‘Hey, Denver,’ says Abbie Krause, if you’re looking for a nice little holiday escape, consider a quick trip down south to Pueblo for an evening visit to the Pueblo Zoo. It will not only be a chance to see southern Colorado’s oldest, historic zoo, said the zoo’s Executive Director, but also a way to spend a family-friendly evening under an amazing display of holiday lights while walking the grounds.
The very first shovelful of dirt turned to create the city’s zoo came as The Great Depression hung over the nation. Programs like the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Workers Progress Administration were busy building schools, roads and bridges, hospitals and great natural amphitheaters like Colorado’s iconic Red Rocks to keep Americans working.
As the zoo has evolved, it has grown around its original and unique architecture. Many of its rockface edifices remain in place but are now complemented by state-of-the-art enclosures designed and built with the focus on the animals and their wellbeing. Also, the city no longer runs the facility. It is now under the auspices of the Zoological Society.
Since it became a part of the city’s fabric, the zoo, like so many others, has evolved from a place for just seeing animals into an educational experience that provides an A-to-Z tutorial on everything from animal evolution to environment. Zoos have also become seasonal social outlets and not only in Pueblo.
“More people attend zoos (across the country),” said Krause, “than attend all professional (sports) teams combined.” Attendance, she said, has also created opportunities for “teaching people and advocating for animals.”
While the Pueblo Zoo provides as much care and attention it can for its menagerie, said Krause, there are still everyday realities that a smaller community faces. Easy access to veterinarians is an everyday challenge and not only for Pueblo. It’s a national shortage. “We’re always looking around the country,” she said. “We’re lucky to have CSU.” Colorado State University Fort Collins is home to perhaps the country’s premier vet school.
Beginning the day after Thanksgiving and through the month of December, the zoo is presenting Pueblo’s Magical Light Show. “There will be thousands of lights,” promises Krause, offering a nocturnal peek at the animals, a chance to examine local artist’s wares and have a “southern Colorado experience.”
Visitors, especially those from cities like Denver or Colorado Springs, should not expect the same kind of zoo experience that larger cities offer. Instead, they’ll get an intimate as well as entertaining look at how a smaller venue optimizes a wildlife experience.
A visit to the Pueblo Zoo any time of year provides a chance to go ‘around the world’ from the Serengeti to the Australian outback to the jungles of Asia. There are also llamas, guanacos and alpacas representing South America. Southern Colorado’s largest zoo, said Krause, is truly a one-stop safari for seeing big cats and wild dogs, kangaroos and Malayan sun bears.
Of course, said Krause, in planning a 21st century zoo experience, visitors can also catch a glimpse of Colorado’s own backyard. The zoo has Rocky Mountain elk, bison, swift foxes, a small cat-sized fox native to Colorado and the West. “We also have farm animals and domestic animals of the world,” the native Ohioan said.
The days when zoos merely housed animals are long past, Krause said. “The focus is on conservation.” No longer can visitors foolishly toss unhealthy food, even cigarettes, into cages for entertainment or see primates confined to unplanned and almost cruel and confining cages. Zoos, she said, “have embraced teaching people and advocating for animals.”
A visit to Pueblo’s Magical Light Show, said Krause, promises to give children a lifelong memory while reminding parents and older adults of a time long ago and “their own childhood…it really is a family tradition.”
Tickets for the Pueblo Zoo’s holiday festivities are $9 for adults, $7 for children. For more information call the Pueblo Zoo at 719.562-1452 or visit its website, pueblozoo.org.
