side of the fence we found a short black marble wall. The water level in the pool stays perfectly even with the top of the black marble, it’s kind of like an infinity pool. The space between the fence where visitors stand and the Hippo pool is incredibly small! In this space there is only a small strip of grass beside the fence and a grate beside the black marble where any water that splashes over the marble wall can drain and be returned to the pool.
CMZoo calls this the knife edge Hippo viewing area, and it provides visitors an amazing opportunity to get very close to the Hippos if they choose to say hello.
Jeremy handed Rachel a small grey tote he was carrying and climbed over the fence. He looked around the pool, called out, and stood close to the knife edge. Suddenly, the pool behind the black marble wall erupted, and the beautiful Kasai emerged from the deep. She had spotted Jeremy, saw that he was carrying the grey tote, and had already moved stealthily under the water to the knife edge. She knew the grey tote meant snacks, and she was ready for her treat!
After her head emerged from the pool, Kasai looked around for a second. Then she put both of her front feet up on the marble and was essentially standing half in the pool and half on the knife edge wall. She was right there looking us in the eyes!
Jeremy gave Kasai a training cue to ask her to open her mouth. She quickly glanced at the tote she knew contained goodies, and she happily opened wide. Jeremy opened the tote and handed us some pieces of cabbage heads which had already been cut into quarters. We threw them into Kasai’s enormous mouth.
Our throws were not very graceful, and Steve may have missed a time or two. Still, it was a great experience!
Very quickly, we had an audience. A couple of young boys had spotted Kasai standing on the marble wall. She is a Hippo after all, and as beautiful as she may be, she is hard to miss. As the boys moved quickly to the fence where we were standing, the boys uttered “ooohhs” and “aaahhhs” which drew the attention of other Zoo patrons. Before long a large group had gathered. You could see the excitement and amazement in all their faces from the youngest to the oldest.
Steve and I looked at each other again with a big, ear to ear grin! This is our primary mission: inspire others to have a Zoo Adventure! At this moment, those boys got to have their Adventure. Steve and I slid over to the side since Kasai is the star of this Adventure. Jeremy handed the kids some apples and sweet potatoes. Kasai happily opened wide again, and the boys fed her the same way Steve and I had.
It was a wonderful opportunity for everyone involved. Jeremy answered some questions. We got some amazing pictures and a great story to tell, but of course, others had an experience that will hopefully inspire them to be more educated about Animals and the need for their conservation. Again, mission accomplished today.
When the tote was empty, Jeremy signaled to Kasai that all the treats were gone. She lingered for a moment longer and then slid back into the water with a small splash. Excited to see what the rest of their day would bring, the rest of the crowd went on about their Zoo Adventures. That left Steve, Jeremy, Rachel and I to talk about Kasai and Water’s Edge exhibit.
This was not the first time we had seen Kasai. She and her sister, Zambezi, had spent the past few years at Dickerson Park Zoo, until they returned home to CMZoo in May 2020. We have had many Zoo Adventures at Dickerson Park Zoo click here, and we enjoyed seeing the Hippo sisters on those visits.
The Water’s Edge exhibit opened a year ago in June 2020. It was a complete demolition of the previous Hippo home and expansion of the Hippo habitats. While the brand-new Hippo habitats at CMZoo were being built, the Hippo sisters needed somewhere to stay. We asked Jeremy why Dickerson Park had been chosen. The response was simple and honest: it was a matter of available and suitable space. The Dickerson Park Zoo had recently downsized their Hippo group, also called a pod. So they had all of the necessary facilities and personnel, and they happily volunteered to care for the Hippo sisters during the renovation at CMZoo.
Cooperation like this among Zoos is common, and this cooperative spirit is vital to the mission of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, AZA. It is actually mandated within the standards and policies of AZA accreditation that AZA members must support and participate in transfers like this. (Steve looked it up because he’s a bit of a nerd; email us if you want the details.) However, we never got the impression from either CMZoo or Dickerson Park that they were only following rules. Very simply, CMZoo needed help and Dickerson Park was happy to rise to the occasion.
This cooperation between AZA members was also apparent as Jeremy talked about what went into the design of the Water’s Edge exhibits. The CMZoo was in constant contact with other AZA-accredited institutions to ensure the habitats met the needs of the Hippos and the other animals that call Water’s Edge home. An incredible amount of details goes into the design of an exhibit like this:
- amount of space for Animals
- what type of grass and vegetation to use
- water filtration and management
- facilities for behind the scenes care
- space to expand the Hippo pod(s)
No detail was too small! For example, Jeremy recalled research being conducted to determine the appropriate angle for the ramps into and out of the pool. As simple as that may sound, this angle is important to the comfort of the Hippos. Also, it becomes even more important with CMZoo’s plans to have Hippos of all ages very soon!
That’s right! CMZoo is hoping for baby Hippos in the future! The Species Survival Plan identified male Hippo, Biko, as a good potential mate for Kasai and Zambezi. As you may remember, the Species Survival Plan (SSP) is a coordinated effort between AZA members to ensure a healthy breeding population of various endangered species exists in Zoos and other member facilities in the event a species becomes extinct in the wild. After the SSP recommendation of Biko, he was transferred to CMZoo, and the Keepers began the gradual process of introducing him to the other Hippos.
The process of introducing Animals in human care takes time, and it must be done in a safe manner. If two Animals the size of Hippos do not get along, there is no practical way to separate the Animals once they are together. The results can be dangerous and even deadly. CMZoo Keepers are proceeding safely and cautiously, and they are using their extensive knowledge base and the cooperative knowledge of other AZA institutions to ensure safe and successful introductions of their Hippos.
When will we see baby Hippos at CMZoo? There was no definite timeline, but rest assured progress is being made.
There is so much more we would like to tell you about Water’s Edge Exhibits and all of the other animals we encountered on our Adventure. If you want to hear about it, be sure to check out our story about our entire CMZoo Adventure click here.
The best Zoo exhibits inspire people to become active participants in conservation by connecting people with Animals and providing immersive and interactive educational materials. The Water’s Edge exhibit does just that!
As you explore Water’s Edge, don’t forget to take a moment to learn from the educational exhibits provided. Yes, we want you to form those connections with the incredible African animals you will encounter, but more importantly, we hope you notice the theme: water.
Water is important. Water is critical for life. Water is precious, and the struggle for access to water is something we can easily take for granted. However, water and access to it in Africa is vital for the future of the iconic wildlife there. If you will let them, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo will take you on an educational adventure which will give you a better understanding of the challenges the people and wildlife in Africa face when it comes to water. We really enjoyed it. We know you will too!
To bring us full circle and back to the Hippos and the upgrade to their facilities, let me relay something amazing Jeremy told us about the pool’s water filtration system. The modern filtration systems in the new Water’s Edge Hippo pool is so efficient, it uses a quarter as much water as the previous filtration system, even though the Hippo pools are much larger than before! Also, you may notice the water is not crystal clear. This is by design. To keep the water clear requires consumption of much larger quantities of water which would be against the message of the entire Water’s Edge exhibit!
So what are you waiting for? This was our Zoo Adventure. Now go and have your own Zoo Adventure!