This article was originally published by KRCC on Aug, 27, 2026.
In the foothills above Colorado Springs, winding paths and roaring lions lay beyond the gates of the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. You can also hear the beeping and whirring, bonking and hammering of heavy construction machinery.
The zoo is gearing up for its centennial celebration this September with a new president and CEO. A brand new giraffe enclosure near the entrance is getting some finishing touches before its unveiling.
Dave Ruhl stepped into the lead role earlier this summer after spending six years with the zoo. He has a background in zoo architecture and helped design the new giraffe center with previous CEO Bob Chastain.
“It started as a small addition to the existing building,” said Ruhl. “The more research we did, the more creative we got and it grew into this fantastic exhibit.”
The new enclosure has both an indoor and outdoor space, allowing the giraffes to move freely depending on their needs. The roof of the indoor space is made of a translucent material which Ruhl said allows a feeling of being outdoors. He said giraffes live by the sun and moon cycle so it’s important for them to feel outside even under shelter.
Giraffe care manager Kacie Meffley said she is excited to create a new environment for their herd. She said her team spends 10 hours or more a day caring for them.
“This (current) barn has taught us a lot on things that we can change,” said Meffley. “One of those is providing food in multiple locations and that’s what this new barn is going to allow us to do.”
The indoor space is a large room bisected by a pedestrian sky bridge that leads to an island in the middle. Large garage doors open at either end of the space for outdoor access and guest interaction through hand-feeding opportunities. The new space has seven different guest interaction points.
“What we’ve tried to do is take all of the lessons that we’ve learned about giraffes in the wild, all of the great work other zoos are doing with giraffes, and try to build them all into one facility,” said Ruhl. “When this opens, we’ll truly be the best giraffe care facility, especially in AZA (Association of Zoos and Aquariums), but we think in the world.”
Ruhl said it’s a far cry from what the zoo looked like 100 years ago when it formed from the small collection of animals belonging to Spencer Penrose.
“The evolution of zoos over time has been, I’ll call it extraordinary, because if you do look at the images from back in 1926, it’s a way different feel now,” said Ruhl.
With a focus on animal conservation and education, he looks ahead to the next century of the zoo.
“The zoo profession as a whole, we really focus on animal wellbeing, which is to make sure we’re giving them all of the things in life that make their life fulfilling,” said Ruhl.
Ruhl stepped into his role as CEO in June. After back-to-back clean inspections from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, he said he hopes to continue improving animal wellbeing and understanding. September’s centennial celebration has not been confirmed by the time of publication.