Zoos and Aquariums

Dear drunk bro: I'm sorry we don't speak the same language. Love, the girl with real glasses

From the moment we stepped out of the car last Friday night, we were three girls looking for a fight. Being in LoDo will do that do you: There's an air of misbehavior that must be half the appeal of the place. My mom's been an ER nurse for close to four decades, and she says that at least once a wee ... More >>

Unity in the ’Hood

Much To Do at the Zoo

Reader: RIP, Mimi -- my daughter fell in love with elephants because of you

Mimi the elephant passed away at the Denver Zoo last week, without getting to really appreciate her new home in the Toyota Elephant Passage, which opened just over four months ago. Mimi had been at the zoo since 1961; she was a gift from Helen Bonfils, owner of the Denver Post. Zookeepers estimated ... More >>

Plains Thinking

Photos: Snow, polar bear made famous in Denver, dies in Tucson zoo

Circa the mid-1990s, there were no bigger stars in Denver than Klondike and Snow, a pair of polar bears at the Denver Zoo, where they were born and raised after their mom abandoned them. The pair were eventually moved to other facilities, with Snow winding up at Reid Park Zoo in Tucson, where she d ... More >>

Wild asses at the Denver Zoo -- the four-legged Somali kind!

Where's the best place to find wild asses in Denver? If you guessed Shotgun Willie's, you're probably right. But we would have also accepted the Denver Zoo. Why's that? Because the zoo is now home to two 600-pound Somali wild asses named Kalifa and Kamowa. The two half-brothers recently arrived fro ... More >>

Ten things to do for $10 this weekend, August 3-5, 2012

This weekend is sure to be out of this world. Whether you're witnessing the newest mission to Mars, browsing ethereal art, or journeying to a Harry Potter world of magic, you won't need more than a Hamilton to escape reality at these exciting events. Have a blast, get out there, and don't worry abou ... More >>

Photos: Denver Zoo's $50M Toyota Elephant Passage opens today

This is it, zoo fans. This is what you've been waiting for and dreaming of since you approved that $62.5 million zoo-improvement bond in 1999. Big, hulking male elephants -- up to eight of 'em -- living in City Park. Big, hulking male elephants and their big, hulking...trunks. Today is the day tha ... More >>

Soosha, 25-year-old Denver Zoo polar bear, dies after "severe decline in health"

Cranbeary the polar bear is no stranger to loss or heartbreak. Two years ago, she lost her mate, Frosty, who died of liver cancer at the age of 25, just one month after Cranbeary arrived at the zoo to er, become acquainted with him. And last week, Cranbeary's aunt, 25-year-old Soosha, was euthanized ... More >>

Cranbeary the widowed Denver Zoo polar bear gets another chance at Thanksgiving romance

Cranbeary has been unlucky in love. Frosty, a 25-year-old male who was the last bear destined to mate with the Denver Zoo's frisky female, died of liver cancer a month after Cranbeary arrived in Denver, making her the Anna Nicole Smith of polar bears. But the zoo is trying again with Lee, a twelve-y ... More >>

Meet Bodhi, the Denver Zoo's first male elephant: Bring on the green weenie!

Bodhi.​The green weenie is here. The Denver Zoo has welcomed its first male elephant, a seven-year-old named Bodhi who hails from Ohio. Thanks to a new exhibit called Asian Tropics, the zoo will soon have space for up to eight male elephants -- a serious undertaking for a very moist reason.

Alonzo Ashley: Decision not to charge anyone for homicide at Denver Zoo leads to protest, arrest

Alonzo Ashley.​In July, Alonzo Ashley died at the Denver Zoo after being tased by police. The coroner's office subsequently ruled the death a homicide, but the Denver District Attorney's Office isn't charging anyone with a crime in relation to it; see the decision statement below. This turn of ... More >>

Students and gorillas enjoy local food on Colorado Proud School Meal Day

Man and beast keep it local.​At the Denver Zoo today, five gorillas chomped on lettuce and squash. Slightly more delicately, students from Steele Elementary ate pears, apples and wraps. And none of the ingredients in today's meals came from outside of Colorado. As part of Colorado Proud Schoo ... More >>

Denver Zoo death: Girlfriend disputes cops' tale about why Alonzo Ashley was tased (VIDEO)

Alonzo Ashley.​Yesterday, Denver Police said a man who died Monday at the Denver Zoo, now ID'd as Alonzo Ashley, went into such a cop-biting frenzy that he had to be contact-tased. But his girlfriend and family contend that he was merely suffering the effects of extreme heat when the situation ... More >>

Denver Zoo buries time capsule in Asian Tropics, new elephant and tapir exhibit

​ When it's finished in the spring of 2012, Asian Tropics, the Denver Zoo's ambitious new exhibit, will be home to elephants, rhinos, leopards, flying foxes, fishing cats, otters, gibbons, tapirs and... a time capsule made by middle-schoolers.

