Nashville Zoo Nashville Zoo News

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On March 10th, the zoo announced that their (0.1) red panda had been renamed Mei Lee.

Nashville Zoo - Turning Red | Facebook | By Nashville Zoo | PANDA PARTY! Our female red panda has a new nickname! Say hello to Mei Lee - named in honor of the star of Disney + Pixar’s #TurningRed! Mei Lee is a...

On March 23rd, the zoo announced that they have partially reopened their Jungle Gym play area, including their new Promised Park area.

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On April 5th, the zoo announced they had opened a new theater named the Adventure 4D theater.

Nashville Zoo - Adventure 4D Theater | Facebook | By Nashville Zoo | Surprise! Introducing our newest in-park attraction: Adventure 4D Theater This brand new attraction opens tomorrow! Sit back and enjoy an immersive 4D...

On April 13th, the zoo announced that (0.0.3?) Nigerian dwarf goats were born in late March.

Nashville Zoo - Baby Goats! | Facebook | By Nashville Zoo | New KIDS on the Block 3️⃣ Nigerian dwarf goats were born in late March and can now be seen in the window at our HCA Healthcare Veterinary Center...

On May 25th, the zoo announced that (0.0.6) red kangaroos have been born.

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On May 28th, the zoo announced the king vulture born on May 7th's gender, (0.1).

Nashville Zoo - The Cutest King Vulture Chick Sounds | Facebook | By Nashville Zoo | #SoundOn for the CUTEST king vulture chick sounds you have EVER heard! This little lady is now 3 weeks old and is growing so fast! Every day she's...

On July 8th, the zoo announced that (0.0.2) more Nigerian dwarf goats were born on July 5th which are on exhibit in the Historic Farm before being moved to Critter Encounters.

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On March 10th, the zoo announced that their (0.1) red panda had been renamed Mei Lee.
If I had a nickel for every time a US zoo renamed one of their female red pandas “Mei Lee” in honor of Pixar’s “Turning Red”, I’d have two nickels, which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it’s happened twice.
Seriously, I don’t get why a zoo would rename one of their animals for a trend. It’s very “how do you do, fellow kids?” and it just makes things confusing. All I’m saying is that if Nashville wants to succeed, they shouldn’t be doing stuff that San Francisco does.
 
Visited this zoo for the first time this past week (Wednesday) and a couple of notes from the visit:
The Tiger exhibit remains closed as repairs are still ongoing to the bridge. A little disappointing since this was the only thing we didn’t see.

A number of the new Africa habitats are under construction at the moment, namely the ones around the new leopard exhibits. Here is a photo of an incoming primate exhibit.
A0DA19AF-9843-4352-AC9E-2F216078BA7C.jpeg

The Komodo Dragon exhibit has the pit dug out and some mock rock walls in place, but need the final detailing and painting to finish yet. Can certainly see this is going to be awesome.

3F165676-BD51-4921-B48A-0D69D3B90263.jpeg

Did see the new Eland and Bontebok calf out walking around with the herd, so that was neat. Zebras were separated out of this exhibit at the time.

I might have to write up a yearly trip report thread to delve into my thoughts about this fantastic zoo. I’ve been to around 5 new zoos this year already and have at least one more zoo trip on the books this year.
 

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Visited this zoo for the first time this past week (Wednesday) and a couple of notes from the visit:
The Tiger exhibit remains closed as repairs are still ongoing to the bridge. A little disappointing since this was the only thing we didn’t see.

A number of the new Africa habitats are under construction at the moment, namely the ones around the new leopard exhibits. Here is a photo of an incoming primate exhibit.
View attachment 561595

The Komodo Dragon exhibit has the pit dug out and some mock rock walls in place, but need the final detailing and painting to finish yet. Can certainly see this is going to be awesome.

View attachment 561596

Did see the new Eland and Bontebok calf out walking around with the herd, so that was neat. Zebras were separated out of this exhibit at the time.

I might have to write up a yearly trip report thread to delve into my thoughts about this fantastic zoo. I’ve been to around 5 new zoos this year already and have at least one more zoo trip on the books this year.
I can not wait for these new exhibits!
 
Visited this zoo for the first time this past week (Wednesday) and a couple of notes from the visit:
The Tiger exhibit remains closed as repairs are still ongoing to the bridge. A little disappointing since this was the only thing we didn’t see.

A number of the new Africa habitats are under construction at the moment, namely the ones around the new leopard exhibits. Here is a photo of an incoming primate exhibit.
View attachment 561595

The Komodo Dragon exhibit has the pit dug out and some mock rock walls in place, but need the final detailing and painting to finish yet. Can certainly see this is going to be awesome.

View attachment 561596

Did see the new Eland and Bontebok calf out walking around with the herd, so that was neat. Zebras were separated out of this exhibit at the time.

I might have to write up a yearly trip report thread to delve into my thoughts about this fantastic zoo. I’ve been to around 5 new zoos this year already and have at least one more zoo trip on the books this year.
Thanks for the updates on the upcoming exhibits. I'm anticipating Nashville will be within the top 10 American zoos once the entire African complex is complete, especially if they're eventually able to get those small carnivores on display somehow. I’m hoping to make a trip up next year once all of the new stuff is completed.

EDIT: Just curious, where are the leopard/primate/kopje exhibits located in the zoo?
 
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Thanks for the updates on the upcoming exhibits. I'm anticipating Nashville will be within the top 10 American zoos once the entire African complex is complete, especially if they're eventually able to get those small carnivores on display somehow. I’m hoping to make a trip up next year once all of the new stuff is completed.

EDIT: Just curious, where are the leopard/primate/kopje exhibits located in the zoo?

Great question! Here is a picture of how the new smaller African exhibits correlate to existing exhibits. Essentially surround the existing White Rhino exhibit.

EA0ACAAB-955E-4D5D-9CEA-90E3ED915668.jpeg
 

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Great question! Here is a picture of how the new smaller African exhibits correlate to existing exhibits. Essentially surround the existing White Rhino exhibit.

View attachment 561634
Thanks for this site plan. It’s super useful as the zoo has yet to publish anything like this online. Comparing this to the full plan for the entire complex, the next phase should include a wetlands area for sitatunga and blue crane among other species. They may also start construction on the huge restaurant/event/ lodge overlooking some of the main savanna habitats.
 
Thanks for this site plan. It’s super useful as the zoo has yet to publish anything like this online. Comparing this to the full plan for the entire complex, the next phase should include a wetlands area for sitatunga and blue crane among other species. They may also start construction on the huge restaurant/event/ lodge overlooking some of the main savanna habitats.
Is there a link to said full plan?
 
Is there a link to said full plan?
There isn’t a proper pdf unfortunately, probably because there are so many variables involved with project of this scale that things could easily change. The site plan was shown off by the zoos director, Rick Schwartz, and from the video linked below you can make out many things on the map. He specifically points to the wetlands area and the lodge as being some of the first things that will be built.

 
There isn’t a proper pdf unfortunately, probably because there are so many variables involved with project of this scale that things could easily change. The site plan was shown off by the zoos director, Rick Schwartz, and from the video linked below you can make out many things on the map. He specifically points to the wetlands area and the lodge as being some of the first things that will be built.

This video makes me excited for this project no matter how many times I watch it! This is some great stuff that Nashville is doing!!
 
Visited this zoo for the first time this past week (Wednesday) and a couple of notes from the visit:
The Tiger exhibit remains closed as repairs are still ongoing to the bridge. A little disappointing since this was the only thing we didn’t see.
I believe tiger has reopened
 
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