COLORADO SPRINGS — The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is back open.
The zoo has been closed for nearly three months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Saturday, visitors got a special treat as they were the first to see the zoo's new hippo and penguin exhibits.
The zoo is going through a phased reopening that comes after a variance request was approved by the Governor and State Health Dept.
Currently, the zoo is only allowing admission to members but that changes on Thursday, when tickets will be made available to the general public.
"Our job is to connect people with animals and help people be inspired by that and help people to care about animals in the wild. So we can't do that without partnering with people and the number one group that we partner with today is our members, and we're excited to have them back," Zoo President and CEO, Bob Chastain said.
The variance is currently approved for just two weeks, so the zoo is treating this time as a trial period.
