GraysonDP
Well-Known Member
Nashville Zoo Review
Date of Visit: June 2009
When I visited the Nashville Zoo in 2009, I was both impressed and disappointed. I was impressed by the level of quality and naturalism in its habitats but dismayed by the lack of development and incompleteness of the zoo. The quality of the individual exhibits is this zoo’s strength- it doesn’t have a comprehensive collection or any cohesive immersive complex that will knock your socks off. What is disappointing is that it hasn’t gotten significantly larger since my visit. Let’s hope the new tiger and Andean bear exhibits will be stellar, elevating the level of this zoo.
Excellent
African Savanna- While only made up of three exhibits, this is the closest the zoo has to an immersive themed complex. The first habitat seen is for red river hogs. It is solid but part of me wonders if it would be better suited for warthogs. Instead of being forested, it is filled with dirt and a few deadfalls with vegetation for backdrops. At the time of my visit, the second exhibit housed African elephants but they left the zoo last year and white rhinos are coming in this spring (elephants will come back to the zoo in a brand new exhibit in the future.) While it was quite a good elephant exhibit, I feel it wasn’t quite as impressive as the ones at North Carolina and Dallas. The things that are special about this habitat are the immersive backdrops through vegetation and realistic rockwork, the quality of grass and the viewing opportunities through watering holes. It is one of the few pachyderm habitats I have seen that actually looks and feels like it is in Africa. The yard is brilliant but the reason the elephants got moved out is apparently the barn was quite outdated. Once the rhinos come in I have no doubt it will be one of the very best for them in the country. The third and final habitat is a superb giraffe exhibit. It is quite spacious and dotted with trees. A kopje-esque backdrop is brilliant, the substrate is all green grass and I love the amount of browsing opportunities have. Overall it is quite naturalistic, the planting is superb and feels African and this is one of the best giraffe exhibits I have seen. These three habitats are mostly brilliant but it is too small to feel like a satisfying tour of Africa.
Meerkat- Hands down the best meerkat exhibit I have ever seen. It is at least triple the size of any other habitat for the species I have seen, is loaded with sand for digging and rocks for standing, the rockwork is flawless and visitors can see it through openings in tunnels underground. State-of-the-art and so cool.
Gibbon/Siamang Islands- The zoo’s only apes have some of the best primate islands around. The lushness here has to be seen to be believed- so much vegetation and several tall trees for climbing. There are ropes and enrichment opportunities here but one thing that makes this exhibit stand out is how natural all of it feels and none of the manmade structres are distracting or domineering. Absolutely brilliant.
Baird’s Tapir Habitat- The best tapir exhibit I have ever seen. A nice, realistic pool is found at the front allowing the animals to submerge and an extensive shady yard makes up the land area. The vegetation is expertly planted and the naturalism here is unrivaled in other tapir exhibits.
Cougar Habitat- For a big cat that so often gets slighted in terms of space and exhibitry, it is a breath of fresh air to see them in a beautiful, spacious exhibit. The cougar habitat is incredibly lush, has a small running waterfall in the middle and plenty of hiding and climbing opportunities. One of the best around.
Alligator Cove- A brilliantly designed exhibit with plenty of water and tons of detail. It actually looks like a swamp! The natural backdrops are perfect and it is one of the very best alligator exhibits I have seen.
Average
Bamboo Trail- A group of habitats that are loosely connected through a forest theme. A lush rhinoceros hornbill exhibit is quite nice while a decently sized clouded leopard exhibit is one of the best in the nation. I like it because it has a tall tree and long fallen over log for the cats to climb. Also, it has loads of bamboo in the back and plenty of detail. A red panda exhibit has some good trees in it but is a bit lacking in terms of enrichment and size. Good but not flawless. Two lemur exhibits are simply average although they have beautiful backdrops. A naturalistic crested porcupine exhibit is excellent and one of the best around while a flamingo pool is standard. This section has some very good exhibits but there isn’t enough that ties them together to make this that memorable.
Jungle Loop- It starts out with a very green cassowary exhibit that’s quite nice. A habitat for zebras, ostriches and elands is quite large and vast but minimal in terms of naturalism and detail and the viewing areas are quite weak. A seemingly nice kangaroo exhibit has opened in this section in recent years but wasn’t around yet on my visit. When I was there, a lush but average and standard tiger habitat was found but it is currently being remodeled and should be great.
Poor
We want more!- This zoo has so many excellent individual habitats but frankly there isn’t enough here and it feels quite incomplete- in a way most major zoos don’t make me feel. This is a shame because this could be a first-class zoo and has so much potential. I really hope the master plan gets completed.
Nashville has one of the highest levels of quality of any zoo I have visited. However, there aren’t that many exhibits here and the grounds are quite sparse. There are a number of great exhibits but not enough to make this one of the best zoos in the country. Potentially, I could see this being a top 20 zoo in the country but for now I’d place it between 28 and 42 on my list of America’s best zoos.
