Don't Call Me Ishmael: Denver Days: Zoo after the snow

Not Bodhi.

I failed at my one goal when visiting the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance - I wanted to see Bodhi.

The mid-2000s star of the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium’s Asian elephant exhibit lives at the Denver Zoo in City Park.

Not Bodhi.

The 300-pound sausage who hid under his mother was now the tallest of the six male Asian elephants in Denver, owing to his long legs. His mother, Phoebe, still lives at Columbus, and had a female calf in 2025 at age 38.

As for Bodhi, he was off-exhibit this Saturday as the other male elephants grazed in the massive elephant enclosure. “You might be able to see him if you look down that way,” one zoo staffer told me. But I couldn’t. There would be no Bodhi for me. While I got over missing Bodhi, pretty much everything else at the Denver Zoo was enjoyable and up to the standards of a big-city zoo.

The boys

Bodhi has quite a life at 5,280 feet of elevation. Elephant Passage is rated among the best zoo exhibits nationwide. The six male elephants range 11 years old to 56-year-old Groucho, who gets daily cognitive challenges to keep his mind sharp (he has outlived the average age for Asian elephants).

The Elephant Passage contains three areas reminiscent of different southeast Asian environments - The Chang Pa Wildlife Preserve, The Schoelzel Family Village and the Village Outpost - and two miles of trails spread across 10 acres.

The boys get a choice between multiple enclosures each day. The keepers have developed a system of symbols for each elephant and one (usually Bodhi) gets to decide who joins them in which yard. They have access to multiple ponds and mud wallows for enrichment. That way, they can be outside but not crowded, and the exhibits also house greater one-horned rhinos and Malayan tapirs at different times.

Situated in City Park east of downtown, the zoo was an early pioneer in natural exhibits. Dating back a century, the zoo moved away from the concrete and bars to settings that stressed the animals less. Bear Mountain, the original natural exhibit, still operates, although the bears were deep in winter slumber.

Denver received a heavy, wet snow the previous day, but a 50-degree Saturday seemed perfect for the zoo. The penguins thrived in this weather, and dove for fish rewards.

The African building with the lion blind has space for the West African dwarf crocodile, who was content to chill in its heated water and let the world go by.

The male lions greeted everyone with their roars. We didn’t get to the portion of the exhibit with the four cubs born in 2025, but a zoo docent told me they are pushing 75 pounds and not the blue-eyed cubs everyone hopes to see.

The two species of bighorn sheep – desert and mountain -did not mind the elements., finding sunny spots to rest. The African penguins came out for their twice-daily show, eager for the small fish that came with their appearance.

Most of the apes, monkeys, lemurs, and other primates moved to indoor enclosures until warmer days. Several nocturnal primates received exhibits with low-lights. The orangutans did venture out for some vegetable snacks.

A keeper discussed the gorillas as they milled around the indoor enclosure. A male gorilla stormed up to the glass where my friend stood. His speed was frightening for his size, but we agreed he was probably more of a gentleman than much of the Colorado dating pool.

For Australia, the zoo’s kangaroos and wallabies share a large yard, which allows visitors to get close to the gentle marsupials. One kangaroo made an immediate impression – with her white fur, pink nose and eyes, I knew the zoo had a rare albino kangaroo.

But how did the harsher UV rays impact such a sun-sensitive marsupial? This seemed like a bad climate for any creature with a sun sensitivity. A zookeeper told me she had been trained to apply sun block to her nose, the most vulnerable spot. Hard not to enjoy when a zoo has a good answer for a potential animal hazard.

The giraffes huddled indoors, their building tall enough for their stature but the one exhibit that felt a little dated. To be fair, with the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo known for his 15-head giraffe herd, it would have felt small no matter what.

Tropical Discovery covers amphibians, reptiles and serves as the zoo’s aquarium. The amphibian exhibit displayed a worldwide range of frogs and toads of all sizes and colors. Many rare frog species caught my eye, including the Titicaca frogs. They sat underwater and seem undisturbed by the activity around them.

Two intimidating Komodo dragons sat motionless in their enclosures. Part of a captive breeding/species survival program, they looked stately but as though they could spring to motion and haul down prey. The famously don't have to do more than bite and track - their neurotoxins and anticoagulant saliva slow down their prey.

DZCA finished a renovation of its seal exhibit in 2025, with the deep pool surrounded by a wharf-inspired setting. The seals seemed just fine with the new digs.

The Denver Zoo acquitted itself quite well, from the elephant and lion displays to little nooks for thumb-sized frogs. The big urban zoo moves by at a leisurely pace, as gentle as the grazing horses and buffalo.