The all-male Asian elephant herd at the Denver zoo has one of the best bachelor pads in the country, according to USA Today.
Two Colorado zoos made the cut for Best Zoo Exhibits in 2025 after zoos nationwide were nominated by a panel of experts and then voted on by USA Today’s readership: the Toyota Elephant Passage at the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance, in City Park, and Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s Rocky Mountain Wild exhibit, in Colorado Springs.
USA Today’s criteria included that zoos “not only educate but also engage visitors by transporting them to another place,” the list explained.
The Toyota Elephant Passage has the largest bachelor Asian elephant herd in the country, according to Jake Kubie, Denver Zoo spokesperson. The roughly ten acres of habitat has “multiple indoor and outdoor habitats, water features where they can fully submerge and swim,” Kubie said.
The exhibit also has two daily educational demonstrations, where the animal care specialists teach the elephants how to lift their legs or open their mouths so the specialists can make sure they are healthy.
Denver Zoo also has lots of opportunities for the elephants to socialize, which allows for the zoo to study how bachelor elephants interact with each other, Kubie said.
Rocky Mountain Wild, at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, has been voted second best zoo exhibit nationwide since 2022. It features mountain lions, Alaska moose, Canada lynx, Mexican wolves, and a bald eagle, according to its website. USA Today readers also voted Cheyenne Mountain Zoo the No. 2 zoo in the country and the No. 2 zoo membership.
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