Cheyenne Mountain has 20 giraffes and Timbavati Wildlife Park has around 15, but what other zoos in the United States are close to those two in numbers? San Diego Zoo Safari Park and Columbus Zoo (in the brand-new Heart of Africa) must have large herds. Is there any zoo on the planet that is close to Cheyenne Mountain in terms of breeding success? That Colorado Springs zoo has had approximately 200 giraffes born there since the 1950's.
I found this exhibit to be pure madness when the nearly 100 plus people around the long boardwalk on a busy day could go up and pet, take a selfie, kiss, and hug on multiple giraffes with no staff supervision! Many had lettuce to feed them but many more just wanted a great photo op. The giraffe's somehow didn't seem to mind though as they kept coming back for more....
@Drew: what did you think of Cheyenne Mountain Zoo overall? Were you impressed with the enormous elephant barn? What did you make of Encounter Africa, Rocky Mountain Wild, Aquatics, great apes, etc. I've visited twice (2010 and 2014) and I find the zoo enjoyable but a mixture of good and poor enclosures.
I really liked Cheyenne Mountain Zoo overall, the experience is very different and unique with its steep hillside exhibits, incredible views from the zoo down to the valley below, and it's very successful multi- stair/elevator conveyance systems. Most of the newer exhibits have multiple viewing points at multiple elevations which I really enjoy. As a designer, I can appreciate how hard it would be to build on such a site!
The elephant barn was very nice and the only criticism is the backtrack you have to make once you reach it. The aquatics area was very subpar but that will be changing soon with the new hippo complex that will replace it. The primate exhibits were outdated but seemed to be functional enough.
I think the overall experience could have been better with more viewing opportunities at different elevations into some of the really nice hillside exhibits (amur leopard, tiger, and wolf come to mind). OVerall it is a really good (and unique) zoo.
EDIT: Yes I did make it to Denver and enjoyed the new Toyota Elephant Passage. Construction of the new tiger exhibit "The Edge" was underway as well which looks like it could have promise.