Denver Zoo orangutan with breathing problems better at grooming (& sex?) with new treatment

Mias takes a hit. Smooth.​ For years, Denver Zoo orangutan Mias looked sad. "He was definitely lethargic and slower," says Tiffany Barnhart, zoo spokeswoman. "We'd see him holding his head off in the corner and not participating in things with his mate." But lately, things are looking up for M ... More >>

Denver Zoo entices children to raise $7 million for its new elephant exhibit, Asian Tropics

"Anything helps."​ The Denver Zoo is $7 million short of the $50 million it needs to complete its biggest project ever: Asian Tropics, a new exhibit that will house up to twelve endangered Asian elephants. And to reach its goal, the zoo has zeroed in on a category of philanthropists who are eq ... More >>

Zoo Animal

Friday, January 14, hi-dive, 720-570-4500.

Lights, Camera, Animals

Denver Zoo's new animal babies: Four itty-bitty Komodo dragons with teeth that could kill you

Dave Parsons/Denver Zoo​ Here's to you, Hagrid. The Denver Zoo is hatching dragons! In the past week, four Komodo dragons have hatched at the zoo. And the keepers are expecting even more: Four eggs remain in the incubator. Even though Komodo dragons are lizards, and lizards aren't that cute, ... More >>

Denver Beer Fest: Brews with the mayor and beer with funnel cake kick off the festivities

​Good morning! Have you had your first beer yet? Denver kicks off its second annual Denver Beer Fest today, a ten day fiesta celebrating all things hopped. While the heart of the party - the Great American Beer Festival - doesn't take place until next week, there are plenty of things for the ... More >>

Denver Zoo's Asian Tropics exhibit: No elephants yet, just backhoes

Imagine elephants here.​Apparently, one of the most tricky parts of building a new zoo exhibit is making the fake rocks look real. You know, so they don't distract visitors from the animals and stuff. "You don't want people thinking about that," says George Pond, the Denver Zoo's vice presid ... More >>

Denver Zoo mourns Frosty the bear, welcomes sea lion pup

Dave Parsons/Denver ZooNaptime!​ Call it the circle of life. This week, the Denver Zoo mourned the loss of a polar bear named Frosty and celebrated the birth of an effing adorable baby sea lion named... well, nothing yet. The baby is a very talkative girl whose vocalizations, as heard in the ... More >>

Peacocks are nothing. Here's five other ways your kid can suffer an injury at the Denver Zoo

Stand back.​There's nothing worse than the phone call a dad or mom gets from school or camp letting them know that their kid has been hurt on a field trip or during an activity. It can turn your stomach to mush and make the hairs on your back stand up straight. Sort of like the feathers on th ... More >>

Denver Zoo's sheep baby daddys are working overtime: Five new lambs!

Denver Zoo"What's up, Ma?"​You know what's the most effing adorable thing ever? Baby sheep. And maybe baby monkeys and baby giraffes and horny polar bears named Cranbeary. But definitely not naked mole rats. And the best place to oogle baby sheep this summer will be the Denver Zoo, seeing ... More >>

Dress for Success

Are baby giraffes cuter than baby monkeys? You be the judge

Dave Parsons/Denver ZooBaby Cricket gets licked by her mama, Heshimu, minutes after being born.​Last month, we here at Westword told you about the Denver Zoo's new, effing adorable baby monkey, Kanani. Kanani's effing adorable photo now serves as the computer desktop photo of a certain staff w ... More >>

Elephants You’ll Remember

Carmelo Anthony and son (not) mauled by lion at the Denver Zoo

Photo from I Am La LaCarmelo Anthony and his son, Kiyan, meet a lion at the Denver Zoo​Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony took his two-year-old son, Kiyan, to get up-close-and-personal with some wild beasts at the Denver Zoo last month, prompting his fiance, former MTV VJ La La Vasquez, to wo ... More >>

Zoo who? The Denver Zoo's new "mystery" billboard campaign

Denver Egotist Kudos to the folks at Denver Egotist for first noticing this billboard-size blunder: Two billboards have gone up, one at Cherokee Street and Alameda Avenue and one at West Custer Place between Lipan and Jason streets, emblazoned with Denver Zoo's manipulative ad slogan "Every time yo ... More >>

Lights, Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

Children of the Corn

Seven Hidden Dangers of the Denver Zoo

Visit the Zoo or the Baby Seal Gets It.

Super Ape

A former Denverite was the star of the Super Bowl commercials.

A Slice of History

Get yourself a pizza the action at the Wazee's anniversary party

Wild Denver

Predator Ridge transforms the Denver Zoo

The Importance of Being Holly

Meet Holly Kylberg, the boldest of Denver's boldfaced names.

Off Limits

Dumbo and dumber

Off Limits

Animal instincts

The Lions Roar

Denver's Big Four are getting even bigger.

Best Old Kitsch Landmark

The Big Cowboy

City Parked

Neighbors didn't ask for a lot, and they're happy not to get it.

A Bug-Eat-Bug World

Thrills for the week

No Magic Wanda

KLONDIKE AND SNOW JOB

OFF LIMITS

THRILLS