Date of Visit: June 2009
When I visited the Nashville Zoo in 2009, I was both impressed and disappointed. I was impressed by the level of quality and naturalism in its habitats but dismayed by the lack of development and incompleteness of the zoo. The quality of the individual exhibits is this zoo’s strength- it doesn’t have a comprehensive collection or any cohesive immersive complex that will knock your socks off. What is disappointing is that it hasn’t gotten significantly larger since my visit. Let’s hope the new tiger and Andean bear exhibits will be stellar, elevating the level of this zoo.
Excellent
African Savanna- While only made up of three exhibits, this is the closest the zoo has to an immersive themed complex. The first habitat seen is for red river hogs. It is solid but part of me wonders if it would be better suited for warthogs. Instead of being forested, it is filled with dirt and a few deadfalls with vegetation for backdrops. At the time of my visit, the second exhibit housed African elephants but they left the zoo last year and white rhinos are coming in this spring (elephants will come back to the zoo in a brand new exhibit in the future.) While it was quite a good elephant exhibit, I feel it wasn’t quite as impressive as the ones at North Carolina and Dallas. The things that are special about this habitat are the immersive backdrops through vegetation and realistic rockwork, the quality of grass and the viewing opportunities through watering holes. It is one of the few pachyderm habitats I have seen that actually looks and feels like it is in Africa. The yard is brilliant but the reason the elephants got moved out is apparently the barn was quite outdated. Once the rhinos come in I have no doubt it will be one of the very best for them in the country. The third and final habitat is a superb giraffe exhibit. It is quite spacious and dotted with trees. A kopje-esque backdrop is brilliant, the substrate is all green grass and I love the amount of browsing opportunities have. Overall it is quite naturalistic, the planting is superb and feels African and this is one of the best giraffe exhibits I have seen. These three habitats are mostly brilliant but it is too small to feel like a satisfying tour of Africa.
Meerkat- Hands down the best meerkat exhibit I have ever seen. It is at least triple the size of any other habitat for the species I have seen, is loaded with sand for digging and rocks for standing, the rockwork is flawless and visitors can see it through openings in tunnels underground. State-of-the-art and so cool.
Gibbon/Siamang Islands- The zoo’s only apes have some of the best primate islands around. The lushness here has to be seen to be believed- so much vegetation and several tall trees for climbing. There are ropes and enrichment opportunities here but one thing that makes this exhibit stand out is how natural all of it feels and none of the manmade structres are distracting or domineering. Absolutely brilliant.
Baird’s Tapir Habitat- The best tapir exhibit I have ever seen. A nice, realistic pool is found at the front allowing the animals to submerge and an extensive shady yard makes up the land area. The vegetation is expertly planted and the naturalism here is unrivaled in other tapir exhibits.
Cougar Habitat- For a big cat that so often gets slighted in terms of space and exhibitry, it is a breath of fresh air to see them in a beautiful, spacious exhibit. The cougar habitat is incredibly lush, has a small running waterfall in the middle and plenty of hiding and climbing opportunities. One of the best around.
Alligator Cove- A brilliantly designed exhibit with plenty of water and tons of detail. It actually looks like a swamp! The natural backdrops are perfect and it is one of the very best alligator exhibits I have seen.
Average
Bamboo Trail- A group of habitats that are loosely connected through a forest theme. A lush rhinoceros hornbill exhibit is quite nice while a decently sized clouded leopard exhibit is one of the best in the nation. I like it because it has a tall tree and long fallen over log for the cats to climb. Also, it has loads of bamboo in the back and plenty of detail. A red panda exhibit has some good trees in it but is a bit lacking in terms of enrichment and size. Good but not flawless. Two lemur exhibits are simply average although they have beautiful backdrops. A naturalistic crested porcupine exhibit is excellent and one of the best around while a flamingo pool is standard. This section has some very good exhibits but there isn’t enough that ties them together to make this that memorable.
Jungle Loop- It starts out with a very green cassowary exhibit that’s quite nice. A habitat for zebras, ostriches and elands is quite large and vast but minimal in terms of naturalism and detail and the viewing areas are quite weak. A seemingly nice kangaroo exhibit has opened in this section in recent years but wasn’t around yet on my visit. When I was there, a lush but average and standard tiger habitat was found but it is currently being remodeled and should be great.
Poor
We want more!- This zoo has so many excellent individual habitats but frankly there isn’t enough here and it feels quite incomplete- in a way most major zoos don’t make me feel. This is a shame because this could be a first-class zoo and has so much potential. I really hope the master plan gets completed.
Nashville has one of the highest levels of quality of any zoo I have visited. However, there aren’t that many exhibits here and the grounds are quite sparse. There are a number of great exhibits but not enough to make this one of the best zoos in the country. Potentially, I could see this being a top 20 zoo in the country but for now I’d place it between 28 and 42 on my list of America’s best zoos.
