(COLORADO SPRINGS) — The grizzly bear area of Rocky Mountain Wild at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (CMZoo) will close in January to allow for improvement projects that will provide new views of the bears for visitors.
According to CMZoo, guests and members will soon get new views of the Zoo’s nearly 19-year-old grizzly bears, Emmett and Digger. The Zoo said a project that is currently underway will allow visitors to get different perspectives of the bears from ground level and an additional guest viewing area.
Ongoing improvements to the bears’ habitat – including the recently completed waterfall in their north yard – will also make it better suited to provide homes for potentially orphaned cubs needing human care.
Starting in January, the grizzly bear area will close to allow work to proceed on the project. The Zoo said the estimated reopening date is early summer 2024, though the Zoo hopes to meet or beat that deadline.
Because most of the work will be done outside the bears’ enclosure, the Zoo said Emmett and Digger will have access to their indoor and outdoor spaces as usual. Only the visitor viewing area will be closed.
“One of the most noticeable changes for our guests will be the removal of the grizzly bear boardwalk,” said Dave Ruhl, CMZoo executive vice president. “We’re decommissioning the elevator and building new pathways that we believe will provide better access for our guests visiting the grizzlies. We have something really fun in mind for the future of the elevator tower.”
The elevator tower will stay in place as a future play feature, with giant tube slides attached to its sides. Guests will be able to take the stairs up, as they can now, but instead of walking to the boardwalk, they can either slide back down or enjoy the view and walk down the stairs.
“We believe these changes are going to improve both guest experiences and animal experiences,” said Ruhl. “There are no current plans to welcome cubs to the Zoo, but unfortunately, wildlife officials need to find homes for orphaned cubs nearly every year. If we can give them a second chance at life by providing a safe home for them, we will.”
