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Cheyenne Mountain Zoo's evacuation plan includes special emergency training for some animals

Zookeepers at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo have special emergency training for wildfires for some smaller animals including Colobus monkeys.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs is no stranger to bad luck in the last year.

Disasters seem drawn to the place. It got hit by that monster hailstorm in August. There were wildfires nearby.

The zoo smartly has an evacuation plan. The staff knows what do in case of emergency, and even some of the animals do, too.  

Zookeepers have taught the monkeys to get in their crates, pull in their tails, and shut the crate doors. The humans come by and latch the crates. But it's not as simple as the normal crate training because animals, like Rudi the Colobus monkey, need to all go into their crates at once.  

The lead zookeeper in Rudi's exhibit, Jenyva Fox, said Rudi is one of the best at the emergency training because he doesn't mind chilling in his crate waiting on the three ladies who live with him, who aren't always ready to go.

“He just hangs out and eats potatoes. He has it pretty good,” said Fox. “The girls are all getting used to being in the crate for longer durations, and that's what we're working on right now.”

The animals get this training two to three times a week. 

Most of the time it’s successful, unless some of them get too excited. 

“Sometimes I've had problems where two monkeys get into one crate because they both want to participate in the training process,” said Fox. 

Their habitat is also next door to the lions, so that can get a little distracting.

Some smaller animals, like meerkats, receive similar training. The main goal is for them to get comfortable being in crates, so they can be moved to other buildings with better fire protection.

The large animals already have buildings with more fire-proofing - so, no fire drills for the giraffes.

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