Volunteer Zoo Experience in Colorado

On your ride from the airport, you will be in awe of the spectacular Rocky Mountains. As you approach the zoo, which is 6800 feet above sea level, the excitement builds, you are excited about your adventure in volunteer work with animals.

Your accommodations this week are at a local dude ranch where you can enjoy swimming, hiking, horseback riding and all the ranch has to offer. 

Dinner is campfire fare, hot dogs and burgers on the grill with s’mores to round out the evening. The stars are brilliant in the Colorado sky, lighting up the campground like daylight.

Your day begins with the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo animal ambassadors. Meet the animals, learn their stories, and how their species are surviving in the wild.

After lunch, your docent will walk you through the exhibits at the zoo, highlighting the animals’ stories and the conservation efforts that Cheyenne Mountain Zoo uses to keep the zoo running smoothly and environmentally friendly.

You will get to experience wild animal encounters up close and personal today. Feed the critically endangered Amur Leopard and learn about how there are fewer than 100 left in the wild.

Get an up-close look at one of the African elephants at the zoo. Hand-feed the elephant, a special treat.

Tour the giraffe barn and participate in a training session with the zookeepers by working on an interactive toy for the giraffes. Join a mini-safari and walk among the animals in the giraffe yard.

Enjoy an early morning horseback ride at the ranch. Have a ranch-hand style breakfast then head out to the barn for a lesson in caring for the horses. After lunch, hike to the river for some freshwater swimming.

Head over to the zoo late afternoon for a pizza dinner and private, after-hours tour of the zoo. Help put the animals to bed for the night, and discover some behind-the-scenes work the zookeepers do. Sleep in the zoo’s bunkhouse tonight, lulled to sleep by the sounds of the wild.

You are the zookeeper’s assistant this morning, as you help make the feeding rounds for the zoo’s inhabitants. You are now a zoo expert and will spend the day assisting the zookeepers in tasks that will bring you closer to the amazing animals who live here.

Spend the day at the ranch. Horseback ride, fish, hike and attend a sheep herding demonstration. The agile sheepdogs are fun to watch as they manage their flock.

The bonfire on your final night at the ranch is a wonderful send-off as you prepare to return home.

Saying goodbye to all the amazing people and animals on Cheyenne Mountain will be difficult. This place tugs at the heartstrings and makes you yearn for life on the ranch.